Just like the rest of the countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has experienced a deep transformation over the last three decades, from a rural and agricultural economy to an urban and industrial one. This fast metamorphosis has brought along huge economic growth but also devastating ecological consequences such as the loss of greenery in urban environments and the increase of pollution in cities. In this context, Vo Trong Nghia decided to return to his home country, after studying at the University of Tokyo, to set up his own studio in 2006, with offices today in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, VTN Architects has worked to achieve a new balance between the built and the natural, defending form as the main path towards efficiency, and asserting the importance of local knowledge, the social and ecological value of vegetation, and a modern reinterpretation of accessible and affordable materials like bamboo.

Arquitectura Viva now gathers 28 works and projects by the studio, collected in a hard-bound book of 160 pages in a fully bilingual edition in Spanish-English. Luis Fernández-Galiano’s introduction to the oeuvre is followed by a text of Nirmal Kishnani, while Vo Trong Nghia himself closes the volume with an introspective coda in which he reflects on the practical method and theoretical ideas of the studio. 

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