On November 28, Pham Thi Hang, from the DTU Faculty of Architecture, won a consolation prize in the 2019 awards program for graduation projects. The ceremony took place at the Quang Ninh Expo Center Exhibition of Planning. This year, 56 graduation projects were submitted by institutions nationwide.
The prize was awarded by the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association for a project entitled “Architectural and Landscape Zoning in the Former War Zone in the Can Loc District of Ha Tinh Province”, a creative, state-of-the-art, eco-friendly zoning project. The program encouraged students interested in zoning, urban technical infrastructure and urban management to propose sustainable development solutions dealing with climate change, ecological urbanization and the development of green cities.
Pham Thi Hang (fourth from right)
Pham Thi Hang’s project was intriguing because it proposed the landscaping of a former war zone based on its natural geography, without disrupting the rich vegetation currently there. Using pictures, images and colors to evoke unforgettable memories, the project will provide visitors with a clearer understanding of the history of the heroic Vietnamese army battling on the road linking the North and South. All the valleys, mountains, rivers and spiritual buildings, including bell towers, memorials, bomb craters and the tombs of ten young women at the Dong Loc junction will all be left untouched.
However, Pham Thi Hang suggests replanting vegetation in several locations, on the La Thi Tam Hill and Tro Voi Mountain and other places, so that tourists can view rice planting and harvesting activities and where visitors from all over can stop and learn about the history of Vietnam, reminisce about the glorious victories of their forefathers and, meanwhile, immerse themselves in the blue sea, cloudscapes and fresh-flowing rivers there.
Pham Thi Hang with MSc. of Architecture Tran Ngoc Phuong, lecturer of Architecture
“I was born and raised in Can Loc in Ha Tinh and understand the customs, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses of the Dong Loc junction relics site very well,” explained Hang. “With the dedicated support of Professor Ngoc Phuong and others from the DTU Faculty of Architecture, I was able to complete the project extremely effectively. This prize I was honored with is minor from a national viewpoint but a huge source of encouragement to Architecture students about to graduate, like myself. It will increase my self-confidence to apply my knowledge to a real-life situation with the most successful results.”
Lecturer MSc. Tran Ngoc Phuong adds, “Conducting an Architecture project is difficult, and a zoning project even more so. The students must research documentation on the area, analyze the current situation and put plans together. DTU doesn’t offer a major in zoning but students normally acquire a general knowledge of it. Then they are exposed to more advanced information through international partnerships with California State University in Fullerton and San Luis Obispo, who share their latest education programs with DTU. As a result, DTU wins many awards at national and international contests and the university graduates large numbers of architects and engineers to meet almost all the needs of companies locally and elsewhere.”
(Media Center)