An aerial view of Lung Luong Primary School in Viet Nam’s northern province of Thai Nguyen, one of architect Hao’s projects for the community.
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This year’s UIA gold medal, the highest honor, will be awarded to Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Other awards such as the Auguste Perret Prize, Jean Tschumi Prize, and Robert Matthew Prize will go to Russian, Egyptian and South African architects, respectively.
Created in 1961, the UIA prizes honor professionals whose qualities, talents and actions make an international impact on diverse sectors of architectural practice. In 2017, the Secretariat received 46 nominations.
Currently, Hao is a lecturer at the National University of Civil Engineering. He has spent 25 years researching and developing architectural projects for the community.
His constructions include Suoi Re Community House in the northern province of Hoa Bình; Ta Phin Community House in the northern province of Lao Cai; and Nam Dam homestay village in the northern province of Ha Giang, all of which are low-budget projects built for ethnic minority communities in mountainous regions using local building material and labour.
UIA chairman Esa Mohamed said the jury has recognized Hao’s commitment to improving the daily lives of underprivileged Vietnamese citizens living in rural, mountainous areas while respecting the local culture and paying heed to the natural environment.
Till date, Hao has been awarded 35 domestic and 30 international architectural prizes. Last year, he became the first Vietnamese to receive the SIA-GETZ Architecture Prize for Emergent Architecture in Asia, presented by the Singapore Institute of Architects and Getz Bros. & Co.
The International Union of Architects (Union Internationale des Architectes, or UIA) is an international non-governmental organization that represents over a million architects in 124 countries. The UIA was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1948. The General Secretariat is located in Paris.
It is recognized by most United Nations agencies as the only association in its field, including UNESCO, UNCHS, ESOSOC, UNIDO, and the World Health Organization, as well as the WTO. The current (2014 - 2017) president is Esa Mohamed from Malaysia.
