Practising Vietnam

Vietnam has one of the world’s most vibrant and exciting architectural cultures. The scene is characterised by a large number of small practices that are undertaking small scale interventions in the city. Architecture in Vietnam has an intense focus on the tropical and sub-tropical environment, as well as material and processes of making. Contemporary practice is defined by a cocktail of local and international influences, including vernacular traditions, European modernism and more recently Japanese design cultures. While major practices, such as Võ Trọng Nghĩa Architects (VTN) have undertaken major works and garnered international acclaim, many smaller emerging and established practice remain unpublished outside of Vietnam.

This project establishes a network of innovative architects, designers and exemplar buildings that demonstrate the potential of architectural and interior interventions to generate a design identity and urban proposition for cities in Vietnam. It exhibits and illustrates the unique qualities of Vietnamese contemporary architecture and promote them to an international professional and public audience.

Led by staff from RMIT University’s School of Architecture & Urban Design, the project gathers a series of case study examples of architecture and interior design projects completed in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang and Da Nang. Each project is documented and presented through a large-scale physical model and video, accompanied by a catalogue of essays and interviews. The ambition of this exhibition is to provide an immersive experience of exemplar architecture projects in Vietnam.