“Heating with concrete, cooling with clay” – the provocative title of the second discussion round with German winners of the Holcim Awards again attracted more people than the lecture theatre could accommodate at the Aedes Architekturforum in Berlin. Some 130 people including a group of guests from Holcim Southern Germany showed interest in learning more about the “Smart Material House” in Hamburg and an educational center for sustainability in Marrakesh, Morocco. 

The projects that received Holcim Awards Gold, Silver, or Bronze in each of the five regions of the world were automatically qualified to compete for the Global Holcim Awards 2012. The more extensive submission on the Training center for sustainable construction for the global phase of the competition can be found here:

Project posters »

The winners of the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects and visions from Africa Middle East have been announced at a ceremony in Casablanca. A total of USD 300,000 was presented to ten outstanding projects submitted by architects, planners, engineers and project owners. The winning projects illustrate the broad scope of applying sustainable approaches in construction including school infrastructure, community renewal, urban redevelopment, and energy-efficient design.

The jury considered the strength of the project to be its approach of merging the pedagogic concept with the building itself by making the construction a showcase of both preservation and advanced development of cultural know-how in local craftsmanship: different earth and wood construction methods as well as local ceramics and gardening are integral parts of the building complex demonstrating broad local resources and new technologies to the trainees. 

The design approach for this training center in the Marrakesh satellite suburb of Chwiter concentrates on the use of nearby resources including the workforce and earth as the primary construction material. These principles are enhanced by combining design-inherent shading and natural ventilation with modern technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels all of which enable low energy requirements in both construction and operation. All electrical energy requirements are generated by 333 square meters of photovoltaic panels, wind operates the ground heat exchanger and transports water-cooled air into courtyards and gangways.