Event Description

Hẻm is a southern Vietnamese term meaning alleyway with now 85% of Ho Chi Minh City's 10 million residents living in one. This presentation is intended to demonstrate the viability of the hẻm in what was once called Saigon and is now Ho Chi Minh City. (HCMC) Since their establishment 170 years ago under a French colonial government the hem not only have retained their traditional village structures, and have also organically evolved to form a dense network of around 4,000 alleys. The hẻm communities continue today, despite pressures of rapid urbanization,  to make a significant contribution to the city’s cultural identity, character, and urban fabric.  The presentation will explore the hem's spatial typology, one influenced by culture, tradition, land ownership and social dynamics. It will also demonstrate how those structures have contributed to the creation of enduring urban forms that express community resilience and sustainable living practices. The presentation will also show how this organic urbanism can provide design principles that can inform contemporary urban planning policy decisions in western countries including the United States.

CES: Estimated 1 LU/HSW for AIA Members

Speaker

Edward R Haysom, LFRAIA, AIA, Hon FNZIA, General Director, Haysom Architects

Moderators:

Simon Wells, Intl Assoc. AIA, Secretary, AIA Oceania; Principal, Simon Wells and Associates

Khiem Nguyen, MPP, BArch, Intl. Assoc. AIA, Vice President, AIA Southeast Asia

Speaker Bios

Ed Haysom LFRAIA, AIA, Hon FNZIA has had an international architectural career designing a range of buildings but has specialised in resorts and hospitality projects.

From 2013 - 2019 he worked and lived in Vietnam and is Design Director of Transform Architecture.

In his professional life Ed has served as both Queensland Chapter President and National President of the Australian Institute of Architects. He was Deputy Chair of the Major Brisbane Festival Board from 2003 until 2014, as well as a Board member of the Brisbane Development Association, the Queensland Government Urban Places Board and the Design Advisory Board of the Brisbane City Council In 2014 he was appointed City Architect for the City of the Gold Coast.

He has been a member of the Australian delegation to the APEC negotiations on international trade in architectural services. In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to architecture.

In Vietnam Ed has advised the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee on development of their City Hall as well as a new city in Can Gio. In 2019 he lead a team in designing a new technology university in the Nha Be district. He has also been on the jury of the Vietnam Property Awards for several years and in 2017 was the subject of a 17 minute documentary on the Vietnamese Television arts channel.

Ed now spends time between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane Australia. In Brisbane he writes a regular column on Urban Design for a local paper.

Simon Wells has been self-employed since 1981 specialising in refurbishing hotels, luxury retail, warehousing and small multi-unit residential developments in Australia and New Zealand.  

A graduate of the University of New South Wales, Simon is a Registered Architect in New South Wales and is an International Associate of the American Institute of Architects and a Member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 

In 2019, he became more involved with the American Institute of Architects International as the Australian Country Representative and in 2025 he helped form AIA Oceania and become the inaugural Secretary. 

Outside of work, he has been involved in community work in Rugby as a player, referee, coach and administrator, in Cricket as a player and coach, and in his alumni as an administrator, as well as looking after homeless people. 

Family life, he is busy with 4 children and 14 grandchildren.

Khiem Nguyen, International Associate of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), is an architect and educator with nearly 20 years of experience in architectural design. As the Founder & CEO of LaPerle, he oversees overall operations and remains actively involved in every stage of the design process, from concept development to construction documentation, leading hundreds of successful projects. Since his appointment as AIA International’s Country Representative for Vietnam in 2021, Khiem has organized and curated AIA International Conferences and Symposiums across Vietnam and Southeast Asia. He has also represented Vietnam at prestigious international architecture and business events, including Made EXPO Milan, Italy, and the Partnering in Business with Germany program.  

Currently, as a visiting lecturer, Khiem teaches and conducts workshop research at University of Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City (UAH) and Hoa Sen University in Vietnam. He has also been invited as a speaker at public events, including TEDxTalk Dakao and Italian Design Day master classes, where he shares his expertise and passion for architecture and heritage with the next generation of architects.