BSBG attends UCN Awards ceremony in Vietnam

Words by BSBG Media Team, Monday 24 July 2017

As the shift towards sustainability and green practices in architecture proliferates across Vietnam and Asia, the University of Northern Denmark (UCN) has hosted its first edition of the UCN Green Environment Competition, with the awards ceremony attended by BSBG as one of the two main sponsors of the competition, along with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT).

In attendance representing BSBG were Alan McIntyre (Senior Architectural Technologist, MCIAT) and Andrew Meehan (Vietnam Office Manager, Lead Architect), alongside René Martin Larsen, Asia Director of UCN, and Mr Truong Thanh Hai, Director of the International Training Department at the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City (UAH). The university is UCN’s partner in Vietnam, and will host UCN’s flagship course: the Bachelor of Architectural Technology and Construction Management (ATCM) as it launches for the first time this Autumn.

Environmental awareness

The contest was targeted at high school students to raise awareness among the next generation on the need to look after our environment. Students were to design an environmental awareness poster, with subjects such as sustainability in architecture, clean energy, tackling pollution, climate change and energy saving all featuring among the entries. 12 students were shortlisted for the final, with the first prize winner being awarded with a cheque on behalf of CIAT, who were unable to attend, by Alan McIntyre, himself a Chartered International Architectural Technologist, while BSBG’s Vietnam manager Andrew Meehan presented a cheque each to the second and third placed students on behalf of the practice. Mr Hai, from the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, said: “We thought students would just draw innocent posters, but it turns out we were surprised when we received their posters. They were professional and students invested a lot of time and made great effort on their entries for the UCN Green Environment Competition.”

UCN Green Environment Competition promotes architectural sensibilities

Alan and Andrew were in concurrence with Mr Hai, and were also pleasantly surprised by the students’ creativity and understanding of architectural sustainability concerns and environmental issues. Andrew said: “We know already that there is an aptitude for creativity and drawing in Vietnam, but the level and depth of understanding of environmental issues and awareness of a need for sustainable architecture that was displayed in all of the posters was a real surprise to me.” For his part, Alan said he was impressed by the detail of the posters. “The way in which students were able to communicate their ideas through the medium of drawing was very impressive, but what really caught my eye was the precise attention to detail; something that is imperative for an architectural technologist."

The final word rests with UCN Asia Director, René Martin Larsen, who said: “It was an amazing day, and we have received some great feedback from the 68 students who participated in the UCN Green Environment Competition. I would like to personally extend thanks to our sponsors BSBG and CIAT for their contributions and commitment, and I hope our collaboration will stay just as strong going forward.” The winners will now all have the opportunity to join the ATCM programme organised by UCN, and hosted at AUH, with the cheques presented by CIAT and BSBG to make a contribution towards a scholarship. To learn more about the ATCM programme in Vietnam, click here.

BSBG Media Team

Related Articles

BSBG announces Executive Architect role on Solaya

BSBG announces Lead Consultant role on Wedyan

Construction Update | EYWA Dubai