LafargeHolcim Awards is an international competition for ideas and projects in the field of sustainable construction, which was established in 2005. You can submit to the competition both an architectural project and your own developments in building materials and technologies. The first stage is an internal competition in five regions: Europe (including Russia), North America, Latin America, Mid-East Africa, Pacific Asia. In each region 11 prizes are awarded, four of them are in the nomination "Young Generation", the prize fund of the region is $ 330,000. The three main winners of the regional competition ("gold" - $ 100,000, "silver" - $ 75,000, "bronze "- $ 50,000) automatically become contenders for the podium in the global competition. In which they compete for the first place with a prize of $ 150,000, the second - $ 100,000, the third - $ 50,000. Note that those architects who win both regional and global competitions receive up to $ 250,000, which is two and a half times more than the sum of the prestigious Pritzker Prize. Currently, the regional stage of the competition is underway, the application can be submitted until February 25, 2020. The global stage will take place in 2021.
The term "sustainable development", or sustainability, appeared in 1987 in a report by the UN Commission on the Environment. Its essence is known to all. It is necessary to satisfy the needs of the present generation so as not to infringe on the needs of future generations. At the moment, mankind has the prospect of depleting the planet's resources: if the exploitative style of communication with nature is not changed, resources will run out by 2050, and water - earlier. Sustainable development must respond to civilization challenges: lack of fresh water, fossil fuels, global warming and hunger. According to various estimates, buildings are responsible for half of CO2 emissions, and if we take into account construction and demolition - for 80% of CO2, therefore the role of sustainable architecture in this mission is extremely high. Therefore, projects and buildings submitted to the competition often contain, in addition to architecture itself, engineering or sociological inventions.
Five criteria by which works are evaluated:
- Progress. Innovation and practical potential.
- People. Ethical standards and social inclusion.
- Planet. Resource consumption and environmental performance
- Prosperity. Economic efficiency and feasibility
- A place. Contextual and aesthetic characteristics
Interestingly, these criteria are broader than, say, the standards of well-known environmental certificates such as LEED or BREEAM. They emphasize the third point - the management of resources and the environment, since CO2 emissions can be calculated, which is what the evaluators do. Only the German DGNB certificate includes ethical and cultural criteria, in other words, whether the residents of the city feel better about the appearance of the building. Thus, the LafargeHolcim Awards architecture competition for sustainable development accumulates quality criteria from different fields.
This year, for the first time, a paragraph on CO2 emissions appeared in the application. It should provide a short (up to 800 characters) justification of the project's environmental friendliness in the context of the entire life cycle (production of materials, logistics, construction management, expected life of the building, recycling). Exact numbers are not required. The Paris Climate Agreement, adopted by the UN in 2015 to combat global warming, involves reducing CO2 emissions. The LafargeHolcim Awards honors projects that contribute to this goal.
We are studying several projects of the winners of the 2017 and 2018 competitions - that is, recognized as the best, according to the jury, from an environmental point of view.
Gold LafargeHolcim Awards 2018World stage
"Hydropuncture" in Mexico City
Loreta Castro Reguera, Manuel Perló Cohen
The main prize in both the world and regional Latin American competition was given to the Mexican project "Hydropuncture", the name of which paraphrases the word "acupuncture", since the project is intended to "cure" a part of the city. This is a Quebradora hydraulic park of 4 hectares in one of the districts of Mexico City, where about 28,000 people live. Water scarcity in highland Mexico City has been a huge problem since the conquest by Cortez destroyed the lake system that irrigated the Aztec city. The shortage of water is so acute that the police have to guard the cisterns with its supplies. Designed by professors of the National Autonomous University of Mexico City Manuel Perlo and Loreta Castro, the rainwater collection and filtration complex (in particular, surface runoff water from rainstorms) responds to this civilization challenge. The hydraulic complex is solar-powered.
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zooming 1/5 Hydropuncture, a hydraulic park in Mexico City. Loreta Castro, Manuel Perlo. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 2/5 Hydropuncture, a hydraulic park in Mexico City. Loreta Castro, Manuel Perlo. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 3/5 Loreta Castro, Manuel Perlo. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 4/5 Hydropuncture, a hydraulic park in Mexico City. Loreta Castro, Manuel Perlo. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 5/5 Hydropuncture, a hydraulic park in Mexico City. Loreta Castro, Manuel Perlo. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
The purified water can be used for technical needs and for flushing in public toilets (where it is usually not available, as the authors note). The ethical, environmental and technical significance of the project is complemented by the socio-cultural, educational. The complex is combined by the authors with a public park, and this is done, according to the chairman of the jury, Alejandro Aravena, elegantly: water reservoirs are interspersed with sports grounds, a library, cafes and trees, the number of which, thanks to the presence of water, triples. The complex is located at the intersection of the most important streets of Mexico City, which the authors plan to improve, and the presence of public space reduces the criminalization of the area. As a result of winning the competition, the authors received new orders and secured funding for their project from the authorities.
