USD 220,000 in prize money was presented to the best submissions from Asia Pacific in the Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The competition run by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction in collaboration with five of the world’s leading technical universities aims to promote sustainable approaches to the built environment.

This project offers an exploratory case study in the use of known environmental technologies. Not only showcasing the advantages of sustainable construction, the work is also significant for its demonstrative value of the insight to be gleaned from traditional design knowledge. This factor is relevant in that it minimizes disputes as to the viability of design proposals such as this.

This entry from India offers an exploratory case study in the use of environmentally friendly technologies. While conceived as a showcase of contemporary sustainable construction techniques, the project provides important lessons in the untapped potential of traditional design knowledge. With expressed concern for the ecological footprint of manmade constructions, a harmonic balance of natural, social, and material environments is sought. A high degree of competence is displayed in the amount of considerations given to issues like water retention and recycling, site irrigation, low-energy fixtures, wall and roof construction, as well as the use of solar energy.