Holcim Foundation Awards
Highlighting leading-edge innovation to drive transformation across the building industry
The world’s most significant competition for sustainable design and construction — spotlighting projects that are transforming the building sector.
Conducted by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, the biennial Awards serve as the global benchmark for excellence in sustainable design. Open to projects in development across five regions, they are independently judged by leading practitioners who assess entries against the Foundation’s goals and guiding principles.
Since 2003, the Holcim Foundation has been a pioneer of the sustainable design and construction movement, advancing low-carbon, circular, and nature-positive solutions that strengthen communities and chart a credible path forward for the industry.
Holcim Foundation Awards 2025
Winners announced 28 October 2025 — the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design
Now in its 8th cycle, the Holcim Foundation Awards highlight leading-edge innovation to drive transformation across the building industry.
Following a series of independent jury meetings, 20 winning projects will be announced online on 28 October 2025, showcasing best-in-class approaches across Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa, and North America. The Grand Prizes for each region will be revealed at the Holcim Foundation Awards Ceremony in Venice, Italy, on 20 November 2025, accompanied by a global livestream.
The competition offers a total prize pool of USD 1 million, distributed equally across the five regions with USD 200,000 in awards per region.
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Before, I was seen as a nice young man from Africa building schools. After winning the Holcim Foundation Awards, people started calling me a designer, and it paved the way for my career.
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This is not a project trying to bring a solution to a specific location, but trying to answer the common problems we are facing worldwide.
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The Holcim Foundation Awards highlight each project’s contribution to solve a collective need and thus transform it into a collective desire.
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When the Holcim Foundation awarded BIG, it was a great encouragement to keep fighting the battles and finding the solutions.
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Winning the Holcim Foundation Awards helped us to convince the decision-makers behind this project of its many benefits.
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Winning a Holcim Foundation Award helped to validate the sustainability achievements that we can distil from this building.
Supercharging the best in sustainable design and construction
Celebrating innovation that transforms the way we build
The Holcim Foundation Awards recognise and promote projects that unite sustainable design and construction with architectural excellence.
Established in 2004 by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, the global competition celebrates leading-edge ideas and real-world solutions that are transforming the building industry.
Since its launch, seven Awards cycles have been completed, with more than 340 prizes conferred worldwide — including 20 winning projects in the Holcim Foundation Awards 2023.
The winners of the Holcim Foundation Awards for 2023 underscore the breadth of diverse and innovative real-world approaches to transforming the built environment. The projects exemplify the growing global effort to provide holistic design and construction responses that advance multiple aspects of sustainable development.
A chronology of sustainable construction
The reach of the Holcim Foundation Awards competition is truly global. The competition and winning projects inspire us all to continue advocating for the rapid deployment of existing solutions that will contribute to a future where both humanity and our ecosystems can regenerate and thrive.