The task was demanding: In a competition internationally announced since November 2004 mainly in architecture and building trade magazines, the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction invited architects, engineers and other specialists in the construction industry to submit innovative projects that meet the challenges of sustainable construction – tangible projects that are not yet under construction. Within five months, 1500 projects from 118 countries were submitted to a dedicated website. In the third quarter of this year the Foundation will award three main prizes, three recognition awards, and encouragement prizes in each of five geographic regions worldwide.

Review by technical universities, assessment by independent juries

More than ninety percent of the submitted projects passed the formal check, leaving the expert juries a total of 1360 projects to evaluate. The competition is carried out in four languages. Half the entries are in English, a third in Spanish, and the remaining entries in Portuguese or French. The entries will be evaluated by independent jurors in close collaboration with the five partner universities of the Holcim Foundation: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA; Tongji University (TJU), Shanghai, China; University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil; and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Experts at these universities are currently conducting preliminary reviews of the entries for the juries sessions that will last several days. The Holcim Awards competition is being lead by the Technical Competence Center of the Holcim Foundation at the ETH Zurich. This committee consists of professors in architecture and engineering from the partner universities.

Encouraging and inspiring to think beyond

One objective of the Holcim Foundation is to recognize and support innovative, future-oriented, and effective sustainable construction projects. Awards not only recognize and draw attention to excellence, they are a proven way to encourage and inspire thinking beyond convention and exploration of new ways and means. The Holcim Awards recognize any contribution to sustainable construction – regardless of scale – in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, civil and mechanical engineering, and related disciplines. When submitted, projects must be in an advanced design stage though prior to construction. In cooperation with its partner universities, the Holcim Foundation has defined five challenging target issues for sustainable construction: quantum change and transferability; ethical standards and social equity; ecological quality and energy conservation; economic performance and compatibility; and contextual response and aesthetic impact. These target issues serve as key criteria for judging the submitted projects.

Awards ceremonies in five regions of the world

The winners of the competition will be recognized in September and October 2005 at regional Awards ceremonies to be held in Beijing, Boston, Geneva, Johannesburg, and Rio de Janeiro. The prize money totals USD 220,000 per region. The three top projects from each region will automatically qualify for the global Holcim Awards competition in the second quarter of 2006 in Bangkok, in which prizes totaling USD 900,000 will be awarded. In this phase the Award winners will be selected by a jury of independent specialists representing all continents.

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction promotes innovative approaches to sustainable construction mainly through regional and global Awards competitions and an international Forum. Architectural excellence and enhanced quality of life are integral parts of the Holcim Foundation’s vision of sustainable construction.