Lafarge Africa, a leading Sub-Saharan Africa building solutions company is calling professionals for entries that will enable to participate in the 2023 Holcim Awards for sustainable construction which begins this month.
The company which is a member of Holcim-the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions-announced the beginning of the internationally renowned Holcim Awards at a a media conference it hosted in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, March 1.
According to authorities of the company, the Holcim Awards recognises and promotes projects that combine sustainable designs and construction with architectural excellence, adding that the Awards are a competition organized by the Holcim Foundation-an independent non- profit organization.
“We are, therefore, calling on professionals in Nigeria’s built and construction sector to participate in the 2023 edition of the awards which is seeking real-world projects that are client-supported and exemplify sustainable construction,” Khaled EL Dokani, CEO, Lafarge Africa, said.
“To be eligible, the project must not have started construction before January 1, 2022, and must be at detailed design, complete design, under construction, and completed construction stages,” EL Dokani added.
He explained that the purpose of the global awards competition was to showcase and reward leading-edge thinking and real-world examples in practice that could accelerate the global movement for sustainable construction.
Titilope Oguntugua, Lafarge Africa’s Head of Sustainability and Corporate Brand, said at the media conference that the competition which promises USD 1 million prize money is open for projects in architecture, building and civil engineering, landscape and urban design, materials, products, and construction technologies.
According to her, the competition has two categories and is conducted in parallel as separate regional competitions across five regions, including Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East Africa, and North America, adding that USD200,000 per region will be shared between winners of Holcim Awards Gold, Silver, Bronze, and acknowledgement prizes in every region.
“ Lafarge Africa, therefore, calls on all eligible engineers, architects, builders, planners, construction firms, and project owners to be part of this opportunity to make a mark in the global construction space by showcasing how their projects are contributing to a more sustainable built environment,” she said.
Oguntuga also noted that all entries will be evaluated by independent expert juries who will later nominate a shortlist of winners. “Entries will be evaluated using the Holcim Foundation’s renewed goals for sustainable construction that serves as a framework to drive system change- uplifting places, a healthy planet, viable economies, and thriving communities,” she assured.
The juries will be chaired by Tatiana Bilbao, Founder, Tatiana Bilbao Estudio (for Latin America region), Craig Dykers, Founding Partner, Snøhetta (North America), Lesley Lokko, Founder, African Futures Institute (Middle East Africa), Manit Rastogi, Founding Partner, Morphogenesis (Asia Pacific), and Belinda Tato, Founding member, EcosistemaUrbano (Europe).
The sustainability head disclosed that submitting entries in the competition is free, using a web-based form available at www.holcimawards.org to provide information in English on the project design team, project summary, project sustainability profile, including data points, as well as project images, adding that there is no limit to the number of entries an individual/team can submit as the competition is open for entries until March 30, 2023.
“Winners from all regions will be invited to the prize announcement ceremony to be held at the 18th International Venice Biennale of Architecture: The Laboratory of the Future, in November, she said.
The Holcim awards, a pioneering global awards competition launched in 2004 has recognized over 250 prize winners from 30,000 entries in 130 countries, with six international competition cycles spanning two decades. The initiative has grown to be the most significant competition for sustainable construction.
