EU–VIETNAM SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AWARDS

The EVSDA Awards are officially launching! 

Check back here for upcoming announcements on the Jury Board – consisting of a pair of EU/Vietnamese practitioners for each category – and all guidelines for the Awards (submission portal going online on the day of the launch event). 

Launching Event will take place on 17 May 2025 @ TDX Ice Factory (494 Vo Van Kiet, District 1, HCMC). Public registration will be available shortly. 

Designers play a crucial role in the supply chain of lifestyle products. Their knowledge and creativity significantly contribute to reducing the consumption of natural resources and materials, extending product life-cycles, and replacing outdated products with sustainable innovations. These efforts aim to promote effective economic development, social equity, and environmental protection.

With the goal of facilitating exchanges and knowledge around sustainable material practices across various design fields, Workshop 4 (14 March @ Tach Spaces) constituted a dialogue between European and Vietnamese design innovators, encompassing diverse approaches to sustainable materials – material recycling (Tim van der Loo – A New Kind of Blue), discarded fruit recycling (Hugo de Boon & Koen Meerkerk – Fruitleather Rotterdam), and working with indigenous knowledge and materials (Vu Thao – Kilomet109). 

Documentation from the workshop.

Taking place between 11-15 December 2024 in the beautiful setting of a heritage French villa in the heart of Hanoi, EVSDA Workshop 3 features a series of exhibition activities, public talk, and workshops for the graphic design and multimedia communication community.

Exhibition: “Ngoc Ngach” - an AR integrated exhibition by 30 young Vietnamese artists and designers. With the theme "Core Memories", the exhibited works revolvd around unforgettable memories that deeply affect the personal identities of creators. Through these artworks, the intricate relationships between life, culture, and art across three regions of the country were reimagined within a single space. Following the success of the 2021 "Xôn Xao" exhibition, which incorporated AR technology to amplify and spread young artists' messages, this "Ngóc Ngách" exhibition brings together a larger scale and more comprehensive collection of artists and works, complemented by an immersive and visually stunning augmented reality experience.

Workshop with Thóc Journal: “Good Design is Long-lasting” - a hub that facilitates connection and discussion on diverse perspectives in contemporary Vietnamese visual culture, through intimate conversations and community exhibitions.

Workshop with Viola Bernacchi (IT/NL): “Drawing with Data: A Study of Hanoi's Urbanisation” - helping participants familiarize with the concept of using data combined with algorithms and design thinking to create exciting contemporary design works, reflecting the new spirit of the times, and integrating data to provide a perspective on Hanoi's urbanisation.

Talk with Anna Szylar (Monster Mind Studio, PL) & Huynh Minh Thong (Thóc Journal, VN): "Cultural Sustainability" - one of the key aspects of sustainable development pertains to cultural sustainability, which involves preserving the unique identity of each nation while simultaneously developing and transforming cultures in new eras. This conversation shared practical experiences and explore new approaches to expressing elements of cultures in the context of digital art-making.

Talk with Anna Szylar (Monster Mind Studio, PL) & Trung Bao (Fustic.Studio, VN): “A Survey of New Media Showcases” - sharing experiences and mechanisms for organising arts exhibitions in a digital context, utilising modern technological advances. 

Documentation from the workshop. 

Realised as a residency taking place from 28-30 November HCMC's Amanaki, Workshop 2 constituted a platform for 16 product designers and architects to collaborate with Italian designer Andrea Mancuso and Vietnamese artisans Nguyen Xuan Luc and Nguyen Van Bao, exploring sustainable materials and design solutions in the context of product design. 

During the workshop, designers were guided through Mancuso's creative process, complemented by knowledge-sharing sessions from lacquer artist Nguyen Xuan Luc and bamboo weaving artist Nguyen Van Bao.

The workshop featured Vietnamese companies UpGreen and Bao Lan Textile as material-support partners, offering recycled fabric and plastic options for specific designs.

Speaking about the event, designer Andrea Mancuso shared, “When we see objects, we only see the final result, and all the process behind it is completely hidden. But the process is the part that excites me the most. I want to express not only a story but the capability of materials to stand out, to talk, to really say something."

Documentation from the workshop. 

Under the theme "Space Design for Modern Inhabitation" the workshop featured four speakers from the EU and Vietnam: French architect Sophie Valla (Sophie Valla Architects) and Swedish architect Anders Tväråna (White Arkitekter) – representing two leading European architectural offices with projects closely linked to the goal of sustainable development, combining breakthrough innovation in techniques, materials and spatial forms towards new possibilities. From the local side, architect Trung Mai (Hanoi Ad Hoc & Ad hoc practice) and architect Vu Linh Quang (ARDOR Architects) present perspectives on the characteristics of Vietnam’s urban zones, while also discussing the positive developments they have helped engender, as contribution to the country’s architecture and construction sectors. 

Modern architecture is seen as having a direct connection with the environment and ecologies, and with modes of organising social activities across multiple levels, subsequently impacting upon dimensions of the experience of contemporary living, especially in urban contexts. Architectural discourses also perform an increasingly important role in the striving towards sustainable development. 

Documentation from the workshop.