Diverse Initiatives in Construction Awards

Media release

Diverse Initiatives in Sustainable Construction Awards

24 June 2009– Winning projects in the Global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction illustrate the broad scope of innovative ideas that improve lives, reduce environmental footprints and lead the way to a more sustainable planet.

The four winning entries, announced last month, are a river remediation and urban development scheme in Morocco, a greenfield university campus in Vietnam, a rural planning strategy in China, and a shelter for day labourers in the USA.

The Holcim Awards competitions are run by the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation, offer USD 2 million in prize money per three-year cycle, and are sponsored by Holcim Ltd – one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates – and its Group companies in more than 70 countries, including Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd.

Almost 5,000 sustainable construction projects from 121 countries entered the five regional Holcim Awards competitions in 2008. Twelve New Zealand entries met the judging criteria. Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in each region automatically qualified for the Global Holcim Awards competition in 2009. The competitions are designed to promote sustainable responses to the technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues affecting building and construction on a local, regional and global level.

A project centred on restoring the heavily-polluted river through the UNESCO World Heritage listed Medina of Fez to revitalise the ancient heart of the city was awarded the top prize of USD 300,000 and the Global Holcim Awards Gold. Remediation of the river will trigger rehabilitation of the old city’s architecture, revitalisation of public spaces and traditional tanneries, and creation of new pedestrian zones.

The Global Holcim Awards Silver with USD 200,000 in prize money was awarded to a new campus for the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, designed by architect Kazuhiro Kojima (Japan). The project avoids massive land reclamation on an island in the Mekong Delta and aims for harmony with all elements of the surrounding ecosystem: flooding rice fields, mangroves, winds and seasonal changes.

Electricity consumption is cleverly reduced through the inclusion of solar lighting and extensive use of photo-voltaic cells to meet energy requirements. Natural ventilation and solar shading mean that most locations on campus will need no air conditioning, and rainwater is harvested for grey water use and cooling through vaporisation. A time-honoured local construction method – brick-filled concrete frames finished with a façade of porous bamboo or mangrove timber – is used to enhance ventilation.

A rural planning design for a suburban village in Beijing, China received the Global Holcim Awards Bronze and USD 100,000 for effectively combining heritage preservation, traditional knowledge, local materials, modern technology, and professional project management. The project applies a detailed approach to challenges of pollution, urban sprawl, loss of agricultural land, food security and limited resources. The planning has a high potential to become a role model for the sustainable development of rural communities and urban districts in emerging economics.

The Global Holcim Awards “Innovation” prize including USD 50,000 went to a project that establishes informal stations where day labourers can meet and wait for casual work. The flexible structures offer shelter, benches, washrooms, a kitchen and an education/training space – creating a sensitive environment for people who find themselves on the edge of the community and at the same time addressing health and safety needs. Use of green and recycled materials minimise the environmental footprint and economic cost of each facility.

Five Target Issues
To compare the diverse submissions in the Holcim Awards competitions, the juries use five “target issues” for sustainable construction which address the triple bottom line of environmental performance, social responsibility and economic efficiency and also cover architectural quality and the suitability for broad-scale application of the project’s features.

Chair of Planning and Management in Construction at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Hans-Rudolf Schalcher , as member of the global jury explained that transferability of ideas was a common factor in each of the winning projects. “All four winners illustrate in a perfect way what sustainable construction means – many good ideas to be transferred within a professional area of expertise, and an impact on furthering sustainable construction”, he said.

Next initiatives to promote sustainable construction
Along with the Holcim Awards, the Holcim Foundation furthers a range of sustainability initiatives such as the Holcim Forum – an array of symposiums on sustainable construction for experts and professionals from all over the world. The next Forum will be held in Mexico City, 15 to 17 April 2010 on the theme of Re-inventing Construction.

The next Holcim Awards competition cycle will open for entries on 1 July 2010.

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