The deadline for completing entries in the Holcim Awards competition for Sustainable Construction projects has been extended until April 7, 2005 at 12:00 noon GMT due to the unprecedented load on the Awards webserver in the last 24 hours. The published close of applications was March 31, 2005. The load on the server on March 31, 2005 was more than 100 times that of the previous day and more than 200 times the average server load for the 4-month competition submission period, preventing some entries from being completed on time.

To ensure that all entries intended for the competition can be completed, the Holcim Awards entry site will remain open until April 7, 2005 at 12:00 noon GMT for those participants who already hold a username and password. In addition, usernames and passwords will be sent by email to anyone who had contacted the Holcim Foundation or its Technical Competence Center prior to GMT 12:00 on April 1, 2005. Entrants who have sent their documentation via e-mail to the Holcim Foundation/Awards, partner universities or Holcim Group companies before the initial March 31, 2005 closing date will be receiving a username and password by e-mail to enable their entry to be submitted to the Holcim Awards website.

Head of the Technical Competence Center of the Holcim Foundation, Professor Dr. Hans-Rudolf Schalcher, Head of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) said that the extension to the closing date was seen as the most equitable way of enabling all entries ready by the due deadline to be submitted to the competition.

“We are delighted to have had such a strong response to the Awards competition and thank prospective entrants for their patience and understanding”, he said. Entrants who continue to be unable to access the Holcim Awards website or encounter other technical problems should contact Holcim Awards technical support on info@holcimawards.org or +49 30 315 9310 for further assistance.

Entries in the competition will be assessed by five independent regional juries led by the respective partner universities of the Holcim Foundation and including independent, regionally-renowned representatives from science, business and society. With total prize money of USD 2 million for the first Awards cycle, the regional winners will be announced in September/October 2005.

The Holcim Awards is a competition of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction based in Switzerland. The independent Foundation is supported by Holcim Ltd in cooperation with its local Group companies and partner universities: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA; Tongji University (TJU), Shanghai, China; University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil; and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa.

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