Eco-case study on Vietnam's A Luoi Valley wins 2015 Norden Fund travel-study grant

The Architectural League of New York announced the winner of their 2015 Deborah J. Norden Fund travel and study grant program! Established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah J. Norden, the grant carries out the Fund's mission to support individuals or teams who are pursuing independent travel-study projects. The grant awards up to $5,000 annually to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies.

This year, Ylan Vo -- a Master of Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture student at Washington University in St. Louis -- scooped up the grant for her project, "Ecologies of War and Recovery: A Case Study in Vietnam’s A Luoi Valley."

More details below.

Project summary:

"Vo will investigate and document the A Luoi Valley as an example of the post-conflict landscape of Vietnam, with particular emphasis on understanding the ecological and social conditions surrounding the toxic Agent Orange hotspots that mark the valley.

Vo writes that her project 'seeks to investigate the themes of conflict, ecology, and memory with the aim of connecting the ex-urban landscape of A Luoi Valley to its historic and contemporary contexts.'"

You can find previous Norden Fund-winning projects from the Architectural League here.