The Holcim Awards is an international competition that recognizes innovative projects and future-oriented concepts on regional and global levels. The competition is designed to encourage architects, planners, engineers and project owners to go beyond conventional notions of sustainable construction in their work and to harmonize ecological, social and economic concerns. Projects and concepts in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and related fields are eligible for entry in the competition.
Each competition cycle spans three years, from announcement to completion. A total of two million US dollars in prize money is awarded in each cycle. The competition is handled in two stages. In the first stage the best projects and concepts are sought in the five world regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa Middle East and Asia Pacific.
The 3rd International Holcim Awards competition was open for registration July 1, 2010 until March 23, 2011. Submissions were evaluated by a series of five independent regional juries in June/July 2011.
More than 50 projects were honored with Holcim Awards, Acknowledgement or “Next Generation” prizes in the last quarter of 2011 at ceremonies in Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Milan, Singapore and Washington DC.