THE GRID / HANOI AD HOC 1.O EXHIBITION
Revitalizing Industrial Heritage through Transient Urbanism Implementation

Considered by historian Tim Doling as one of the three great colonial railway works built during the early 20th century, Gia Lam Train Factory was initially built as a mechanical depot where train locomotives underwent maintenance and repair (Doling). Positioned strategically at the junction of four prominent rail lines, during its lifespan, the factory stood as a material witness of Vietnamese history. Not only does the factory serve the movement of goods, with an extended network of agents, but it also cultivates the mobility of cultures and ideologies that shape Vietnamese subjectivity. Currently being scheduled to relocate away from its current site, the factory’s future and historical legacy are uncertain and at risk of being eroded under the pressure of urban redevelopment

In the context of this project “The grid”, where the central theme revolves around the concept of experimentation in repurposing the factory, we find ourselves immersed in a larger narrative of transient urbanism. The architect intended to integrate the factory into a process transforming the temporality into permanent. This concept of space essentially serves as a manifesto against prevailing contemporary construction practices that prioritize speed and mass production per capita volume over the preservation of the city’s rich industrial legacy. Within the exhibition's realm, the space functions as a platform for broader engagement, extending well beyond the immediate site. It invites and encourages a critical examination of construction methods, retrofitting processes, and the future potential of the site through collaborative efforts involving the local community.

THE STRIPES
Rebirth of a ancient French villa in Hanoi

Located within a space rich with controversy, our exhibition harnesses the inherent tensions and complexities surrounding the representation of colonial history. The chosen venue, known for its contentious nature, serves as a thought-provoking backdrop that challenges traditional norms of museum display and encourages critical reflection.

Central to our exhibition’s design is the use of the stripe principle, a concept that has sparked debate within the realm of historical restoration. Rather than shying away from this polemic topic, we have embraced it as the cornerstone of our architectural framework. The stripe principle, traditionally a subject of contention, has been ingeniously integrated into our layout, becoming the very essence that guides visitors through our collection. It materializes the tension between the public perception about heritage and the its inherent nature, between the polychromism and monochromism. This deliberate choice transforms controversy into a provocative force, engaging audiences in an unconventional yet immersive journey. This exhibit aims not only to display historical remnants but also to engage visitors in a thoughtful dialogue surrounding the complex narratives of our shared past.

EUROPAN 17 - BARCELONA -THE INHABITED GARDEN / THIRD PRIZE

The garden has always been an inextricable archetype of human settlement, representing a
domestication that brought stability to life’s endeavors. From the time of nomadic and semi-nomadic
hunter-gatherers, to global migrations of the modern era, gardening has been a tool to adapt new
landscapes, to integrate, and to truly make a place one’s home. Symbolically, the garden has
also long represented order, easing inhabitation against a wild and hostile landscape “beyond the
wall.” Rather than the undefined openness and monotonous character that has come to define
modernism’s failures, this project repositions urban space as a network of productive gardens –
and the city itself as an inhabited garden. The voids of urban planning become opportunities for
micro interventions and new uses of the intermediate space between buildings, with greater publicprivate
gradation and multi-dimensional use of space that reflects the immigrant spirit of the
neighborhood. Inclusive design is expanded to include biodiversity and transforming the city into
a haven for nature and other species. In face of increasing commodification of public space, the
garden provides an opportunity to reimagine collective life, while empowering the neighborhood to
cultivate self-sufficiency and a more dynamic sense of place.

THE RENOVATION
OF THE INDUSTRIAL
TERRITORY OF DSK-500 / FINNALIST
On going competition

developing a

concept for the renovation of DSK-500, a factory which produced prefabricated housing for the region’s oil and gas industry.Our purpose is to give a second life to this building and create on its basis an industrial technopark with modern platforms for production, engineering,science and education.

EUROPAN 16 - Living City
San Dona Veniezia / WINNER
Agroecological Condeser

The cities have always been the spiritual reflection of time. In ancient times, the city’s center was configured to carry political, cultural ideologies and foundational democracy which are fundamental aspects defining the society. In modern times, our culture, civilization, and built environment are facing another challenge on a global scale which is climate change and the degradation of nature. Hence, beyond creating solely a space for commercial, communal activities, restoring the urban ecology system in the city’s center is a defining feature that promotes nature-centric urbanization, and harmonious cohabitation between humans, nature, and other species. The relocation of the bus terminal presents an opportunity to reclaim the city’s center as a living and dynamic system that favors and stimulates socio-cultural networks of all kinds. As a philosopher, Clément Rosset said ”anti-nature is nature anti, a way of defining a thing by its natural opposite: the city posited as the opposite of nature. The city, hence, would be anti-artificial; it must then recover and once again find life, nature, animals, greenery, purity, calmness”.

IBA 27 Stuttgart

Quartier West Backnang / Runner up

Entdeckt! Der Murrpark als anpassungsfähiger Lebensraum für Alle

The city as a park! Backnang West is more than a former industrial area on the river. Backnang West is a flood plain formed by the Murr and extends from slope edge to slope edge. A geographical unit with its logic, its processes and its adaptability. It is our suggestion to trust this existing geography and to take it seriously as a holistic park. This means, to think of the city quarter in terms of its landscape, its topography. More than a finished quarter, we are presenting an intervention strategy for a sustainable and changeable living space.

Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture

A conventional museum has been always conceived as an introverted object with an extravagant outer skin covering the chained enclosed spaces in which arts will be showcased and admired. The ribbon museum investigates a fundamental shift in museum typology. It aims to redefine the act of exploring by focusing on the outdoor experiences where the surrounding landscape will be in the center of attention. It will be an extroverted edifice which emphasizes the outdoor experience. Hence, the architectonic of the local landscape will be the main actor in the scene.

Fictitious Ribbon

A fictitious ribbon is a generic attribute of urban form production. This concept is not a norm, but an urban state of exception that forces the generic to conform to the finite form of a location. The concept will manifest a global urbanscape through various site-specific interventions. Take this ribbon and place it above the Hanoian old town quarter, it will take the form of the roof’s topography and mutate into a sky pathway. Put the ribbon below the ground, it will turn softly into an urban ribbon that runs around the lake and alternatively goes up and down according to the existing urban structure. ...

A(gri)puncture

featured in L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui

EUROPAN 15 - Productive cities 2
Pays de Dreux / Special Mention
A(gri)puncture

If the future motorway A154 will be operated as the territorial backbone, the whole network of agricultural interventions will be functioning as the acupuncture practice. By focusing on narrow emergent points in the territory, it involves pinpointed interventions that create a positive ripple effect to transform the whole conglomeration of Pays de Dreux. Using green infrastructure to protect the inhabited zone from harmful effects of the future motorway. a(gri)puncture network in combination with green armature and soft mobility grid will be essential elements to harmonize the conflicts between the interfaces of different urban fabrics. A(gri)puncture is a progressive conversion of underused space into productive place.