Tran Thach Thao, a native of northern Vietnam, was recognized with a prestigious award from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) for her plans for a community center that connects elderly people with younger generations.
The project, G2G (for “generation to generation”), draws inspiration from and includes bamboo trees, as reported by Tuoi Tre. The cluster of residencies and facilities aims to foster connection and exchange between elderly and young family members in the same way old bamboo trees loosen and enrich the soil so new sprouts can grow. Thao explains that the community center combines nursing homes with kindergartens which “promotes a sense of continuity and sharing between generations.”
The project is named “Cot Village” in Vietnamese after the rural hometown of her grandparents, whom she credits with making her the person she is today. The work is influenced by her childhood growing up with them, as well as the observation that families are less close in today’s rapidly changing and urbanizing society. She says “children today could not carry on traditions left by their predecessors, simply because there was no chemistry between them. I therefore surmise my project can serve as a medium, helping bond generations together to somehow solve the dilemma.”
After graduating from Hanoi – Amsterdam High School, the now 23-year old moved to America to study interior design at the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. The project has been no easy task. She has had to pull numerous all-nighters to complete it and even enrolled in management classes and soft skill courses to further assist the process. The hard work paid off and Thao said “I really hope my project amounts to something in my homeland.”
Upon graduating this June, Thao will begin full-time work in Los Angeles for Hirsch Bedner Associates, the largest American designer of resorts, restaurants and hotels. She plans to return to Vietnam someday though and contribute to the country with projects similar to G2G.
[Photos via GenK]
