Memories of Cells and Experimenting Toward Serenity
ARB Architects (Nguyễn Hà)
Nguyễn Hà is the co-founder of arb architects Vietnam, based in Hanoi. She set up a practice office in Vietnam with two Swiss architects Kurt Aellen and Laurent Cantalou right after she returned from Switzerland, where she completed the MAS programme at the Department of Architecture at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Creating the sense of serenity that architecture can provide to everyday life in every setting is the focus of Nguyễn Hà's work. At the same time, she always wishes to search and experiment with new materials and different way of using materials (upcycling and rearrangement) in architecture, which is why she also works as an artisan to find new forms of expression in materials. Hà collaborates with craftsmen and multidisciplinary artists to develop projects that explore traditional materials and produces a number of contemporary installations of ceramics, lighting, and traditional toys. Hà won the 2024 Moira Gemmill Award.
The Berlage Keynotes, organized as part of the Faculty of Architecture’s Public Program, is an ongoing lecture series featuring internationally prominent architects, designers, and thinkers who are at the forefront of design discourse and innovation. A selection of speakers working from different disciplinary perspectives and in different geographic, cultural, and political contexts speak on how their work engages with contemporary issues and debates. For the fall 2024 semester, speakers will include amid.cero9, ARB Architects, Barclay & Crousse, Robert Hutchison Architecture, Sam Chermayeff Office, Space Encounters, and SUMMACUMFEMMER.