FOUNDER NGUYEN THU PHONG: CHIEF OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL YOUNG ARCHITECTS FESTIVAL

As the leader of the National Young Architects Club for 16 years (2006-2022), the founder of Nhavui XS Studio, Ma.Arch Nguyen Thu Phong, has been attached to the young architects’ movement from the early days. As “the big brother" of the movement, Arch. Thu Phong has successfully organized 8 National Young Architects Festivals with the constantly increasing number of architects and professtional organizations: 1st Sa Pa (2006) - 200 architects, 2nd Da Nang (2007) - 350 architects, 3rd DakLak (2009) - 550 architects, 4th Can Tho (2011) - 620 architects, 5th Quang Tri (2013) ) - 500 architects, 6th Thanh Hoa (2015) nearly 800 architects, 7th Thai Nguyen (2017) - 1,050 architects, 8th Ba Ria-Vung Tau - 1,450 architects. Up to now, the Vietnam Young Architects Club is operating in 8 regions and urban areas across the country, becoming one of the important events for Vietnamese architects, especially young architects, and is increasingly recognized of society and state management levels.

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Arch.Thu Phong no longer held the leadership role this year. He has stepped back for the junior architects. However, for the 9th National Young Architects Festival taken place successfully from the 13-15 October, 2023 in Yen Bai, Arch. Thu Phong still assumed the position of Head of the Organizing Committee to guide junior architects again.

The 9th National Young Architects Festival - Yen Bai 2023, directed by the Vietnam Association of Architects, People's Committee of Yen Bai province, and People's Committee of Nghia Lo town, Association of Architects of Yen Bai province and jointly organized by Vietnam Young Architects Club, with the participation of over 800 architects from across the country. The Organizing Committee was forced to limit the number of participating architects this year because of Yen Bai province’s limited facilities of the mountainous province.

The festival includes a series of events: Incense offering ceremony at the Memorial of President Ho Chi Minh in Nghia Lo town; Exhibition of architecture and construction materials; Photo exhibition "Land and People of Yen Bai"; Seminar "Architectural Creativity - Spread and Integration"; the visit of ethnic minorities’s customs and practices in Nghia Lo town, tea culture at the Giang Spring, Mu Cang Chai terraced fields; Tram Tau hot mineral spring, the competition of fresco painting… One of the meaningful activity of the event is to give gifts to highland people of Mu Cang Chai to overcome natural disasters...

Currently, as Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Architects, Arch.Thu Phong not only contributes a lot of enthusiasm and efforts to the young architects movement in particular, but also always pays attention to and supports the architectural activities in general across the country.