On June 15, 1942, General Governor Decoux signed Decree No. 223/D approving regulations for the planning of Indochina University’s residence hall (Cité Universitaire de l’Indochine) on a plot of land opposite to René Robin Hospital (now known as Bạch Mai Hospital). It was expected that the ten buildings would be completed, the residence hall would be for accommodation of 800 students and would be no less than the residential campus of other universities in Paris. However, Japanese overthrew the French, then came the victory in general uprising of Việt Minh. The construction of the residence hall could not continue and became the final plan of colonial institution in Hanoi.
After Điện Biên Phủ victory in 1954 and Hanoi independence event, Soviet architects E.S.Budink and S.T.Airapetov collaborated to help our government designing Hanoi University of Science and Technology, for the hope entire Vietnamese citizen and Party of a university as foundation of education for intelligentsia. The design and construction process took place between 1961 and 1965 within the former Indochina University’s residence hall. The total area of the University is 252,857m2, the working area is 15,252m2, the amphitheatre area is 78,846m2 and the entertainment area is 29,321m2.
The work expresses the ideas of Russian constructivism – with its clear and coherence function, free-flowing, daring, powerful and extremely bright features. Along with that, details and materials that fit for the tropical monsoon climate are also carefully used.
