Top sustainable construction awards for resilient and contextual projects in Austria, France and Italy

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Media release Moscow, Russia September 5, 2014 Holcim Awards 2014 winners for Europe announced in Moscow Top sustainable construction awards for resilient and contextual projects in Austria, France

1 Media release Moscow, Russia September 5, 2014 Holcim Awards 2014 winners for Europe announced in Moscow Top sustainable construction awards for resilient and contextual projects in Austria, France and Italy The winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 for Europe illustrate how sustainable construction continues to evolve developing more sophisticated and multi-disciplinary responses to the challenges facing the building and construction industry. An ecological reserve and remediation project in Southern Italy, a low-cost flexible university building in Paris, and a participatory urban neighborhood in Vienna won gold, silver and bronze. A total of twelve projects including state-of-the-art designs from leading professionals as well as visions of the next generation were recognized and share more than USD 300,000 prize money. A jury of international experts led by Jean-Philippe Vassal (France) selected the winners using the target issues for sustainable construction that consider environmental, social and economic performance while also highlighting the need for architectural excellence and a high degree of transferability. Bold philosophical posture: Gold for an ecological reserve and remediation project in Saline Joniche, Italy An environmental remediation project on the coast of Southern Italy that connects nature with the imprints of humanity won the top prize. Architects Francisco Leiva of Grupo aranea () and Marco Scarpinato of AutonomeForme (Italy) integrate the process of restoration in an area that has been degraded during the industrial age. The shape-shifting ecosystem generates a flooded landscape filled with flora and fauna, with a special focus on migrating birds. At the prize handover event in Moscow, jury representative Arno Brandlhuber (Germany) applauded the Holcim Awards Gold winning project for its bold philosophical posture investigating the roles of architecture, landscape design, and urban planning and their constraints through the necessity to allow human existence. The project frames a discourse on potential forms of relationship between human activity and the natural environment, offering strategies for understanding architecture as a form of action in a symbiotic rapport with nature, he said. Remarkable merging of economics and aesthetics: Silver for a low-cost flexible university building in Paris, France A building that will host a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, cafés, street terraces and a pedestrian square on the new university campus of Paris-Saclay received the Holcim Awards Silver. Gilles Delalex, Yves Moreau and Thomas Wessel- Cessieux from Muoto architects (France) have designed a minimal structure that uses rough materials, robust and long-lasting techniques, and vertical stacking to superimpose different activities above one another. The jury acknowledged the minimal deployment of architectural 1/5

2 and technical means that is resilient and adaptable to future needs: The elegant design merges economic and aesthetic considerations in such a way that the low-cost structure turns limitation into a quality. Focus on stakeholders: Bronze for participatory urban neighborhood in Vienna, Austria An urban design project in Vienna that identifies a set of rules for establishing a sustainable urban neighborhood received the Holcim Awards Bronze. The urban plan by Enrique Arenas, Luis Basabe and Luis Palacios of Arenas Basabe Palacios arquitectos () uses a framework of gardens for the project s physical and social development. The approach establishes a minimally-invasive intervention that will develop over time according to the needs of the community at every stage. The jury especially commended the focus on questions of procedures, including stakeholder participation and its effects on physical form: The proposal offers a method for a step-by-step urban densification, combining both bottomup/top-down and formal/informal practices to create an urban commons. Merging architectural and technical considerations: Honorable Mention to energyefficient office building in Holderbank, Switzerland A competence center including research labs, office space and training facilities, with a stateof-the-art energy concept received the first-ever Holcim Awards Honorable Mention. Designed by Swiss architect Christian Kerez, the perfectly circular atria cut through ceilings and floors crisscross the building, creating opportunities for employees and visitors to meet one another while also providing a sense of the building s size from within. As the project was designed to become the new Competence Center of Holcim, the jury decided to bestow a non-monetary honorable mention respecting the exceptional value of the proposal. Acknowledgement prizes for materials projects from Belgium and Germany A team from TETRA architecten in Belgium received an Acknowledgement prize for their materials village in the Port of Brussels that distributes construction materials to the city, and also collects and recycles construction materials waste from the city. Karola Dierichs and Achim Menges from the University of Stuttgart s Institute for Computational Design received an Acknowledgement for a multi-disciplinary materials research project that examines aggregate architectures made from injection-molding of designed, self-solidifying bioplastic granules. Next Generation prizes for project visions in Austria, France, Ireland, Russia and The Holcim Awards competition also seeks visions and bold ideas in the Next Generation (young professionals and students) category. The jury decided to confer an unprecedented six prizes in recognition of the outstanding quality of submissions from across Europe. The Next Generation 1 st prize, went to Hani Jaber, Ricardo Mayor, Héctor Muñoz, and Ignacio Taus of DAT Pangea () for a series of three socially-focused architectural designs. Their portfolio of projects includes a spatial plan and agricultural restructure, a productive urban garden as well as temporary spaces for public engagement. The jury was impressed by the design propositions that aim for a dialog between architecture and politics, taking key social problems into consideration while offering appropriate design solutions to address specific issues at hand. 2/5

