Alexandre Garel Born in 1971, Alexandre is a French photographer based in Saigon, Việt Nam. When he first arrived in late 2011, Alexandre instantly fell in love with the city and began to photograph it, starting with the shanty towns along the river and their occupants. Then in 2012, he realized that the city’s architectural heritage was disappearing at an alarming rate, so he resolved to document Saigon’s built heritage in all its different aspects before it vanished forever. During the course of his work, Alexandre developed a particular interest in modernist architecture, a prevalent style in Southern Việt Nam, which led to a collaboration with architect Mel Schenck on the book Southern Vietnamese Modernist Architecture, published in June 2019. Alexandre’s passion for architecture has also led him to createa second book on Saigon, this one covering all types of urban architecture. This book, entitled Saigon Portrait of a City, will be published in late 2020. And Alexandre’s adventure does not end there. At the time of writing, he is commencing work on a new photographic project in Hà Nội. Alexandre intends to continue this photographic documentation work in as many Asian cities as possible, capturing on film the region’s precious architectural heritage while there is still time.