The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation is currently seeking sustainable construction projects to enter its Awards competition. Entries can only be submitted via the Internet for the Holcim Awards with the competition closing on March 31, 2005. Total prize money of USD two million is on offer. To be eligible for entry, projects must have reached an advanced design stage but construction must not have yet commenced at the close of entries (March 31, 2005).
Last updated: February 21, 2005 Zurich, Switzerland
The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation is currently seeking sustainable construction projects to enter its Awards competition. Entries can only be submitted via the Internet for the Holcim Awards with the competition closing on March 31, 2005. Total prize money of USD two million is on offer. To be eligible for entry, projects must have reached an advanced design stage but construction must not have yet commenced at the close of entries (March 31, 2005).
Nine awards will be presented in each of five geographic regions: North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Regional award winners will then qualify for the global awards competition to be held in 2006. The Holcim Foundation is working in cooperation with five of the world’s most renowned technical universities: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland; the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil; the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa; and Tongji University (TJU) in Shanghai, China.
The universities lead independent juries which will evaluate entries in the Awards competition using five “target issues” of sustainable construction. The “target issues” of quantum change and transferability; ethical standards and social equity; ecological quality and energy saving; economic performance and compatibility; and contextual response and aesthetic impact are explained in more detail on the Holcim Foundation website.
More than 400 projects have already started the entry process for the competition. The Internet-only application process allows competitors to provide textual and graphical explanations of their ideas. Applicants must also undertake a self-assessment of their project from the perspective of the “target issues” for sustainable construction developed by the Holcim Foundation and its partner universities. Head of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at the ETH Zurich, and member of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation, Prof. Dr. Hans-Rudolf Schalcher said that the competition provides an ideal opportunity for sustainable construction projects to be recognized and innovation shared in a wider audience.
“Through sharing innovative approaches to sustainable construction, the Holcim Awards will recognize ground-breaking methods of reaching sustainability targets – and provide potential benefits in other communities with adaptation to local climatic, economic and cultural contexts” he said. 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.
The Holcim Foundation is supported by, but independent of the commercial interests of Holcim, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement, aggregates, concrete and construction-related services. The Group has majority and minority interests in more than 70 countries on all continents.