Introduction

About the Awards competition

Recognition of forward-looking projects

The Holcim Awards seeks leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the Next Generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with architectural excellence. The Awards offer a total of USD 2 million in prize money and foreground projects and concepts from architecture, engineering, urban planning, materials science, construction technology, and related fields. 

Two categories within the Awards competition

The Main Awards category is open to architects, engineers, planners, project owners, builders and construction firms for projects at an advanced stage of design with high probability of execution. The Next Generation category for young professionals and students up to 30 years of age seeks visions and bold ideas.

Competition runs in two phases

The current Next Generation category winners bring together 21 innovative concepts that show how students and young practitioners are prepared to go in completely new ways to achieve a sustainable future. The winners shared in USD 350,000 prize money and presented concepts for implementation in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

The Next Generation winners will meet in Chicago in March 2022 for the Holcim Awards Lab, a platform to further develop cutting-edge projects and exchange ideas in concurrent workshops in collaboration with experts from the Foundation’s Academic Committee. The most promising concepts will receive Research in Practice Grants to mentor and financially-support these emerging professionals to conduct leading edge, practice-related research in the field of sustainable construction.

The Global Holcim Awards winners and 31 Main category winners from all five regions will be announced at special event at the 17th International Biennale of Architecture in Venice on November 13, 2021. The Main category winners from 25 countries will share in USD 1.65 million in prize money.

Evaluation criteria for the independent juries

To evaluate the competition entries, the Holcim Foundation has identified five Target Issues for sustainable construction:

• Innovation and transferability – Progress
• Ethical standards and social inclusion – People
• Resource and environmental performance – Planet
• Economic viability and compatibility – Prosperity
• Contextual and aesthetic impact – Place