Travel Agency to Future Hué:
Deconstruct the narrative of heritage & tourism

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Teacher: Rosalia Leung
Students: Francisco Hazel Candelaria, Fung Wesley Bryan, Ho Cheuk Suen Circle, Hon Tung Suet, Kaufmann Maximilian Ferdinand, Ng Siu Hong, Sun Zhengyu, Chui Jessie Alison, Lam Cho Yin, Lam Po Wing, Leung Karine, Wu Chi Yu, Yang Tsun Hsien Shane

Course Abstract
Themes: Narrative, Media, Tourism, Heritage, Sustainability

This studio examines architectural heritage as the object of communication for tourists’ consumption and the impacts of tourist driven architecture under the context of globalization and extreme mediatisation.

When Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown first categorized buildings as “ducks” and “decorated sheds” in 1960s, they opened up discussions on the means available to architects to communicate with the public.

With the heat of social media and the thirst for photogenic spots, tourist-orientated cities in Vietnam demonstrate the use of architectural heritage as attraction sites to compete for more visitors.

However, the act of conservation as a city-museum which merely emphasizes on façadism may overcast the effort of Vietnam’s modernisation and her current challenges.

By considering other challenges from local economy, historical conflicts, rapid urbanization and environmental issues, using heritage as an image representation for consumption may not be the most appropriate solution to sustain the future development of a city.

A revision of the tourist’s narrative is urgent.

• How does social media alter our travel experience?
• How should the city and architecture respond to the trend of social media?
• How can the restoration/reconstruction of architectural heritage go beyond the reproduction of iconography, but creating a common ground that caters both locals as well as travellers?
• How can local citizens embrace the benefits from tourism in a sustainable social-economical level?