Abstract

The renovation of many religious sites in contemporary Vietnam reveals a shift from preservation to visual reconstruction, where concrete, industrial finishes, and reproduced ornamentation replace historic materials and spatial rhythms. Drawing on international debates on authenticity and material integrity, this study examines how such interventions unsettle the structural, atmospheric, and symbolic continuities that define heritage architecture. The case of Yên Phú Pagoda illustrates how rebuilding through modern materials generates a post-authentic landscape: the monument remains present, yet its historical substance dissolves. By situating this transformation within broader cultural assumptions about care and renewal, the study argues that sustainable conservation in Vietnam requires reconnecting technical preservation with community meanings, rather than allowing reconstruction to stand in for heritage.