Heritage Space Library in Hanoi will hold a talk themed “Finding the Souls of Cities” on March 2, featuring associate professor Pham Thuy Loan as guest speaker and Dr. Dang Hoang Giang as host.

Associate professor Pham Thuy Loan - PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZER

As Vietnam is better off, its cities have more buildings, cars, and commercial centers, and the people seem to get more isolated. The big cities have gradually lost their connections with the environment, history, and society. Becoming “jungles of glass, steel and concrete,” they are losing their souls.

The talk, which is the first event of the “HS-Talk” series, will focus on how to retain these connections and create spaces that provide safety, warmth and happiness in big cities.

Architect, associate professor Pham Thuy Loan is deputy director of the Vietnam National Institute of Architecture and former head of the Department of Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, University of Civil Engineering.

She is one of the leading experts in urban planning and design in Vietnam. Her research, counseling and teaching activities are always directed towards a humanistic and spiritually-rich urban space.

“HS-Talk” is a series of multidisciplinary talk shows with experts in arts, philosophy, economics, and social studies. The series aims to open a space for discussion with multiple perspectives of both academic and realistic topics, and erase the gaps and boundaries in society.

SGT