Kim Bong Wood Workshop, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Type: University Project / Mixed-use
Year: 2019
The Challenge: The project responds to the decline of Vietnam’s traditional wood carpentry and carving practices. Once deeply rooted in local culture, the craft has been weakened by changing trade, rapid development and the loss of forests during the Vietnam War.
The Concept: Create an educational workshop that reconnects the local community and schools with Vietnam’s timber craft heritage. Workshops provide space to learn traditional carpentry and carving techniques, while an archive exhibits historic tools, objects and methods.
The Result: The scheme combines education, making and exhibition to keep traditional skills alive. Sustainable timber is used throughout, linking the building’s material palette to a wider ambition to support responsible forestry and contribute to the regeneration of Vietnam’s forests.