Silver LafargeHolcim Awards 2018World stage
Religious and secular complex in Dandaji in Niger
Mariam Kamara, Nigeria and Yasaman Esmaily, Iran
The architects proposed building a new mosque and restoring an old mosque as a library in a Nigerian village with a population of 3,000, and integrating all this into the fabric of the village gently, consulting with elders, women and children, observing local building traditions, using local materials. Local artisans were invited to participate. Massive earthen brick walls with holes, as in traditional African architecture, slowly heat up and provide natural ventilation, which reduces energy consumption. The concrete is used only in the frame. The underground reservoirs store water during the rainy season. Alejandro Aravena appreciated the layering and deep immersion in context in the project.
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zooming 1/4 Religious and secular complex in Dandaji, Niger. Mariam Kamara, Yasaman Esmaily. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 2/4 Religious and secular complex in Dandaji, Niger. Mariam Kamara, Yasaman Esmaily. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 3/4 Religious and secular complex in Dandaji, Niger. Mariam Kamara, Yasaman Esmaily. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 4/4 Religious and secular complex in Dandaji, Niger. Mariam Kamara, Yasaman Esmaily. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
Bronze LafargeHolcim Awards 2018World stage
The Seebaldt Pilot is a hybrid eco-infrastructure named after Seebaldt Street in the Detroit area
Constance Bodurou, designer, attracted local residents to the design. The project also received gold in the regional, North American, stage of the competition. Many of the area's 27,000 residents work in education and medicine, but as Detroit is a depressed, declining city, there are resource constraints. Solar panels, water collection devices, geothermal installations, and public gardens are being installed on empty areas of the district. The district is becoming self-sufficient in terms of energy supply, and all these devices requiring maintenance provide new jobs and develop new competencies. The project has not so much architectural as social significance, since it unites the community and shows an unattainable example of horizontal self-organization.
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zooming 1/3 Eco-infrastructure in Detroit. Constance Boduro and the local community writing team. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 2/3 Eco-infrastructure in Detroit. Constance Boduro and the local community writing team. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 3/3 Eco-Infrastructure in Detroit. Constance Boduro and the local community writing team. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
"Gold"Regional LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 / Europe
Waste collection logistics framework in Brussels
TETRA Architecten Bureau (Ana Castillo, Lieven de Groote, Jan Terwecoren, Annekatrien Verdickt)
The project was commissioned by the waste management company NET Brussel for the rapidly growing Brussels region along the Wilbrock Canal. The project must meet the current requirements of the company, but also be able to adapt to the future of the area. It is necessary to integrate buildings into the urban fabric. A kind of framed two-level structure is created: a green corridor from the patio between the housing, the new courtyard and the canal. At the same time, buildings can be transformed in the future if needed. The project shows well the interdependence of different elements of the urban fabric.
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zooming 1/3 Waste disposal scheme in one of the districts of Brussels. TETRA Architecten. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 2/3 TETRA Architecten. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 3/3 Waste disposal scheme in one of the districts of Brussels. TETRA Architecten. © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
"Gold"Regional LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 / Pacific Asia
House "White Rabbit" in Mumbai
Bureau atArchitecture. Avneesh Tiwari, Neha Rane
The project of a home for 30 children was created for informal settlements, read slums. The house is intended to replace the dwelling that is currently in use, without light and ventilation. The structure of the new building creates air and light access and natural ventilation. The use of clay makes it easier to plant trees. On the first floor there is a hall for parents, on the second there are playrooms and bedrooms. The name "White Rabbit" refers to the fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland". The humanistic meaning of the project overshadows the architecture. She just is.
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zooming 1/3 The White Rabbit Childcare Center in Mumbai. Avneesh Tiwari, Neha Rane © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 2/3 White Rabbit Childcare Center in Mumbai. Avneesh Tiwari, Neha Rane © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
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zooming 3/3 White Rabbit Childcare Center in Mumbai. Avneesh Tiwari, Neha Rane © Courtesy of LafargeHolcim Foundation
As can be seen from the projects, in them, firstly, the role of a technical or other invention is strong, which can be applied in the future and in other places. Secondly, of course, ecology and energy efficiency are important. Third, ethics becomes the cornerstone, because in many parts of the world people need help, and if architecture can make their lives easier, aesthetics are not asked. It seems that architects today are going to the forefront and tackling civilizational problems that no one has dealt with before. The experience of Albert Schweitzer is recalled. There was an excellent organist and musicologist, a connoisseur of Bach, a professor of theology, but aesthetics was not enough for him, he received a medical education and went to Africa, built a hospital there, treated people, continuing, however, to give concerts in Europe and write philosophical books about the uneasy relationship between aesthetics and ethics … In the end, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Beautiful life. Bach would love it.
