Global Phase of Holcim Awards Shines Light on Solutions

Sustainable construction projects from around the world are set to compete in the global phase of the Holcim Awards in 2012. The projects that received Holcim Awards Gold, Silver or Bronze in each of the five regions of the world are automatically qualified for the Global Holcim Awards 2012. The 15 Global Holcim Awards finalists include projects from Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Thailand, and the United States, and involve additional project teams from Austria, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. An overview of projects is available at www.holcimawards.org/globalfinalists.

In addition, all prize-winning projects at the regional level (including 38 Acknowledgement and Next Generation winners) will automatically compete for up to three Global Holcim Innovation prizes – which focus upon contributions to innovative building materials and construction technologies in the context of sustainable construction.

Each of the finalist teams is invited to prepare a more extensive submission that will be evaluated by the Global Holcim Awards jury headed by Enrique Norten, Principal and Founder of TEN Arquitectos (Mexico/USA), and the Holcim Innovation prize jury headed by Harry Gugger, Professor of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

Winners of the global prizes will share in $500,000 in prize money. Results will be announced in April 2012. In the regional phase of the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition, a total of 53 leading-edge projects from 29 countries shared $1.5 million in prize money in 2011.

Following an evaluation process by independent juries in five regions of the world, the winning projects and their design teams were celebrated by receiving Awards, Acknowledgement and Next Generation prizes at ceremonies in Milan, Washington, Buenos Aires, Casablanca and Singapore.

Holcim Awards for Asia Pacific

The Holcim Awards Gold 2011 for Asia Pacific was awarded to a project that upgrades a traditional building method with effective low-tech measures through engineering and design. The Earthen School Tipu Sultan Merkez, in a small village near Lahore, Pakistan, was designed by architect Eike Roswag of Ziegert Roswag Seiler Architekten Ingenieure, Germany. It was constructed using a cob (clay, sand, water and straw) lower floor, combined with an upper floor made of earth-filled bamboo walls. Intense research on cob construction resulted in a significant increase in strength and durability, and extended maintenance intervals compared to former approaches.

Holcim Awards Silver went to the conversion of a former textile factory and adjacent land into an agricultural production site and retail outlet in central Bangkok. The Urban Farm Urban Barn, designed by a project team led by Isavaret Tamonut of TTH Trading, reintroduces elements of self-sufficiency, while reconnecting food production and consumption.

Holcim Awards Bronze was awarded to a team led by architect Ken Yeang of T R Hamzah & Yeang International for a 14-level commercial and retail building located in Malaysia’s federal administrative city of Putrajaya. The building brings together state-of-the-art technologies appropriate for high-quality use in two interconnected towers. The towers use vegetation to actively reduce energy consumption, provide solar shading, and create comfortable spaces considering all requirements of utilization.

Six Acknowledgement prizes were shared between three projects in Indonesia, two in India and one in Japan. The “Next Generation” (student category) prizes were awarded to project visions for urban transit cycling in Beijing, urban planning and revitalization of Navi Mumbai, and a decentralized sanitation system near New Delhi.

The Holcim Awards ceremony for Asia Pacific in Singapore concluded the series of five events and followed the presentation of winners in Casablanca, Milan, Buenos Aires and Washington, D.C. Winners of Holcim Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze in each region qualify for the Global Holcim Awards 2012. In addition, all prize-winning projects at the regional level, including the Acknowledgement and Next Generation winners, will compete for Global Holcim Innovation prizes. Winners of the global prizes will be announced in April 2012.

First Winners of Holcim Awards Announced

The Holcim Awards Gold 2011 for Africa Middle East award and $100,000 were awarded to Diébédo Francis Kéré, of Kéré Architecture in Berlin, for a school project in Burkina Faso that uses only solar and wind power to cool the classrooms. By routing air through underground tubes, planting vegetation, and using double-skin roofs and facades, a significant thermal reduction is achieved.

Holcim Awards Silver went to a school refurbishment project in Palestine that improves natural ventilation and thermal insulation to create a comfortable climate and energy savings. Holcim Awards Bronze was presented to a sustainable construction training center in Morocco, which concentrates on the use of local resources.

Four Acknowledgement prizes were shared for projects in Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The “Next Generation” (student category) prize-winning projects are located in Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.

The Holcim Awards ceremony in Casablanca was the first of five events. Others will follow in Milan, Buenos Aires, Washington, D.C., and Singapore.