American Hardwood Supplement 2018

Southeast Asia Supplement 2018
AMERICAN HARDWOOD
from design on paper to reality. One thirdyear
architectural student from the north
had attended a workshop promoting the
competition in Hanoi. A young woman from
Central Vietnam entered for similar reasons
and another architectural third-year student
from outside HCMC completed this diverse
foursome. All of their designs were totally
different and none had any experience in
red oak. Indeed their advisory supervisors
knew nothing of the material; stating that
they have little chance to see any red oak
in Vietnam due to its absence from the
market – something that the competition
seeks to change.
AHEC members Baillie Lumber Company
and Tioga Hardwoods Inc donated red oak
lumber to which was added a contribution
from importer Tavico – all with a range of
grades and dimensions. The lumber was
supplied rough sawn; with some veneer
also provided by the manufacturing
companies.
A further visit produced two more
very different entries – one from Dong Nai
Province close to HCMC and one from Vung
Tau Province, 130 km away - one prototype
by a furniture designer working in an
established manufacturer and the other by
a young lady graduating in industrial design.
Neither had seen red oak before but both
were interested to discover a species new
to them.
The conclusions of these visits to
review the prototyping process highlighted
several positive issues about this annual
competition. HAWA has truly attracted
entries from all over Vietnam demonstrating
its national reach. The assistance of HAWA’s
manufacturing member companies is
impressive with the time senior staff gave
to the prototyping process. Finally it has
clearly demonstrated the need for AHEC and
NHLA to provide practical training on red oak
if Vietnam is to become a serious market for
that species – one which European exporters
cannot supply with red oak being native
and commercially available almost only in
North America.
The Judging
The panel of judges is chaired by HAWA
Chairman Nguyen Quoc Khanh who has been
the driver of the competition’s momentum
together with his Deputy Chairman, architect
Nguyen Chanh Phuong - both of whom are
personally determined to raise organically the
level of furniture design by young Vietnamese
designers. The first panel of 18 judges
consisted of university dons, industrialists,
designers, wood industry specialists and a
representative of AHEC from Singapore. On
5 th March – just two days before the VIFA
show – the panel of 13 judges met at Ton Duc
Thang University to review the 18 prototypes
submitted and selected two winners and
six ‘Highly Commended’ using five criteria
– Functionality, Marketability, Aesthetic,
Creativity, Innovation and Eco-Friendliness.
Hoa Mai judges discussing the entrants
33