Regional Holcim Awards 2011 Africa Middle East announced!

The 2011 regional winners of the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Architecture were recently announced at a ceremony in Casablanca. A total of 300,000 dollars in cash prizes were given for 10 projects that reflect the use of sustainable building approaches, including but not limited to community renewal, urban redevelopment, energy-efficient design.

The Gold Award went to a secondary school project in Gando, Burkina Faso by Germany-based Kéré Architecture for its masterful combination of numerous sustainable features, including a passive ventilation system, exclusive reliance on solar and wind power and rainwater collection.
 
Plans by Italian firm ARCò – Architettura e Cooperazione for sustainable renovation of a primary school near Al Azarije, Palestine earned the Silver Award. The project improved the existing building’s thermal insulation, natural ventilation and access to natural light using basic local materials.

German architect Anna Heringer earned the Bronze Award for her designs for a training center for sustainable construction in Marrakesh, Morocco. The building combines sustainable education and sustainable structure with learning facilities made of local resources that boast built-in shading and natural ventilation, heat pumps and solar panels.

The following projects were also acknowledged: affordable building materials from recycled agricultural waste in Zaria, Nigeria; a building implementing holistic architectural design in Masdar City, United Arab Emirates; a sustainable, public eco-tourism facility in Cape Town, South Africa; and an urban precinct reconstruction and rehabilitation in Fez, Morocco.

“Next Generation” awards for student designs were awarded to the following projects: adaptive re-use of an industrial site for urban agriculture in  Pretoria, South Africa; a passive floodplain agricultural system for Gohatsion, Ethiopia; and a culturally-sensitive urban master plan for Agadir, Marocco. 

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