News Archive
Behold the most sustainable projects in the world
Released on 28/05/2009
An international panel of experts has named what it believes to be the three most sustainable development projects in the world.
A river remediation and urban development scheme in Fez, Morocco (pictured), won Gold. Silver was taken by a low-impact greenfield university campus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, while a sustainable planning scheme for a suburb of Beijing won Bronze.
This is the second global competition run by the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation, sponsored by cement and aggregate firm Holcim Ltd and its group companies in more than 70 countries. Holcim makes US$2 million available for prize money in the three-year competition cycle.
Almost 5,000 sustainable construction projects and visions from 121 countries entered the five regional Holcim Awards competitions throughout 2008. Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in each region qualified for the Global Holcim Awards competition this year.
The global jury was headed by Charles Correa (architect, India) and included Peter Head (structural engineer, director of Arup, UK), Enrique Norten (architect, Mexico/USA), Saskia Sassen (sociologist, USA), Hans-Rudolf Schalcher (civil engineer, Switzerland), and Rolf Soiron (economist, Switzerland).
The 2009 Gold award carries a US$300,000 prize. The project centres on the restoration of the river Fez through the World Heritage listed Medina of Fez. A team led by architect Aziza Chaouni (Morocco) and urban planner Takako Tajima (USA) is remediating the heavily-polluted river to revitalize the ancient heart of the city. Their approach includes a series of interventions to renovate traditional tanneries, create public spaces and pedestrian zones, and to restore wetlands.
The Silver award and US$200,000 in prize money was awarded to a new campus for the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, designed by architect Kazuhiro Kojima (Japan). Further contributors to the project were Daisuke Sanuki (Japan) and Trong Nghia Vo (Vietnam). The project avoids massive land reclamation on an island in the Mekong Delta and aims for harmony with the surrounding ecosystem.
A rural planning design for a suburban village in Beijing, China took Bronze and US$100,000 for combining heritage preservation, traditional knowledge, local materials, modern technology, and professional project management. The comprehensive urban planning strategy led by Yue Zhang (China) and Feng Ni (China) improves logistics, public utilities and services while meeting stringent ecological and energy-saving targets for new buildings.
The third Holcim Awards competition cycle will open for entries July 1, 2010.
The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction competition seek innovative, future-oriented and tangible construction projects to promote sustainable responses to the technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues affecting building and construction on a local, regional and global level.
