Following five regional competitions, 15 Award-winning projects will now compete in the first global Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The global phase of the competition showcases the best entries from more than 1500 submissions from 118 countries, and encourages innovative, future-oriented and tangible approaches within the building and construction industry.

USD 220,000 in prize money was presented to the best submissions from Africa Middle East in the Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The competition run by the Swiss 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.

The project earns high distinction for its skillful engagement with a mountainous region that is isolated due to difficult terrain and lack of proper roads and communication infrastructure. Although operating in a context with extremely limited resources, the authors are commended for respecting the vibrant and dynamic culture by adopting a community-driven approach towards the development of both the functional program as well as generation of the design solution.

This project is at the scale of a whole region located in a scenic landscape of agricultural plateaus south of Marrakech in Morocco. At the core of the approach is a strategy to strengthen rural communities and thus to counter migration from the countryside to urban areas. The project includes a series of measures for re-enforcing the role of women in society by supporting their efforts with micro-credits – undertaken in order to promote agriculture and small businesses as well as the construction of modest buildings for educational purposes.