Following five regional competitions, 15 Award-winning projects will now compete in the first global Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The global phase of the competition showcases the best entries from more than 1500 submissions from 118 countries, and encourages innovative, future-oriented and tangible approaches within the building and construction industry.

USD 220,000 in prize money was presented to the best submissions from Asia Pacific in the Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The competition run by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction in collaboration with five of the world’s leading technical universities aims to promote sustainable approaches to the built environment.

This project offers a persuasive and inventive solution for the revitalization of the existing urban fabric with minimal logistical concerns. The scheme stands out particularly because of the degree of transferability to a number of different building typologies within the chosen context. The proposal skillfully suggests how social reality in the city can be enhanced by a careful and systematic attitude to renovation rather than only insisting on new construction.

This project from Japan – entitled Air Suit – is representative of a large number of entries addressing façade construction. In this case, a new enclosure for an existing structure, dealing with strategies of how to potentially improve the energy performance of existing buildings, provides not only a novel approach to the design of high-yield envelopes, but also pushes the envelope in terms of aesthetics. The solution offers a sensitive strategy for dealing with building stock already in place.