A 100-year-old mansion has been threatened by demolition following a proposal by authorities in Hue City, located in central Vietnam.

The Hue City People's Committee has asked for permission to demolish a French-colonial mansion on Ly Thuong Kiet Street.

The request, submitted to the provincial People's Committee and the Thua Thien-Hue construction department on Monday, said that the house “is not considered a historical building” and “the work, bearing an Indochinese colonial architecture that has no historical value, is seriously degraded.”

The two-level, 227.5-square-meter villa is situated in the front yard of the Heritage Hotel in the city.

Earlier, Thanh Dat Investment House Trading Joint Stock Company, the villa’s management unit, submitted their demolition request to the Hue City People's Committee, saying that as of 2016, the house had been used for 100 years and that they have no plans to improve it.

However, Nguyen Viet Tien, chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue Association of Planning, said that the demolition is not recommended.

During the construction of the Heritage Hotel, the provincial architectural planning council decided to keep the house after considering its value, Tien added.

According to Tran Dinh Hieu, head of the architectural department at the University of Hue, the house should be recognized as an art monument.

“The villa is not only beautiful but also has architectural value, reflecting the Eurasian style of the early 20th century. It is restorable, either by complete overhaul or regular maintenance,” Hieu confirmed.

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