EU–VIETNAM SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AWARDS
-
Image
CopyrightEUDEL Vietnam
Introduction
The EU–Vietnam Sustainable Design Awards are a cultural and creative initiative that blends practices in design, the arts, science/technology and social inclusion.
Initiated by the EU Delegation to Vietnam, the initiative is committed to the proliferation of sustainable design practices in Vietnam, and the development of communities around these practices; in doing so, the aim is to ultimately contribute to Vietnam’s sustainable inclusive development – indeed one of the priorities in the EU’s engagement with the country.
Supported by the EU's Cultural Relations Platform initiative and implemented in partnership with ELLE Decoration Vietnam magazine, the first phase of consisted of a series of events/activities between September 2024 and March 2025, to culminate in the inauguration of the Awards in mid May 2025.
The project consists of four main thematic pillars which correspond to the four categories of the Awards: Architecture, Product Design, Communications Design, and Innovation.
2025 AWARDEES
GRAND PRIZES
ARCHITECTURE: EARTHENWARE HOUSE – NAQI & Partners
PRODUCT DESIGN: TẠM – Trang Nguyen
COMMUNICATION DESIGN: VOICE GEMS: 1000 YEAR ARCHIVE – Trung Bao & Harry Yeff
INNOVATION: DEVELOPING GREEN INTERLOCKING COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BRICKS (CSEB) FOR CONSTRUCTING ECO-FRIENDLY HOUSES USING LOCAL MATERIALS AND LABORS, CONTRIBUTING TO NET ZERO EMISSIONS COMMITMENT OF VIETNAM – Nguyen Van Tuan, Nguyen Trung Hieu, Nguyen Quoc Dinh, Nguyen Duy Thanh, Dirk Schwede, TH Lübeck, Nathalie Fagel
OUTSTANDING AWARDS
ARCHITECTURE
BÌNH DƯƠNG HOUSE – K59 Atelier
EARTHENWARE HOUSE – NAQI & Partners
NGÕ HOUSE – D.O.G Studio
PRODUCT DESIGN
CARBON CRAFT EYEWEAR – Nguyen Vu Duc
PAO: THE LIGHT OF DREAMS – Le Ha Dong
TẠM – Trang Nguyen
COMMUNICATION DESIGN
MEKONG DELTA – Tran Viet Hung
VOICE GEMS: 1000 YEAR ARCHIVE – Trung Bao & Harry Yeff
HOME PROTECT – Nguyen Duy Tuan Phuong
INNOVATION
THE STORY OF STRAW – Team ‘Story of Straw’
BIOWRAPS – Trinh Cong Qui, Le Thi Hong Thuy, Phung Khanh Ha
DEVELOPING GREEN INTERLOCKING COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BRICKS (CSEB) FOR CONSTRUCTING ECO-FRIENDLY HOUSES USING LOCAL MATERIALS AND LABORS, CONTRIBUTING TO NET ZERO EMISSIONS COMMITMENT OF VIETNAM – Nguyen Van Tuan, Nguyen Trung Hieu, Nguyen Quoc Dinh, Nguyen Duy Thanh, Dirk Schwede, TH Lübeck, Nathalie Fagel
EMERGING DESIGNER AWARDS
ARCHITECTURE: LAM VILLA – Phan Tuan Anh và GS Team
PRODUCT DESIGN: RICE HUSK PACKAGING DESIGN FOR BÁT TRÀNG CERAMICS – Phan Thi Thien Huong, Hoang Hong Hạnh, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nhi
COMMUNICATION DESIGN: GẤP GẤP – Ngo Hoang Dung
INNOVATION: WEAVING NIPA – Lam Weaving Spaces
AUDIENCE'S CHOICE AWARDS
ARCHITECTURE: NOAH’S NEST – Archiro Architecture
PRODUCT DESIGN: RICE HUSK PACKAGING DESIGN FOR BÁT TRÀNG CERAMICS – Phan Thi Thien Huong, Hoang Hong Hạnh, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nhi
COMMUNICATION DESIGN: VIETNAMESE - THE FLOW OF HERITAGE – Hoang Tran Khanh
INNOVATION: BIOWRAPS – Trinh Cong Qui, Le Thi Hong Thuy, Phung Khanh Ha
The Awards
SUBMISSION PORTAL
Submission portal is now open via this URL. It will close at 23:59 (GMT+7) on 15 September 2025.
All guidelines, evaluation criteria and other details can be found at this location.
JURY MEMBERS
(please click on each category for detailed biographies of the jury members)
Chairperson: Valéria Bessolo Llopiz (ELLE Decoration, France)
Architecture: Tue Hesselberg Foged (EFFEKT Architects, Denmark) & Vu Linh Quang (ARDOR Architects, Vietnam)
Product Design: Sabine Marcelis (Studio Sabine Marcelis, Netherlands) & Nguyen Quoc Khanh (AA Corporation, Vietnam)
Communications Design: Angela Rui (Istituto Europeo di Design, Italy) & Phuong Vu (Antiantiart, Vietnam)
Innovation: Simon Betsch (KMS Team, Germany) & Bich Vien (EU Delegation, Vietnam)
PRIZES
Each of the four categories will celebrate three projects as selected by the Jury, including one Grand Prize for the project deemed most convincing: a residency hosted by a design office in the EU.
In addition, each category will include one Emerging Designer Award, and one Audience's Choice Award.
Launching Event
The EVSDA Launching Event took place on 17 May 2025 @ TDX Ice Factory (19/45 Tran Dinh Xu, District 1, HCMC) encompassing four in-depth presentations of the EVSDA Jury Members on the key thematics of the Awards, a comprehensive introduction of different elements and parameters of the inaugural Awards, various performances and a networking session.
On the sideline of the Launching Event, a number of side visits also took place and enabled connections and exchanges between the Jury Members and local design/arts/creativity initiatives.
WORKSHOP 4 – MARCH 2025, HANOI
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).
WORKSHOP 3 – DECEMBER 2024, HANOI
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.
WORKSHOP 2 – NOVEMBER 2024, HCMC
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."
WORKSHOP 1 – OCTOBER 2024, HCMC
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.