It is with great sadness that the Vietnamese American Nongovernmental Organization Network (VANGO) mourns the loss of our friend, Thang Do, FAIA, who passed away on May 8, 2022. Mr. Do distinguished credits include serving as the CEO/Principal of Aedis Architects, College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, Chair of the City of San Jose Planning Commission, member of the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), board member of the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (PIVOT), community leader, and devoted family man. Two of his milestone projects include the redevelopment of the SoFa (South of First area) District into an arts, cultural, and entertainment district of Downtown San Jose, California, and the Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC) in Santa Clara County, California, a preeminent 37,000 sq ft facility that provides a one-stop hub for health and human services.
Mr. Do was a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in the United States in 1975. He studied architecture at California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, and Florence, Italy, and worked in the field since 1986. He was a talented linguist and translator, speaking English, Vietnamese, Italian, French, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese with varying degrees of fluency.
In his own words, Mr. Do once stated “Outside of work, I straddle between spending time with my wife and four young kids and my community activism. I believe that we are living in a time when you cannot afford to remain disengaged. There are so many issues that could go wrong with our country and society, unless we get involved to improve them. We all need to work toward leaving for future generations a world that if not better, should not be worse than what we inherited.”
VANGO was honored to know and collaborate with Mr. Do through VANGO’s Our1World project, through our mutual commitment to serving the Vietnamese American community and environmental justice and global stewardship. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his loving wife Grace Liu, four children, and other surviving family members.
