Fellowship Brussels Film Released | Save the Date for the Awards 2025 Winners

“Designing Incentives for Change” brought together 15 emerging professionals in Brussels to explore how policy, finance and culture can make adaptive reuse not only a climate imperative but also an economic opportunity. Co-led by ETH Zurich’s station+ chair with the Holcim Foundation, the two-week Fellowship turned Europe’s “Renovation Wave” into a practical framework for action.

Fellows examined Brussels as a living laboratory for circular construction at the heart of European policy making, and meeting architects, developers, financiers and policymakers including &bogdan, 51N4E, noAarchitecten, Democo Group, Whitewood Asset Management and BPIE. They also engaged with European Commissions and visited the European Parliament to understand how regulation and governance drive transformation.

The cohort produced an Incentive Playbook—a digital publication that links regulatory, financial and cultural tools, from fast-track permitting and open building datasets to new training and recognition models. Its aim is to make reuse, rather than new build, the default.

Save the date to discover the winners of the Holcim Foundation Awards 2025, the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design and construction.

On 28 October 2025, the Holcim Foundation will reveal the 20 winning projects selected by independent juries from across five regions spanning the globe. These projects demonstrate how design excellence, material innovation and community impact can combine to build a more sustainable future.

A special newsletter will be shared on 28 October with all Foundation newsletter subscribers and participants in the Awards competition, featuring the announcement and highlights of the winning projects.

Representatives of the winning teams will be honoured at the Awards presentation in Venice, Italy, on 20 November 2025.