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    Global Holcim Awards 2012 finalist certificate handover – Milan, Italy

    Country Manager of Holcim Italy, Piero Corpina (center) presents the Global Holcim Awards finalist certificate 2012 for "Sustainable refurbishment of a primary school", Al Azarije, Palestine to members of the team from ARCò Architettura e Cooperazione (l-r): Diego Torriani, Luca Trabattoni, Alessio Battistella and Valerio Marazzi.

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    Global Holcim Awards 2012 finalist certificate handover – Milan, Italy

    Members of the team from ARCò Architettura e Cooperazione at the presentation of the Global Holcim Awards finalist certificate 2012 held at the Politecnico di Milano for “Sustainable refurbishment of a primary school” (l-r): Diego Torriani, Luca Trabattoni, Alessio Battistella and Valerio Marazzi.

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    Global Holcim Awards finalist certificate hand-over for "Sustainable refurbishment of a primary school", Al Azarije, Palestine: Manuela Macchi, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication at Holcim Italy (center) congratulates the team from ARCò (l-r): Luca Trabattoni, Diego Torriani, Alessio Battistella and Valerio Marazzi.

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    Emilio Pizzi, Professor and Dean of the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture of Politecnico Milano, welcomed the guests.

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    Global Holcim Awards finalist certificate 2012 hand-over for "Sustainable refurbishment of a primary school", Al Azarije, Palestine. Piero Corpina (left), Country Manager of Holcim Italy, congratulates members of the team from ARCò (l-r): Luca Trabattoni, Alessio Battistella and Valerio Marazzi.

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    Alessio Battistella, architect and member of the team from ARCò: “The Holcim Awards prize allowed ARCò to establish our own studio."

A visionary team of Italian architects from ARCò Architettura e Cooperazione developed a concept for the sustainable refurbishment of an existing school building for a Bedouin community in Palestine. The project team was presented with a Global Holcim Awards 2012 finalist certificate in the framework of a workshop on sustainable construction held at the Politecnico di Milano. 

Last updated: December 10, 2012 Milan, Italy

In the regional phase of the Holcim Awards competitions, the project “Sustainable refurbishment of a primary school” received the Silver prize for Africa Middle East and thereby qualified for the global competition. The project upgrades the inadequate existing structure with well-directed and precise low-tech measures to create a functional educational unit that complies with the regulations of the occupation authority. The Abu Hindi Primary School of the Bedouin community is located near Al Azarije (Eizariya), and less than 10km east of Jerusalem.

The certificate handover was part of an open event on sustainable construction attended by university students, architects, NGO representatives, and media. Professor and Dean of the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan), Emilio Pizzi, commented on the fruitful relationships with Holcim on sustainability themes, the importance of the Holcim Awards for future’s society, and the social relevance of the project of the ARCò team.

Country Manager of Holcim Italy, Piero Corpina, congratulated the ARCò team, and emphasized the importance of sustainable construction for society – both today and tomorrow. “The simplicity of the underlying concept, its elaboration and realization, and easy transferability make this project a remarkable blueprint that demonstrates that sustainability is much more than technical solutions,” he said.

Architect and member of the team from ARCò, Alessio Battistella, presented the origins, constraints and development of the project – underlining the “inherent complexity of the situation, even before starting the design”. The challenge of this project is to remain effective in a zone of political tension in addition to addressing climatic and local constraints. “Winning the regional Holcim Awards prize allowed ARCò to establish our own studio. At the same time, the recognition reinforced our belief in what we are doing, provided impetus for starting new projects and encouraged us to continue investing time in applied research,” he said.

Manuela Macchi, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication at Holcim Italy, introduced the Holcim Awards competition and explained the five “target issues” for sustainable construction that are used by independent panels of experts to evaluate submissions.