Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia has received the2016 Prince Claus Awards from the Embassy of the Netherlands.

The award was presented to honour his contributions to Vietnam’s urbanplanning with focus on sustainable architecture.

In December last year, at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, Nghia was alsogiven the award by His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn, President of thePrince Claus Fund.

Ambassador of the Netherlands Nienke Trooster said at the ceremony on March31 she was very impressed by Nghia’s works.

“He promotes his country’s culture and heritage by combining local materialsand traditional skills with 21st century design. And he has taken an interestin supporting the poor, remote communities by designing durable but inexpensivehousing."

“Nghia is now well-known for his environmentally friendly architecture, andability to balance culture and nature. For me personally, and for our government,it is really important that we strike a balance and respect ‘people, planet andprofit’ in our governance, our architecture and our businesses"

Born in 1976 in central Quang Binh province, Vo Trong Nghia is puttingVietnamese sustainable architecture on the map by combining local materials andtraditional skills with 21st century design.

With a focus on green spaces, his designs range from large urban structuresto durable but inexpensive housing for remote communities. His approach tourban design help shape the future of Vietnam architecture and transforming thecountry’s urban landscape. At the core of his practice, Nghia hopes to use thephysical environment to reconnect humans with nature.

She added that laureates of the Prince Claus Award were more than justindividual artists.

“They use their personality, skills and ground-breaking ideas to inspireothers and make things happen that have an impact on their surroundings.” shesaid.

In 2014, Al Jazeera produced an episode about Nghia and his innovative greenarchitecture for the series titled “Rebel Architecture.” He has receivednumerous international prizes and honours. In 2012, he was selected forArchitect of the year in Vietnam. Besides running his architectural practice,Nghia continues to be involved in architecture at the grass roots level byteaching at the Nagoya Institute of Technology since 2011. 

Since its inception in 1996, the Prince Claus Awards have honouredoutstanding achievements in the fields of culture and development. The awardsare presented annually to visionary and pioneering individuals, groups andorganisations whose cultural actions have a positive impact on the developmentof their societies.

Famous Vietnamese laureates of the Prince Claus Awards include painter TranLuong in 2014 and fine arts photographer Le Quang Dinh in 2010, who is a memberof this year’s Prince Claus Awards Committee.-VNA