On March 8th, architect Nguyễn Hà was announced the winner of the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture 2024, awarded to the most promising architect under 45 worldwide. The award ceremony took place at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal, Canada. Nguyễn Hà and her team at Arb Architects Vietnam triumphed over finalists from France, Lebanon, and Brazil.
Known for her poetic spatial sensibility and deep cultural engagement, Nguyễn Hà’s work bridges architecture and spiritual experience.
Her notable projects include the Mother Goddess Museum—a contemporary interpretation of Vietnam’s ancient spiritual practice Đạo Mẫu—as well as Concon Hotel, intimate urban dwellings in Hanoi’s smallest alley, and the Contemporary Heritage of Mang Thít, which revives abandoned brick kilns into cultural tourism destinations.
In 2022, her solo exhibition “The Curious Drifter: Unbuilt Projects” at Manzi Art Space showcased nearly 20 years of visionary yet unbuilt designs—highlighting a career shaped by bold, often rejected, architectural proposals.
Reflecting on her journey, Hà shared: