Vietnamese Architect Vo Trong Nghia Receives 2016 Prince Claus Award
Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia has been selected by the Prince Claus Awards Committee as one of the six Prince Claus Awards laureates of 2016.
Vo Trong Nghia (1976, Quang Binh Province) is an architect whose green, sustainable 21st-century designs are transforming urban spaces and attitudes in Vietnam. Working with a team of innovative architects, engineers and craftsmen at Vo Trong Nghia Architects (established 2006), he is implementing solutions to counteract the neoliberal paradigm turning cities into concrete deserts.
According to the committee, Vo Trong Nghia is awarded for:
– His striking, environmentally friendly architecture that is reviving the urban landscape of Vietnam;
– Pioneering a Vietnam-specific ‘green’ programme of common-sense spatial practices that balance culture and nature and are good for life and community;
– Presenting viable, sustainable, built alternatives, demonstrating to residents, officials and developers that such change is possible;
– Raising awareness and influencing public perceptions on the need to improve living conditions for the millions of city dwellers;
– Promoting architecture as a form of activism for social change and moving it forward to a greener future.
Alongside Vo Trong Nghia, five other artists who have received the awards are: filmmaker and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand, Principal Prince Claus Award), chef and food activist Kamal Mouzawak (Lebanon), interdisciplinary cultural centre PeaceNiche | The Second Floor (T2F) (Pakistan), graphic designer, artist, educator and historian Bahia Shehab (Egypt/Lebanon), and the digital portal La Silla Vacía (Colombia).
Vietnamese artist/curator Tran Luong also received this prestigious award in 2014.
About the Awards
The Prince Claus Awards honour outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development. The awards are presented annually to individuals, groups and organisations whose cultural actions have a positive impact on the development of their societies. The Awards highlight significant contributions in regions where resources or opportunities for cultural expression, creative production and preservation of cultural heritage are limited.
Find the report from the 2016 Prince Claus Awards Committee here.
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