Canadian Vietnamese-born, Thien Duong, will take the helm of the Vietnam studio, which will be bolstered by unprecedented access to GroupGSA’s more than 200 international urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design experts under the new changes.

GroupGSA currently has studios in Australia, in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thien joins GroupGSA as a highly regarded, licensed Architect and Master Planner with 19 years of experience working in Vietnam. He is also a Chartered Architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects, having lived and worked in the United Kingdom and Canada before returning to Vietnam. He is a longstanding property expert invited to chair numerous property awards in Vietnam.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Green Building Council, a non-profit organisation connected with the World Green Building Council, Thien is committed to championing sustainability and innovation for a better future in his birth country and beyond.

The industry veteran has spent 25 years overseeing developments from luxury resorts and high-end residential developments to schools and mixed-used commercial spaces.

Thien describes Vietnam as a “sleeping tiger” on the cusp of transformation and ripe with opportunity.

“If you look at its cities, Vietnam is about 10 per cent developed compared to other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia or even Thailand,” he said. “Vietnam has a growing middle class with a young, educated and very hard-working population. Of the 100 million people in Vietnam, more than 74 per cent are of working age.”

“It's a very exciting outlook and one that excites me. Within our lifetime, with the enormous scale of developments required, I believe Vietnam is one of the places that need culturally thoughtful architecture and innovative sustainable designs," he said.

Since its arrival in Vietnam eight years ago, GroupGSA has amassed an impressive portfolio of large-scale, market-leading hotels and condominiums, as well as premium residential, hospitality and education design projects. It now employs more than 50 staff at its Vietnam studio.

Sam Tran has also re-joined GroupGSA as an associate director at the Vietnam studio. Tran trained as an architect at the firm’s Sydney studio from 2016-2018.

GroupGSA will also welcome back Martin Nguyen to lead the Landscape Architecture team, who has previously worked for GroupGSA in both Australia and Vietnam.