EXPLORING AND RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE IN VIETNAM

Summary

Changemaker Catalyst Award recipient Minh Dang spent his summer in Vietnam exploring sustainable design. Minh, a third-year undergraduate architecture student, is learning about LEED sustainable design and its application in tropical countries.

I traveled to Vietnam this summer and connected with local architecture students to understand the importance of sustainable design. I did not have a job or title, but my goal was to understand how far sustainable design has been implemented into the next generation of architects and spread awareness in Vietnam. My future goal is to help developers recognize the importance of sustainability and implement it into architecture in Vietnam.

During the summer, many students at UAH (University of Architecture at Ho Chi Minh City) presented their Thesis Projects as part of their final work. These students spent more than six months on their projects, and everyone had a unique approach to design. While I was there for the summer, I spent most of my time learning from these students. I particularly stayed at my mentor’s studio, who graduated from the university and now works part-time with the university, all summer to discuss and learn about the changes in the approach to architecture in Vietnam.

I was exposed to the studio culture in Vietnam and got my hands on some of the students’ projects to help them. I also participated in panel discussions about LEED in the United States. It was an amazing experience because I got to be in a completely different environment of an architecture school. There were times when I felt like I was a student studying abroad.

I exchanged my experiences studying in the United States with the students in Vietnam. The most exciting experience was when I got to see how architects in Vietnam apply passive design strategies to buildings during the design process. Seeing the conditions and constraints present in Vietnam amazed me; it was impressive to see how these architects worked through these problems. In Vietnam, people don’t use air conditioning constantly, which creates unique building features and lifestyles. Architects and students approach their designs differently than at Tulane.

I faced some challenges in understanding the culture. Being away from home for a long time, there were times when I had a hard time understanding my peers’ communication styles and trends. These challenges were amusing to me because I got to experience a childhood that I had missed. It was definitely a memory that I will never forget. The most significant accomplishment during my experience was meeting the director of UAH and discussing the importance of sustainable design. In my opinion, it was more of a private lecture because the knowledge that the director shared with me was very valuable.

Overall, this experience was life-changing. While awareness of sustainable design is rising in Vietnam, schools have not yet implemented it into their curriculum. The exchange I had with the director helped him visualize how universities like Tulane incorporate sustainable design into their curriculum and allowed him to consider implementing sustainable design into the architecture school. The exchange I had with the students helped both of us learn about sustainable design in different regions. These interactions were extremely valuable to me as I develop into an architect. As sustainable design becomes one of the most important aspects of architecture, I will be well-prepared thanks to the experiences I
had over the summer.