Hàm Cá Mập (Shark Jaw) building (left) overlooks the Hoàn Kiếm Lake in the heart of Hà Nội. — Photo from Tin Tức Newspaper/Vietnam News Agency

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội authorities have decided to tear down the popular landmark "Shark Jaw" building in the heart of the capital city before April 30, 2025.

On March 14, regarding the "Shark Jaw" building, the People's Committee of Hoàn Kiếm District announced that the district has held meetings with relevant agencies on the procedure for dismantling the building, to expand the total area of the current Đông Kinh - Nghĩa Thục Square where the building is current at to 12,000sq.m.

Relevant agencies have discussed the implementation process to ensure the demolition is completed before this deadline.

According to the Hà Nội Department of Planning and Architecture, the commercial centre building at No.7 Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street — currently hosts a number of cafe shops, restaurants, and clothing stores — covers an area of nearly 500sq.m.

After being dismantled, this area will serve as a public traffic square, ensuring better connectivity between the Old Quarter, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, and adjacent streets, thus creating a unified traffic and urban space.

Nguyễn Thanh Nam, General Director of Transerco — the capital city's enterprise currently leasing and managing the "Shark Jaw" building for long-term commercial operations — said now that the city has decided to reclaim and dismantle the building as part of the Đông Kinh - Nghĩa Thục Square renovation, the corporation fully agrees with the decision.

When assessed comprehensively, Nam said, after more than 30 years of construction and commercial operation, the "Shark Jaw" building has completed its development mission.

Initially intended to serve public transportation via rail and rubber-tired trams in the Hoàn Kiếm area, after these transport modes were ended, the managing unit (Hanoi Tram Company) repurposed the land for commercial business, which has proved effective.

Furthermore, the "Shark Jaw" building has been a popular destination for both domestic and international tourists visiting Hà Nội. Thus, over the past 30 years, it has "fulfilled its historical mission by contributing to the city's development," Nam told Vietnam News Agency.

Transerco is ready to hand over the land and existing infrastructure to the city at any time upon request, and will also reassign current employees at the building to other fields, ensuring stable employment for its workforce.

In the plan, not only this iconic building will go down, Director of Hà Nội Department of Planning and Architecture Nguyễn Trọng Kỳ Anh stated that the block of houses running from behind the "Shark Jaw" building to Trần Nguyên Hãn Street (adjacent to the Hà Nội People's Committee headquarters) will potentially need to be cleared as plans for development of this area into public and cultural spaces are being studied. This has been established within Hà Nội's general master plan and further detailed in the planning of the Hoàn Kiếm Lake sub-zone.

The expansion of public spaces around Hoàn Kiếm Lake is an essential part of the Hà Nội Capital General Master Plan to 2045, with a vision toward 2065, which outlines the development orientation for the Hoàn Kiếm area focusing on preservation, renovation, embellishment, and renovation of space to create more public areas, Kỳ Anh noted.

The news of the impending last day of the building split public opinions, some argued against tearing down a popular landmark, while others said it was for the best given the 'unsightly' architecture and they looked forward to more pedestrian space.

The architecture of this commercial centre was already a subject of much criticism when it first came into being in the early 1990s.

Many criticised the six-floor building as blocking the connection between the Old Quarter and the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, and that its shape and style did not blend well into the surrounding area.

Previously, on March 5, the Office of the Hà Nội People's Committee issued a notice summarising conclusions from Vice Chairman Dương Đức Tuấn at a meeting on the design and renovation plan for Đông Kinh - Nghĩa Thục Square, Hoàn Kiếm District.

At the meeting, Hà Nội's leadership agreed with the proposed conceptual plan and solutions for organising the architectural and landscape space of Đông Kinh - Nghĩa Thục Square, which includes knocking down the "Shark Jaw" building and creating underground space beneath the current square and the expanded area (after the building is removed).

In addition, about three underground levels will be studied, with specific functions proposed: cultural and commercial spaces on basement level 1, and parking areas on basement levels 2 and 3.

In case parking is not feasible, Hà Nội suggests the underground space could serve dual purposes.

The People's Committee also requested studies on how changes to the landscape would impact nearby structures, including the façades of the Long Vân - Hồng Vân building, the water pavilion building, the Hoàn Kiếm Lake Cultural Information Center, and existing residential buildings adjacent to Cầu Gỗ Street. — VNS