Colonial architecture of Southeast Asia

Whilst this transition was not completely transformative, French influence intentionally modified their buildings to embrace the tradition and culture of the previous history.

[2] The 1887 ransack and pillage from the Black Flag Army, who were a Chinese Bandit group, encouraged the kingdom to accept receiving protection from the French.

They also established a courthouse, housing for civil servants, a prison, barracks for a small detachment and a hospital.

[4] Hoi An reflects a combination of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and later European influences that have created a diverse city with various architectural styles.

[5] Although colonial architecture only had a limited influence in South East Asia, there was still a distinct style of housing found throughout, especially in areas located around Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Prior to French colonisation, cities consisted of ramshackle collections of bamboo or wooden stilted houses with thatched roofs, whereby the main cluster was around former palaces and temples.

While incorporating some art deco decoration, they embodied wooden shuttered windows and pitched tile roofs.

This design became larger and the bottom floors of the two-story villas, which used to be used as a multi-purpose level, became increasingly used in private space due to European privacy, a stronger economy, and higher quality of living.

For travellers, attractions such as the Hoa Lo Prison and Museum of Vietnamese Women can be visited in the French area of the city.

The work involved 300 workers and was made from 35,000 bamboo poles, concrete blocks, iron and steel.

It acted as a connection point to transport goods from Northern Vietnam to the Dien Bien battle.

In the 1960s, the hotel constructed a bomb shelter to protect guests and employees against American air raids.

The Metropole wing has multi-story space features chandelier's, bamboo furniture, and wooden walls.

[15] This wing is also space to Le Club, which overlooks the hotel's courtyard garden which also includes a colonial Bamboo Bar.

The Opera wing rooms are designed to replicate the neoclassical style, with items such as standalone bathtubs and finished with mahogany furnishings and Vietnamese fabrics.

Designed by British architect Henry Hoyne-Fox, the building constructed in two main stages (the south and north wings).

Due to the lack of sustainable use over time and the harsh tropical environment have left the space with numerous conservation challenges.