The Holcim Award winners for North America have been announced in Toronto. The 13 winning projects illustrate how sustainable construction continues to evolve—developing more sophisticated and multi-disciplinary responses to the challenges facing the building and construction industry.
The winning teams will share more than $300,000 in prize money.
All images courtesy Holcim.
GOLD PRIZE: Poreform
Las Vegas
Authors: Water Pore Partnership, Yale University
This design proposal repositions water infrastructure as a civic project. Facing a significant shortage of water in an arid region, local drainage systems are incapable of handling and collecting the water that floods the Las Vegas valley when it rains.
Poreform, a porous concrete surface poured in place with fabric formwork is capable of rapid saturation and slow release, and reframes water as a valuable resource rather than a liability. The surface feeds water to subterranean basins. It is located within the public realm and claims a stake as civic infrastructure that is as important as its nearby sister, the Hoover Dam.
SILVER PRIZE: Rebuilding by Design
New York
Authors: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, One Architecture, James Lima Planning + Development, Buro Happold Engineering, Level Agency for Infrastructure, Green Shield Ecology, ARCADIS, AEA Consulting, Project Projects
The BIG U project, which you can read more about here, addresses the vulnerability of New York City to coastal flooding and proposes a protective ribbon around lower Manhattan. The master plan uses a raised berm strategically to create a sequence of public spaces along the water’s edge along the raised bank.
The infrastructural barrier incorporates a range of neighborhood functions and as a result offers multiple design opportunities, fostering local commercial, recreational, and cultural activities.
BRONZE PRIZE: Hy-Fi
New York
Authors: The Living, Arup, 3M, Ecovative Design
Hy-Fi is a cluster of circular towers formed using reflective bricks, designed for and commissioned by the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program. The structure uses recent advances in biotechnology combined with cutting-edge computation and engineering to create new building materials that are almost fully organically grown and compostable.
Beyond the use of technological innovations, the tower challenges perceptual expectations through unexpected relationships of patterns, color, and light. You can see more here.
Check out the other winners at the Holcim Foundation
Related Stories
Sustainable Design and Construction | Nov 17, 2020
A digital catalog offers mass timber solutions for greener urban construction
Hybrid designs reconcile metropolitan growth and lower CO2 emissions.
Sustainability | Nov 11, 2020
Passive house design: A key to sustainable community building
Passive House is a high-performance building standard that emphasizes tightly insulated enclosures, heat recovery, and monitors airflow to reduce energy consumption.
Sustainability | Sep 30, 2020
U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc. expand resilience resources to support the green building industry
LEED and GBCI rating systems drive resilience-enhancing strategies to help businesses and governments mitigate climate risks.
Sustainability | Sep 29, 2020
Heatherwick Studio creates a new concept for San Francisco’s Piers 30-32
The new vision is dubbed The Cove.
Sustainability | Aug 13, 2020
The largest single sloped solar array in the country completes
The installation sits atop Pittsburgh’s Mill 19.
Sustainability | Aug 11, 2020
Sustainability is key for Denver Water’s modernized campus and distribution system
The utility is showcasing a new admin building and a water reuse plan that’s a first for the state.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Jul 2, 2020
Solving the Building Envelope Challenge
Today, solutions for the building envelope need to meet exacting standards on two equally important fronts – long-term performance and enduring aesthetic appeal. In this article, CENTRIA demonstrates how its products meet the standard in two different scenarios – construction of a new hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, and the addition to a popular museum in Pittsburgh.
Sustainability | May 11, 2020
Watch Bjarke Ingels discuss Mars Science City, BIG's prototype Martian city in Dubai
Ingels believes designing for Mars will help us reach sustainability goals on Earth.
Multifamily Housing | May 8, 2020
'Lakehouse' is the first multifamily project in Colorado to receive WELL Precertification
Stantec and Muñoz + Albin are the project's architects.
Sustainability | Apr 28, 2020
Could a virtual 'city-forest' help solve population density challenges?
The project will house 200,000 people.