About the lab
Urban | ərbən | noun formal
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a town or city, and its users.
Lab | lab | noun informal
A place for experimenting, observing, and knowledge discovery and replication.
Hanoi Urban Observation Lab, also known as Hanoi Urban Lab is the brainchild of Michael McLaughlin, a trained city planner, researcher, mentor and filmmaker.
The lab is driven by questions such as: What makes a city ‘good’ and what does ‘good’ even mean? How to create a place people love to come to? Is quality measurable in a public space–and what is its connection to happiness?
In research practice we are dedicated to the rigor of urban design principles developed by William Whyte, Jan Gehl and their successors.
As a teaching cohort, we explore many ideas and practices within city planning and the built and natural environments.
our history
Founded
In 2018, Michael approached colleague Hoa Ta, a professor of Architecture and City Planning. She had just co-published a book on participatory urban planning and completed a 5 year public space design initiative. They had both served as part of a public space design competition reviewers in 2011, and Michael discussed wanting to teach some of the Streets Life Project ideas in Hanoi, including to high School students. This discussion led to the beginning of Hanoi Urban Lab.
Joint Research Project
In 2019 students the Principal Investigators along with students from The National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) and Hanoi Amsterdam High School assisted in vetting several public spaces along with the Hanoi City Planning Department. The department suggested our lab report on two to three sites over a two year study and then to make recommendations based on our findings. Read more about the first project here.
Hiatus
The volatility and concerns over the COVID pandemd led to a pause in all lab activities and research
Relaunch
After taking most of 2020 off, the lab resumed operations again in 2021 thanks to sponsorship from the Point Avenue Academy.
our history
2018
Founded
In 2018, Michael approached colleague Hoa Ta, a professor of Architecture and City Planning. She had just co-published a book on participatory urban planning and completed a 5 year public space design initiative. They had both served as part of a public space design competition reviewers in 2011, and Michael discussed wanting to teach some of the Streets Life Project ideas in Hanoi, including to high School students. This discussion led to the beginning of Hanoi Urban Lab.
2019
Joint Research Project
In 2019 students the Principal Investigators along with students from The National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) and Hanoi Amsterdam High School assisted in vetting several public spaces along with the Hanoi City Planning Department. The department suggested our lab report on two to three sites over a two year study and then to make recommendations based on our findings. Read more about the first project here.
2020
Hiatus
The volatility and concerns over the COVID pandemd led to a pause in all lab activities and research
2021
Relaunch
After taking most of 2020 off, the lab resumed operations again in 2021 thanks to sponsorship from the Point Avenue Academy.
Every street tells a different story. Watching a vibrant setting or witnessing a street scene play out is naturally fun. My philosophy is to do fun things and bring my students along with me.
director // principal investigator
michael McLaughlin
meet the team
Principal Investigators
Michael McLaughlin, MCP
Dr. Hoa Ta
Operations
Trang Nguyen
Research Assistants
Hoai Anh Le
Dat Nguyen
Hai Nguyen
AI Project Manager
Lam Dinh
Video Editors
Bach Dinh
Ha Truong
Lamar Nguyen
Webmaster
Anthony Ngo
Urban Designers
Quynh Do
Observers
Giang Nguyen
Jade Vu
Trang Do
Phuong Anh Nguyen
Takeshi Nguyen
Mai Nguyen
Gia Minh Nguyen
meet the team
Principal Investigators
Michael McLaughlin, MCP
Dr. Hoa Ta
Operations
Trang Nguyen
Research Assistants
Hoai Anh Le
Dat Nguyen
Hai Nguyen
AI Project Manager
Lam Dinh
Video Editors
Bach Dinh
Ha Truong
Lamar Nguyen
Webmaster
Anthony Ngo
Urban Designers
Quynh Do
Observers
Giang Nguyen
Jade Vu
Trang Do
Phuong Anh Nguyen
Takeshi Nguyen
Mai Nguyen
Gia Minh Nguyen