The winners of the global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction showcase the cutting edge of approaches to sustainable design, green architecture, and materials innovation. In the 6th cycle of the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design, offering prize money totaling USD 2 million, most of the global prizewinning projects came from the Asia Pacific and Middle East Africa regions; one top prize each also went to Colombia and Switzerland. The prizes were presented at a handover ceremony at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.

Project description by regional jury

Homelessness is a global policy problem that, in the Philippines alone, impacts more than 30 million people. The powerHYDE project aims to contain this social problem in Minalin, 70km north of Manila, by suggesting a self-financing model that combines social housing for homeless families with a solar plant that would produce and sell energy to finance the homes. Conceived to provide adequate living conditions to 125 homeless families, the design turns the rooftops of the houses into a mini 2.5 MW photovoltaic plant able to generate 25 times more electricity than the residential complex will use. After the expiration of the renewable energy commitment, residents will become the new homeowners and continue to earn passive income through the sale of energy, which represents a tangible opportunity for vulnerable people to emerge out of poverty.

As a Main category prize winner in the regional Holcim Awards 2020, Empowering the Homeless in the Philippines automatically qualified as a finalist in the Global Holcim Awards 2021.

View Global Holcim Awards Entry – Empowering the Homeless in the Philippines

The built environment has a significant role to play in addressing climate change and enabling the transition to a net zero and more inclusive future. The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction global winners showcase the cutting edge of approaches to sustainable design, green architecture and materials innovation. In the 6th cycle, a Global Holcim Awards Bronze and two Global Commendations went to projects in the Asia Pacific region. The global prizes were presented at a handover ceremony at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. The regional Holcim Awards Main category winners for Asia Pacific were recognized at the same event.

A scalable housing solution for the homeless to emerge out of poverty within a generation

52% of the 1 billion homeless in the world are unbanked and financially excluded. Opportunities for them to emerge out of poverty are virtually non-existent. Civil service organizations can at best sustain their meager lifestyle or bring little incremental improvement, which continues to increase the inequality gap making it.

A powerHYDE self-reliant community includes a school, health center, shops, parks, and other essential infrastructure for it to thrive sustainably. The excess power generated by the community can be commercialized to set-up small scale businesses enabling economic growth of vulnerable families. Being sensitive to women’s needs, powerHYDE communities create opportunities for them in a safe space. The women of the families will own the homes, building an asset for them.

The community will save 136 million liters of water and 24 million tons of carbon in its life-cycle of 25 years. The large roof overhang, integrated roof insulation, climate adaptive building skin and other passive design strategies minimize the consumption of electricity.

Its dry assembly construction system minimizes the use of electricity and water on site. Being a flexible module, powerHYDE can adapt to use up-cycled waste eco-bricks or bamboo panel boards as its skin. Unlike traditional housing, the neighborhood is developed with bio-swales, porous paving, and natural filters, building a community reliant on natural systems. Being a self-contained entity for jobs, education, and health care facilities, it also reduces the need for transport and promotes walking.