It is difficult for the provincial level to issue regulations on national cultural identity in architectural management regulations.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired the conference. Photo: Hoai Thu

On the morning of April 17, the Provincial National Assembly Delegation held a Conference to collect comments on the Draft Law on Architecture. Attending the conference were representatives of departments, branches, and units related to the fields of architecture and planning in the province.

At the conference, there were 8 comments on the draft Law, many of which focused on discussing provincial regulations on promulgating regulations on preserving national cultural identity in planning and architecture.

Specifically, regarding the content "localities are responsible for regulating national cultural identity in architectural management regulations to ensure feasibility and suitability for each region, area, and locality under their management", some delegates said that this is a difficult condition to be implemented. Representatives of the Department of Construction and representatives of the Provincial People's Council suggested carefully reviewing this content and making reasonable adjustments to ensure suitability and effectiveness in implementation.

In addition, delegates also gave their opinions and proposed to adjust, supplement and amend a number of contents on regulations on conservation and exploitation of architectural works; subjects of architectural management; architectural management regulations; architectural services and architectural practice; regulations on granting architectural practice certificates; regulations on planning management, architects practicing as individuals; rights and obligations to restore cultural and historical architectural works for organizations and individuals exploiting and managing...

A corner of Vinh city's architectural planning shows the unbroken architecture from the Nguyen Dynasty. Photo courtesy

Regarding the regulations on the agency issuing construction permits, the representative of the Department of Construction said that if the regulations were issued at the provincial level, there would be an overload and it would be impossible to implement.

The representative of the Institute of Architectural Planning made some comments on the prohibitions in the Law on Architecture, on the requirement that urban architecture must comply with planning. Regarding the management of archived records, the representative of the Institute of Architectural Planning said that it is necessary to clearly state the storage period, and that the regulation that construction contractors must also keep records is unreasonable.

The opinions and suggestions at the conference were received, synthesized and transferred to relevant levels and sectors according to regulations by the Provincial National Assembly Delegation.

The Draft Law on Architecture was discussed and commented on at the 6th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee with dozens of comments, in which the delegates commented on the scope of regulation focusing on 2 contents on architectural management and architectural practice. Some opinions suggested expanding the scope of regulation of the law to include management of architectural development, preservation and promotion of the value of Vietnamese national architecture. Some other opinions said that the scope of regulation of the Law should only focus on the content of architectural practice.