flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

3 sustainable projects take top prize in 2015 Global Holcim Awards

Green

3 sustainable projects take top prize in 2015 Global Holcim Awards

Projects from Colombia, Sri Lanka, and the U.S. were chosen by the Holcim Foundation for the impact the projects have on their local communities.


By Holcim Foundation | April 23, 2015
3 winners take top prizes in 2015 Global Holcim Awards

Three projects from around the world were selected as winners of the 2015 Holcim Awards. All renderings courtesy: Holcim Foundation

The winners of the 4th Global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction have been decided—the trophies and $350,000 prize money go to projects in Colombia, Sri Lanka, and the U.S.

All three prizes recognize architectural interventions that deliver tangible benefits to local communities: Turning a decommissioned water reservoir into a park in Medellín, rebuilding social fabric through a community library in Ambepussa following Sri Lanka’s civil war, and creating public zones and flood-protection for the island of Manhattan.

 

Gold Award
Articulated Site: Water reservoir as a public park
Medellín, Colombia

 
A project for a public park in Medellín, Colombia, that creates urban spaces around a series of water tanks to form a “socio-technical” landscape of magnificent beauty won the gold prize. The design by Mario Camargo and Luis Tombé of Colectivo720 in Cali, together with Juan Calle and Horacio Valenciaof EPM Group (Empresas Públicas de Medellín), all Colombia opens up hidden infrastructure within the city to create a civic space at the intersection of architecture, landscape, infrastructure, and urban design. The public space and pre-existing elements are transformed to create an outdoor auditorium and venues for a range of community activities that highlight the value of water as an important resource of urban life.
 
 
 
 
Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2015, Mohsen Mostafavi, commended the project for its focus on improving the quality of life in the city. “The jury applauds the careful integration of the ensemble into the physical and social fabric of Medellín – in a scheme that is a model for best practice that could be emulated by other cities in Latin America and around the globe,” he said.
 
 
 
 

Silver Award
Post-War Collective: Community library and social recuperation
Colombo, Sri Lanka

 
Silver was awarded to a project in the rural town of Ambepussa near Colombo, Sri Lanka, that aims to reintegrate soldiers into post-war Sri Lankan society. The community library by Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake of Robust Architecture Workshop in Colombo is made of rammed-earth walls and recycled materials. With the support of the army, young men were coached in building techniques through the construction process.
 
 
 
The project offers proof that the vision can indeed be translated into reality. Rather than remaining in the realm of the abstract, the submitted entry outlines a set of concrete measures, ranging from the introduction of an educational program to the deployment of particular construction techniques – all beautifully and clearly outlined. The authors recognize the potential of using an army’s knowhow in logistics for peaceful purposes, while strengthening social bonds. The jury sees significant value in the basic message of the scheme and greatly appreciates its translation into a tangible physical structure – the construction of a library and public facility for building the physical and social fabric of a community.
 

 

Bronze Award
The Dryline: Urban flood protection infrastructure
New York City, USA

 
A large-scale integrated flood protection system to address the vulnerability of New York City to coastal flooding won the Global Holcim Awards Bronze. The “Dryline” project by a consortium headed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group (Copenhagen/New York), and One Architecture (Amsterdam) in collaboration with the City of New York, proposes a protective ribbon in Southern Manhattan using a series of raised berms and other measures to create public spaces along the water’s edge. The infrastructural barrier incorporates a range of neighborhood functions that foster local commercial, recreational, and cultural activities.
 
 
The master plan uses a raised berm to create a sequence of public spaces along the raised bank at the water’s edge. The infrastructural barrier incorporates a range of neighborhood functions and as a result offers multiple design opportunities, fostering local commercial, recreational, and cultural activities.
 
 
Mohsen Mostafavi praised the project for turning a problem into an opportunity. “The project makes a political statement by means of an architectural and urban proposition – where tangible solutions to the effects of climate change can be created, where New York City is a prototype from which similar strategies in susceptible regions around the globe could be pursued,” he said.

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

American Concrete Institute forms technical committee on BIM for concrete structures

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) announces the formation of a new technical committee on Building Information Modeling (BIM) of Concrete Structures.

| Aug 11, 2010

10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings

Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.

| Aug 11, 2010

Reed Construction Data files corporate espionage lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge

Reed Construction Data (RCD), a leading construction information provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier (NYSE:RUK, NYSE:ENL), today filed suit in federal court against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MHP). The suit charges that Dodge has unlawfully accessed confidential and trade secret information from RCD since 2002 by using a series of fake companies to pose as RCD customers.

| Aug 11, 2010

Jacobs, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest state/local government design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 State/Local Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Brad Pitt’s foundation unveils 14 duplex designs for New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward

Gehry Partners, William McDonough + Partners, and BNIM are among 14 architecture firms commissioned by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation to develop duplex housing concepts specifically for rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. All 14 concepts were released yesterday.

| Aug 11, 2010

NAVFAC releases guidelines for sustainable reconstruction of Navy facilities

The guidelines provide specific guidance for installation commanders, assessment teams, estimators, programmers and building designers for identifying the sustainable opportunities, synergies, strategies, features and benefits for improving installations following a disaster instead of simply repairing or replacing them as they were prior to the disaster.

| Aug 11, 2010

City of Anaheim selects HOK Los Angeles and Parsons Brinckerhoff to design the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center

The Los Angeles office of HOK, a global architecture design firm, and Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization, announced its combined team was selected by the Anaheim City Council and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to design phase one of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

| Aug 11, 2010

GBCI launches credentialing maintenance program for current LEED APs

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) launched a credentialing maintenance program (CMP) for LEED APs and Green Associates, ensuring that LEED professional credentials will remain relevant and meaningful in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




Resiliency

U.S. is reducing floodplain development in most areas

The perception that the U.S. has not been able to curb development in flood-prone areas is mostly inaccurate, according to new research from climate adaptation experts. A national survey of floodplain development between 2001 and 2019 found that fewer structures were built in floodplains than might be expected if cities were building at random.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021