The project is expected to last three years.
SGGP reports that District 1's Ton Duc Thang Museum, located on the busy riverside road of the same name, will undergo a massive facelift at a cost of US$11.4 million.
The current museum spans over 6,000 square meters across four floors, while more than 16,000 items portray the eventful life and career of Tôn Đức Thắng. It is unclear exactly how much of the original structure, an impressive Brutalist edifice that opened in 1988, will remain, as renderings of the post-renovation museum depict a far different building.
The current facade of the museum.
Thắng was born in 1888 in An Giang Province and led an illustrious revolutionary career. He served as the second (and last) president of what was then North Vietnam, and became the first president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The museum dedicated to his life opened on what would have been his 100th birthday, had he not died in 1980.
Have a look at some renderings showing the interior of the new museum design:
[Images via Thanh Nien]
