As the first higher education center in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with a campus featuring typical early 20th-century architecture, the building at No 19 Le Thanh Tong is currently where Hanoi University of Pharmacy and several units of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, operate.

Architect Pham Thanh Tung, who has devoted much passion to the capital city, believes that this space converges many values that need to be carefully considered before making related decisions.

Tung emphasized that the University of Pharmacy, with a history of more than 100 years, is one of the first places for elite training in Indochina and is also a ranked heritage site.

Notably, he considers this a “living museum” where training activities are still ongoing. “It is the team of students and the people working there who are creating value; they have been and are creating the elite of the healthcare sector,” he said.

“Those who research, study, and teach here have inherited an academic atmosphere that has accumulated value through many generations, spanning hundreds of years. That is a precious educational foundation, providing motivation and pride to study and grow. Therefore, let’s keep it as a living museum, not just for sightseeing,” Tung analyzed.

According to Architect Pham Thanh Tung, Hanoi should have a museum on the history of Vietnamese education, but it could be placed in a different location. This museum would show historical developments from the first universities, the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, to the Indochina Student Dormitory (Dong Duong Hoc Xa), then Hanoi University of Science and Technology and other major universities. Through those marks, it would reflect the achievements of education in the Ho Chi Minh era by training many talents in the new generation.

“A static display cannot replace a living knowledge space”

According to Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, former Director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, the policy of relocating universities out of the inner city has been set since the 1998 master plan.

However, he asserted that relocation does not mean moving the entire facility. “The policy is to relocate certain parts, especially those for training and scientific research that require large areas,” he said.

According to Nghiem, many schools still retain their old facilities to serve as headquarters, offices, or 'Campus 1' to preserve traditional values. He believes the building at 19 Le Thanh Tong should continue to be maintained with some appropriate functions.

Meanwhile, according to Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Nam, Rector of Hanoi University of Pharmacy, a university is a continuously operating ecosystem, not a static space.

He argued that converting the entire campus into a museum “might retain the physical form but would interrupt the academic flow, turning a living knowledge space into a static display space.”

Citing international experience, he stated that many major universities in the world still keep their historical facilities in urban centers while expanding outward. The old facilities maintain academic activities instead of switching completely to a museum function.

According to the university’s plan, the facility at 19 Le Thanh Tong should continue to serve postgraduate training, scientific research, and academic activities, while undergraduate training will be moved to a new facility in Dan Phuong commune with an area of more than 4 hectares.

Most responses from VietNamNet readers so far also suggest that Hanoi should have a knowledge museum, but it should be a living museum rather than a static space.

Reader Nguyen Nhu Phong wrote: “I hope the city considers another reasonable solution. A museum could be built at a different location, or the function of an unused educational facility could be converted. If it must be at 19 Le Thanh Tong, there should be a plan to combine the museum with the existing university by creating display spaces right within the campus, without interrupting training activities.”

“I strongly support having a knowledge museum model, but it should be a 'living' museum to still ensure the operation of universities while creating conditions for tourists to better understand the capital's educational career,” is the wish of reader Ha Van Xuyen.

Tourists will prefer visiting No 19 Le Thanh Tong to directly see, hear, and feel a "living museum", a place where knowledge is still being created every day through teaching and research activities, rather than coming to see still-life objects and having to listen to narrations.

Thanh Hue