enCity is pleased to announce that CEO Dzung Do Nguyen has been named a 2026 recipient of the Legendary Design Excellence Award by the College of Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), USA. This is the College’s highest lifetime distinction, celebrating individuals whose careers demonstrate enduring excellence, leadership, and lasting impact on design and the built environment.
A leading public research university, Georgia Tech is internationally recognized for its strengths in engineering, technology, and design, and for cutting-edge research across transportation, industrial systems, and defense-related fields. The 2026 cohort marks only the second year that the College of Design has presented its Design Excellence Awards to alumni and faculty who have made significant contributions around the world, making this recognition especially meaningful.
A leader shaped by world-class scholarship
Dzung earned his Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech in 2012 under a Fulbright Scholarship funded by the U.S. Congress. Under the supervision of Professor Perry Pei-Ju Yang, a world-renowned expert in urban science and a fellow Fulbright alumnus, his thesis examined hydrology, flooding, and rapid urbanization in Ho Chi Minh City, using GIS and computer-based modeling. Professor Yang later nominated Dzung for the Legendary Design Excellence Award, recognizing his long-term contributions to sustainable and resilient urban development.
During his graduate studies, Dzung also received key guidance from Dr. Ho Long Phi, a leading expert in hydrological and urban flooding modeling who later joined enCity Urban Solutions. Together with Dzung and Ms. Trang Vuong—also a Fulbright alumna—they founded Enfarm Agritech to apply advanced modeling and technology to agriculture.
Standing alongside global design figures
Together with Dzung, the 2025 and 2026 Design Excellence Awards have also recognized a number of Georgia Tech–affiliated designers and thinkers whose work is known worldwide, including
- Douglas C. Allen – Influential figure in urban design and landscape architecture, and Dzung’s professor at Georgia Tech, who shaped generations of planners and designers.
- Michael Arad – Architect of the National September 11 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York City, one of the world’s most significant contemporary memorials.
- Charles “Chuck” Eastman – Often referred to as the “father of BIM (Building Information Modeling)”, whose pioneering work in digital building models transformed how buildings are designed and coordinated.
- John C. Portman Jr. – One of the most influential architects of the 20th century, known for iconic atrium hotels and mixed-use complexes that redefined city skylines.
- Mack Scogin – Internationally renowned architect and former Head of the Architecture Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD).
Being recognized in the same awards program as these global figures underlines the caliber of leadership and expertise that Dzung brings to enCity and to the wider urban development community.
enCity’s ongoing journey
With a leadership team rooted in world-class scholarship and practice, enCity focuses on research-based, systems-oriented urban planning and soul-inspiring design from its studios across Southeast Asia. Dzung’s recognition with the Legendary Design Excellence Award marks an important milestone in this journey and reinforces the firm’s commitment to helping communities and cities become more livable, resilient, and future-ready.
Read the announcement on Georgia Tech website here.
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