Tag: holcim | ArchDaily

Creating Cities for Tomorrow: The Future of Sustainable Construction

Miljan Gutovic — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Rapid urbanization, driven by population growth, is among the powerful megatrends transforming how cities are built. The world is adding a city the size of Madrid every single week — and will do so for decades to come. To meet this demand sustainably, a collaborative, systems-thinking approach to construction is needed.

The European Cultural Centre Announces 21 Shortlisted Projects for the 2025 ECC Awards

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 05:30:00 +0000

The European Cultural Centre Italy has organized the ECC Awards since 2010 to recognize artists, architects, designers, and academics in their respective fields. The Awards highlight projects featured in the Time Space Existence exhibition, which runs in parallel with the Venice Architecture Biennale and showcases tangible approaches to building more sustainably, aiming to position architecture as a force for environmental and social repair. The seventh edition of Time Space Existence is a group exhibition spanning three Venetian venues: Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens. This year, the exhibition focuses on the themes of Repair, Regenerate, and Reuse, emphasizing the essential role of architects and designers as agents of positive change in shaping sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative ways of living.

Between Housing Demand and Environmental Goals: Alejandro Aravena on Incremental Solutions and Net-Zero Concrete

Maria-Cristina Florian — Fri, 16 May 2025 07:30:00 +0000

During the Time Space Existence exhibition, organized by the European Cultural Centre in Venice, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL unveiled a full-scale prototype for a new approach in incremental housing solutions. Titled the USB Core, standing for Basic Services Unit housing prototype, this proposal aims to demonstrate how efficient construction can provide all the essential housing components in a minimal space. The prototype is also the result of a collaboration between the architecture office and concrete manufacturer and researcher Holcim, and is built out of a newly developed type of net-zero concrete mix. It also incorporates fully recycled aggregates, in alignment with circular economy principles. The collaboration aims to demonstrate a more environmentally conscious yet cost-effective way of providing essential services to at-risk communities without harming the planet.

Alejandro Aravena’s Elemental and Holcim Collaborate on Carbon-Neutral Housing at the 2025 Venice Biennale

Antonia Piñeiro — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 06:30:00 +0000

From May 10 to November 23, 2025, a carbon-neutral housing project designed by Elemental, the firm led by Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena, will be showcased at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The project aims to combine the Chilean office's expertise in social housing with the construction products of Holcim (the company behind the Holcim Foundation) to create a prototype for resilient and affordable housing.

Shaping a Sustainable Built Environment Through Industry-Wide Upskilling

Rene Submissions — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 01:30:00 +0000

By now, most people in the construction industry know that addressing the carbon emissions that come from the built environment is key to solving the climate challenge. Yet, knowing where to start can be a challenge for many professionals. That's why education and upskilling across the value chain—from architects to urban planners, and real estate developers to engineers—are essential to fostering sustainable construction practices.

Design Educates Awards Announces 2024 Winners in Architecture and Design

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Design Educates Awards 2024 has just announced the winners of this year’s winners, celebrating projects that excel in addressing complex social and environmental challenges while carrying significant educational value. Held annually, the awards recognize projects that respond to social and environmental issues and promote sustainability, even if the educational impact is gradual. In fact, it aims to highlight projects that offer long-term value and address the complexities of modern life.

A Catalyst for Social Change and Equity: In Conversation with Holcim Award Winners Husos, Elli, and Ultrazul

Nour Fakharany — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction announced the winners of the 2023 edition, celebrating projects that showcase innovative approaches to sustainable construction practices. For the Europe region, the Gold Prize was awarded to Husos, Elli, and Ultrazul for their project “Composition of Knowledge House.” In a video interview with the winners, they explain the details of this rehabilitation project. Developed for the Carasso Foundation headquarters, the project uses an innovative “360° co-design process” to promote inclusivity and community involvement.

