Arts

Wooden miniature of communal houses in Vietnam

The smallest wooden communal house in Vietnam is a micro-mahogany village communal house at a scale of 1/1,000. It was made by 67 year-old carpenter Phan Lac Hung in Huu Bang village, Thach That, Hanoi. 
The man was born and grew up in Sen village of Huu Bang commune which is well known for high quality wooden products nationwide. Hung is very proud of the 350-year-old communal house in his village with its original beauty.

The love for the village's communal house prompted the Vietnamese carpenter with over 50 years in woodworking to come up with the idea of crafting a model of a miniature wooden house. He selected mahogany as the material to carve his work because it is very durable and firm. After 5 years of research, Hung finished his model with 90-95% accuracy and it weighs 60kg.



Carpenter Phan Lac Hung, who creates the micro-mahogany village communal house in Huu Bang village, Thach That district, Hanoi. 


Hung carefully observes every detail of the communal house. 

 The carpenter does all phases to finish the work. 


Small details of the model are made at 1:1000 scale.


Small details are created very carefully. 


The miniature looks like the real one. 


Small details are made with 95% accuracy. 


The door is able to open like the real one. 


The drum inside the model is made from real leather. 


Patterns on the roof are delicate. 


The roof and pillars are similar to the real ones. 


Dragons carved on the roof. 


A peaceful corner inside the model of the communal house. 


The artwork by carpenter Phan Lac Hung. 




Villagers flock to see the artwork. 

Hung said that he created the wooden miniature of Huu Bang village’s communal house with the aim of preserving the architecture of the ancient communal house in his hometown, teaching the next generation about the cultural traits of the village as well as introducing local culture and tourism.

By Viet Cuong & Khanh Long

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