French architects to rezone Da Lat

The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong plans to invite French architects to rezone its resort town of Da Lat, newswire VietNamNet said Wednesday.
Lam Dong People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Hoa said the architects would be invited to cooperate because French architects had originally designed much of the modern town and “French characteristics” were still considered the area’s unique feature, VietNamNet reported.
The Paris Urban Planning and Design Institute and a prestigious French architectural firm will be invited to take part in the rezoning plan, he said.
The original Da Lat planning was carried out in 1923 by French architect, archeologist and urban planner Ernest Hébrard, renowned for his reformation of the city of Thessaloniki in Greece.
Nearly 100 French-style villas are still being used in Da Lat but most of them have become dilapidated and many have been converted into apartment blocks.