Target issues for sustainable construction

The five “target issues” for sustainable construction were defined by the Holcim Foundation to quantify the degree to which buildings contribute to sustainable development. The Stabilized earth visitors’ center, Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa respects the balance between environmental, social, and economic performance whilst also providing a functionally, culturally, and aesthetically appropriate response to its unique setting. The project uses the latest developments in structural geometry along with an ancient construction technique, in order to implement a contemporary design, meant to house centuries-old artifacts.

read project update – Stabilized earth visitors’ center, Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa

A framework for sustainable construction

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction is committed to the “triple bottom line” concept, which asserts that long-term and sustainable progress requires the balanced achievement of economic development, environmental performance and social advancement.

Based on this concept and to make sustainable construction easier to understand, evaluate and apply, the Holcim Foundation and its renowned partner universities have identified a set of five “target issues” for sustainable construction, which serve as a basis for the evaluation of submissions in the Holcim Awards competition and for assessing other projects in the context of Holcim Grants and publications on exemplary sustainable construction buildings.

Click on the links below for in-depth definitions of each “target issue”, including their practical application within exemplary buildings and Holcim Awards winning projects from different regions of the world:

Innovation and transferability – Progress

Ethical standards and social equity – People

Environmental quality and resource efficiency – Planet

Economic performance and compatibility – Prosperity

Contextual and aesthetic impact – Proficiency

Sustainable construction - Library and Classroom Building, Langara College, Vancouver, British Colum

Sustainable construction - Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain

Sustainable construction - Construction Example - Office Building San José, Costa Rica

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Target issues for sustainable construction

Definition and examples of each “target issue”

Summary of the "target issues"

Publications