The Intersection of Infrastructure and Community: In Conversation with Holcim Award Winner Juan Carlos Cano

Maria-Cristina Florian — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:30:00 +0000

Located in Mexico City, the municipality of Iztapalapa has some of the most densely populated areas within the metropole. Serving a population of 1,800,000 people, many of them with lower incomes, the municipality struggles to provide sufficient public spaces and amenities. In an effort to correct this, the administration set out to take underutilized and abandoned plots of land and transform them for public use. Utopia Estrella is one of these initiatives. Located near Mexico City’s largest water treatment plant, the project combines a socially engaging architectural program with a pedagogical approach to the role of water infrastructures in the larger ecosystem. Designed by Cano Vera Arquitectura, the project has been recognized as the Gold Prize Winner of the Holcim Awards 2023 for Latin America. In a video interview for ArchDaily, Juan Carlos Cano of Cano Vera Arquitectura discusses the impact of this project, its goals, and the unique conditions that led to its development.

Plug-In Architecture for Social Engagement: In Conversation with Holcim Award Winner DeRoché Strohmayer

Maria-Cristina Florian — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:30:00 +0000

At the initiative of the Surf Ghana Collective, architects Glenn DeRoché and Jurgen Strohmayer, the co-founders of DeRoché Strohmayer, set out to transform a small waterfront plot in Busua, a surfing hotspot on Ghana’s western coast. The result is a dynamic community hub, complete with amenities for local surfers, but also providing spaces for the entire community to gather in and off-season. The project has been recognized as the winner of the Gold Prize of Holcim Awards 2023 for the Middle East and Africa commended for the profound local impact and the resourceful approach to construction techniques. In a video interview for ArchDaily, architects Glenn DeRoché and Jurgen Strohmayer discuss the development of this initiative and the innovations that shaped it.

Restoring a Symbol of Collective Memory: Holcim Award Winner Xu Tiantian Discusses the Impact of Adaptive Reuse

Maria-Cristina Florian — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:30:00 +0000

In the mountain valleys of China’s Fujian Province, thousands of large, rammed earth fortresses lay abandoned. Once used for both defense and collective housing, the tulou typology is an integral part of the region’s cultural heritage, with 46 of them being recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Despite this, the rural communities surrounding them have struggled to find new roles and purposes for these buildings. Going beyond the need for conservation, architect Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecture set out to develop and adapt this heritage to reintroduce it into community life. The Fujian Tulou | Adaptive Reuse project recently won the Gold Prize of Holcim Awards 2023 for Asia-Pacific, recognized for creating “an exemplary model for building conservation initiatives.” In a video interview for ArchDaily, Xu Tiantian discusses the principles that underpin this initiative and the potential outcomes of adaptive reuse in rural communities.

Building for Sustainability: 3 Main Themes Explored at the Time Space Existence Exhibition in Venice

Christele Harrouk — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 04:00:00 +0000

The European Cultural Centre (ECC), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering cultural exchanges on an international scale, showcased its sixth edition of the Time Space Existence architecture exhibition alongside this year's Venice Architecture Biennale. The 2023 installment was centered on the theme of sustainability in its various forms, encompassing subjects related to migration, digital building technologies and material research, future urban developments, and housing, bringing together architects, designers, artists, academics, and photographers from 52 different countries.

Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim Present New Concept for an “Essential Home”

Rene Submissions — Tue, 23 May 2023 06:45:00 +0000

Currently at 103 million, the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is continuously growing. Many seek shelter in settlements that are meant to be temporary, but where displaced people end up living years, even decades.

Holcim and the Norman Foster Foundation to Announce Essential Houses Research Project at the 2023 Venice Biennale

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 04:30:00 +0000

During the 2023 Architectural Biennale in Venice, Holcim and the Norman Foster Foundation will announce the start of their Essential Houses Research Project. Through this collaboration, the Norman Foster Foundation created necessary housing to give displaced communities safety, comfort, and welfare while allowing them to live in temporary settlements for over 20 years. To make sustainable buildings accessible to everyone, Holcim constructed these necessary homes using various green products, such as Elevate Insulation Boards and ECOPact low-carbon concrete.