3rd Holcim Forum “Re-inventing Construction”

Evolving architecture, engineering and construction so that sustainability is automatically embedded

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Group picture of the 3th International Holcim Forum, México City

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Keynote speaker: Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG Bjarke Ingels Group, Denmark

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute, USA

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010

    Keynote speaker: Thom Mayne, Principal, Morphosis, USA

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Keynote speaker Jeremy Rifkin, President, The Foundation on Economic Trends, USA

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Keynote spearker: Michel Rojkind, Principal, Rojkind Arquitectos, Mexico

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 Re-inventing Construction

    Keynote speaker: Werner Sobek presents his keynote address “Reduce to the max” at the 3rd International Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction – “Re-inventing Construction” held at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City in 2010.

  • 3rd Holcim Forum 2010 "Re-inventing Construction"

    The concluding planel experts of the Holcim Forum (from left): Enrique Norten, Takako Tajima, Aziza Chaouni, Rolf Soiron, Yolanda Kakabadse, Arab Hoballah, and Ashok B Lall.

In the context of necessary economic, ecological, and social reorientations of the global community, construction needs to be re-invented and aligned with principles of sustainable development. Traditional approaches to the design, fabrication, and use of built structures have to undergo significant changes in order to address the needs of future generations. This transformation will no longer consist of isolated improvements but must be radically integrated – and encompass the entire life cycle of a built structure.

For three days 270 specialists from 39 countries—architects, urban planners, engineers, scholars, business and government representatives—met in workshops, lectures, and on guided tours to exchange and expand their views on the ways in which construction could be re-invented.

270

experts

39

countries

63

keynotes and workshop sessions

Keynote speakers

Workshop presenters, moderators & panelists

Workshops

Stimulate stakeholders - With incentives to implementation

The workshop proposes the development of incentive-driven instruments or tools – such as norms, policies, or regulations – to entice players within the building industry (clients, users, developers, contractors, city officials, material suppliers, etc.) to implement sustainability sensitive methods of construction.

Mine the city - With logistics to circular metabolisms

The workshop centers on material stocks accumulated in the urban environment and the material fluxes associated with building construction. Taking the city as a reservoir of matter, waste streams, re-use, and recycling strategies need to be considered within the building sector in order to reduce the ecological footprint of construction.

Take on complexity - With integral solutions to an economy of means

The workshop proposes the development of incentive-driven instruments or tools – such as norms, policies, or regulations – to entice players within the building industry (clients, users, developers, contractors, city officials, material suppliers, etc.) to implement sustainability sensitive methods of construction.

Reduce CO2 - With technology to zero emissions

The workshop focuses on carbon-minimizing innovations in the domains of construction materials and energy technologies in view of their impact on built structures throughout their life cycle – from manufacturing, to construction, to maintenance.

Student poster competition

Publication

Forum 2010 – Re-inventing Construction – Mexico City (Ruby Press)

Inspired by the 3rd International Holcim Forum 2010, Mexico City

How must architecture, engineering and construction evolve so that sustainability is automatically embedded in the way the built environment is designed, constructed, used and recycled? This challenging question was the nucleus of the 3rd International Holcim Forum held in Mexico City and inspiration for Re-inventing Construction. The 440-page book features articles and case studies by 38 internationally renowned architects, engineers and scholars including Keller Easterling, Bjarke Ingels, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, Amory Lovins, Elinor Ostrom, Jeremy Rifkin, Michel Rojkind, Werner Sobek, Michael Sorkin, and many others. The book was launched at three events hosted in sequence by the Swiss Federal University of Technology (ETH Zurich), the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) in Mexico City, and Architecture Forum Aedes in Berlin.