Architect Vo Trong Nghia awarded Fukuoka Cultural Prize

The Fukuoka Cultural Prize is an annual award to honor individuals with outstanding achievements in the fields of academic research, arts and culture in Asia.

This year, the Fukuoka Cultural Prize announced the winners, including the Grand Prize awarded to Mr. Takara Kurayoshi, the Academic Research Prize awarded to Mr. Baek Younseo (Korea), and the Cultural Arts Prize awarded to architect Vo Trong Nghia (Vietnam) for his innovative proposals on ecological architecture models.

Vo Trong Nghia was born in 1976 in Quang Binh province. After receiving a scholarship from the Japanese Government in 1996, he went to Japan to study and graduated from Nagoya University of Industry. He then obtained a Master's degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tokyo.

In 2006, he founded Vo Trong Nghia Architects, also known as VTN Architects, where he serves as General Director. During that time, he also received his PhD in Architecture from Waseda University in Tokyo in 2022.

He was appointed Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University in 2024 and Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania from 2025.

Vo Trong Nghia is a renowned architect in the Southeast Asian architectural community for his series of designs that consider the local environment, vegetation, and structures that use bamboo and wood as building materials. He is also an architect who is highly regarded for conveying many new ideas through his works on green architecture, combining Southeast Asian traditions with modern design methods and construction techniques.

This year, Architect Vo Trong Nghia was awarded with new proposals on ecological architecture models, pursuing an architectural approach to solving urban problems in the context of Vietnam's rapid development, introducing environmentally friendly architecture.

His notable architectural works include his debut work Wind and Water Café ( Ho Chi Minh City, 2006) and Grand World Phu Quoc Reception House (Phu Quoc, 2021), both of which are part of a series of architectures that extensively use bamboo in both structure and decoration.

Casamia community house inspired by Hoi An coconut grove, in Cam Thanh commune, Hoi An. (Photo: kienviet.net)

Other notable works include Thang House (Da Nang City, 2021) - an urban house combined with greenery; Bat Trang House ( Hanoi , 2020) - a house with highly efficient heating, insulation and ventilation thanks to ventilation holes on the ceramic brick walls; Buddhist and family ancestral worship house (Ben Tre, 2021) - a wooden structure that recreates traditional architecture in a modern way; Urban Farming Office (Ho Chi Minh City, 2022) - an open structure with green design to minimize energy consumption.

Besides, he also designed the Vietnam Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

His architectural works have received numerous awards, including the National Architecture Award 2012 (Vietnam, 2013), the Prince Claus Award (Netherlands, 2016) and 6 gold medals from ARCASIA (Council of Architects in Asia). In 2014, the World Economic Forum honored him as one of the Young Global Leaders.

The award ceremony is expected to take place on September 16 in Fukuoka city (Japan).

Source: https://nhandan.vn/kien-truc-su-vo-trong-nghia-duoc-trao-giai-thuong-van-hoa-fukuoka-post881517.html