The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction has published “Tsoga Environmental Center – Community center in South Africa” – a further volume in its international series of monographs showcasing outstanding examples of sustainable construction in practice. The book explains how the Tsoga Environmental Center respects the Rio Agenda of balanced social, environmental, and economic performance, and at the same time defines a new vernacular architectural language and also provides a model of sustainable building in low-income communities.

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 Africa Middle East in the Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The competition run by the Swiss 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.

The work is worthy of distinction in that it convincingly calls for a vision of community self-sufficiency. Most notable is the effort to catalyze sustainable livelihood in the region. Fostering environmental stewardship, the project is intended to serve as a specimen case study in ecologically sound construction practices for the region, especially in terms of tectonic principles and material choices that are responsive to socio-economic needs of a vulnerable culture.

This project takes us to Cape Town, South Africa, and forms the nucleus of an effort to promote sustainability in a context marked by poverty, unemployment, and environmental degradation. It is conceived as a local catalyst for sustainable development. The proposed scheme is meant to heighten awareness of the importance of ecosystems and energy conservation in the framework of a reinvigorated social network.