Excellence In Sustainability

2024 Author: David Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 02:26

Last week in Zurich, the results of a three-year competition were summed up - the LafargeHolcim Awards, dedicated to finding new, non-standard, effective solutions in the field of sustainable architecture. The selection of projects took place in two stages - a regional one, the results of which we talked about in detail earlier, and a global one, where the best decisions, noted in the course of regional selections, fought for the victory. The award has an impressive prize pool of $ 2,000,000 and attracts a huge number of applications: this year - more than 5,000 participants. There are six “global” winners this season - three of them traditionally receive gold, silver and bronze awards, and three of the winners of student awards and honorable mentions were awarded for the best idea.

The gold went to a water storage and purification project in one of the poorest districts of Mexico City. This reservoir has not only a utilitarian function, but also serves as a full-fledged public space, a meeting place and communication for the townspeople, a starting point for the development of the region. According to the jury's comments, it was the social orientation and attention to pressing problems of modern cities that allowed this project to become an absolute winner.

The winner of the "silver" is the project of a religious and social complex in Niger, which uses local handicraft traditions to create a modern mosque and educational center.

Finally, the Bronze Award went to Detroit's Energy Autonomous Neighborhood project that uses every vacant lot of land to generate energy and grow food. Again, the idea is not just “sustainable,” it raises the topic of civic engagement.

In terms of Best Idea Awards, they were given to a Shea Butter Storage Facility in Ghana, a Tidal Currents Project for Power Generation in Argentina, and a prototype cooling roof.

Learn more about the award and learn more about all the winning projects here. The start of accepting applications for participation in the next season is scheduled for mid-2019.