The project led by Barkow Leibinger Architects for low-cost apartments incorporating smart materials in Hamburg, Germany, is an outstanding achievement in terms of concrete technology, typology, and energy efficiency in the context of affordable housing.

Firstly, the concrete technology makes it possible to cast wall elements with particular shapes in a prefabricated panel system. The design can be created with only two different wall prototypes, and yet achieves a surprising variability in the plastic expression of the walls.

The significant potential for the innovative use of concrete as a building material is currently showcased at the International Building Exhibition (Internationale Bauausstellung) IBA in Hamburg. A team from Barkow Leibinger Architects developed a Smart Material House for the IBA Hamburg which was presented with a Global Holcim Innovation prize. The winning project in the newly-created “Innovation” category was selected from more than 6,000 entries in 126 countries that took part in the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition.

“Heating with concrete, cooling with clay” – the provocative title of the second discussion round with German winners of the Holcim Awards again attracted more people than the lecture theatre could accommodate at the Aedes Architekturforum in Berlin. Some 130 people including a group of guests from Holcim Southern Germany showed interest in learning more about the “Smart Material House” in Hamburg and an educational center for sustainability in Marrakesh, Morocco. 

A school project in Gando, Burkina Faso, a multifunctional community center in São Paulo, Brazil, and an urban renewal plan in Berlin, Germany are the winners of the Global Holcim Awards for 2012. These leading sustainable construction projects were selected from 15 finalist submissions by a jury of independent experts led by Enrique Norten. The finalists were the regional Holcim Awards 2011 winning projects that had been selected from more than 6,000 entries in 146 countries.

The winners of the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects and visions from across Europe have been announced at a ceremony in Milan. A total of USD 300,000 was presented to ten outstanding projects submitted by architects, planners, engineers and project owners. The winning projects show the wide range of approaches in the region to sustainable construction that respond both to intensified urbanization and innovation in building materials and construction techniques.

The jury identified the strength of the project in its innovative concept for construction and material that uses pre-fabricated lightweight-concrete elements which incorporate recycled foamed glass as an internal aggregate. On top of that is an overall design scheme with competent solutions for a public housing development in every relevant aspect – an ambitious design and a zero-carbon energy concept even in the context of lower-income communities.