3 The Next Generation 2 nd prize was handed over to Aleksandr Veshniakov, Dimitry Ivanov, Natalia Mikhailova, Aleksandra Tyron, and Nadezhda Pavlova, a group of Russian architects, for a network of civic centers for small towns which form a virtual network using online connectivity. The jury was primarily interested in the idea of creating an architectural instrument that promotes vitality in small towns across Russia. The 3 rd prize went to Iker Luna from for a materials research project on moss-grafted clay tiles for green roofs. The material enables moss to grow on roof tiles, improving air quality and alleviating urban heat island effects. Additional Next Generation prizes were awarded to András Dankházi for a symbiotic water supply and landscape regeneration in Ireland (4 th ), Grégoir Arthuis for a high-rise tower rehabilitation in France (5 th ), and Nikola Znaor for a responsive sustainable shading system in Austria (6 th ). Holcim Awards submissions for projects in Europe were evaluated by an independent jury hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and included: Jean- Philippe Vassal (Head of jury, France), Horia Adrian (Romania), Marc Angélil (Switzerland), Arno Brandlhuber (Germany), Antón García-Abril (), Hiromi Hosoya (Switzerland), Hrvoje Njiric (Croatia), Stuart Smith (United Kingdom) and Holger Wallbaum (Sweden). Further information on the competition and each winning project including high resolution images for download is available at: The Holcim Awards ceremony in Moscow for the competition region Europe was the first presentation of winners in a series of events with others to be held in Toronto (for North America), Medellín (for Latin America), Beirut (for Africa Middle East) and Jakarta (for Asia Pacific). The projects that receive Holcim Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze in each region automatically qualify for the Global Holcim Awards The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction competition seeks innovative, futureoriented 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. The competition has been run by the Swissbased Holcim Foundation since 2004, offers USD 2 million in prize money per three-year cycle. The Holcim Foundation is supported by Holcim Ltd and its Group companies in around 70 countries and is independent of its commercial interests. Holcim is one of the world s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, gravel and sand) as well as further activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt including services. 3/5

4 Holcim Awards 2014 prize-winning projects in Europe Moscow, Russia September 5, 2014 Main category Holcim Awards Gold 2014 USD 100,000 Anthropic Park: Freshwater ecological reserve and remediation, Saline Joniche, Italy Main authors: Francisco Leiva, Grupo aranea, Alicante, ; Marco Scarpinato, AutonomeForme, Palermo, Italy. Further authors: Marta García Chico, Grupo aranea; Lucia Pierro, AutonomeForme Holcim Awards Silver 2014 USD 50,000 Public Condenser: Low-cost flexible university building, Paris, France Main authors: Gilles Delalex, Yves Moreau and Thomas Wessel-Cessieux, Muoto, Paris, France. Further authors: Igrec Ingénierie; Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure; Alternative Acoustic & Lighting Consulting, all Paris, France; Novorest Ingénierie, Montreuil, France Holcim Awards Bronze 2014 USD 30,000 The Commons: Participatory urban neighborhood, Vienna, Austria Main authors: Enrique Arenas, Luis Basabe and Luis Palacios, Arenas Basabe Palacios arquitectos, Madrid,. Further authors: Christian Seethaler, Mascha & Seethaler; Thomas Proksch, Land in Sicht Landschaftsarchitektur; Robert Korab, Raum & Kommunikation; Andreas Käfer, Traffix Verkehrsplanung, all Vienna, Austria Honorable Mention 2014 special recognition Circular Voids: Energy-efficient office building, Holderbank, Switzerland Author: Christian Kerez, Christian Kerez AG, Zurich, Switzerland Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prizes 2014 each USD 25,000 Aggregate Structure: Reusable aggregates requiring no binding agent, Stuttgart, Germany Authors: Karola Dierichs and Achim Menges, Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart, Germany Material Flows: Construction materials recycling and logistics hub, Brussels, Belgium Main authors: Ana Castillo, Jan Terwecoren, Lieven De Groote and Annekatrien Verdickt, TETRA architecten, Brussels, Belgium. Further authors: Bjorn Gielen, Landinzicht, Brussels, Belgium; Studieburo Mouton, Gent, Belgium; Henk Pijpaert, Henk Pijpaert Engineering, Oudenaarde, Belgium 4/5

5 Next Generation prizes Holcim Awards Next Generation 1 st prize 2014 USD 25,000 X Marks the Spot: Socially-focused architectural design, Pujaire and Roquetas de Mar, Almería, and Madrid, Authors: Hani Jaber, Ricardo Mayor, Héctor Muñoz, and Ignacio Taus, DAT Pangea, Madrid, Holcim Awards Next Generation 2 nd prize 2014 USD 15,000 Net Point: Civic center virtual network, Sortavala, Russia Authors: Aleksandr Veshniakov, Dimitry Ivanov and Natalia Mikhailova, Sodruzhestvo Construction association; Aleksandra Tyron, ASTAL Open company; Nadezhda Pavlova, Monolit Set Stroy company, all St Petersburg, Russia Holcim Awards Next Generation 3 rd prize 2014 USD 10,000 Bio Ceramic: Moss-grafted clay tiles for green roofs, Barcelona, Author: Iker Luna, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Barcelona, Holcim Awards Next Generation 4 th prize 2014 USD 7,500 De-Salination: Symbiotic water supply and landscape regeneration, Dublin, Ireland Author: András Dankházi, University College Dublin, Ireland Holcim Awards Next Generation 5 th prize 2014 USD 7,500 Vertical Restructuring: High-rise tower rehabilitation, Nantes, France Author: Grégoire Arthuis, Paris, France Holcim Awards Next Generation 6 th prize 2014 USD 7,500 Air-Shade: Responsive sustainable shading system, Vienna, Austria Author: Nikola Znaor, Croatia; Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria Media contact Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction Phone , news@holcimfoundation.org Hagenholzstrasse 85, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland 5/5

Who won the competition? Green Talks, CEU, Budapest, 2015

Who won the competition? Green Talks, CEU, Budapest, 2015 Strength. Performance. Passion. 2013-08-26 2013 Holcim Ltd Iren Marta Agenda Look at 2050 Sustainable construction The Winners And Hungarians?