Beirut, Lebanon – October 17, 2014 – Beirut hosted the 4thedition of Holcim Awards Ceremony for Africa Middle East, in partnership with American University of Beirut (AUB). This prestigious event, organized every three years, honored winners of the most outstanding architecture and engineering projects reflecting the importance of sustainable construction and planning. 12 projects were recognized with a total of USD 330,000 prize money, out of which a project of Raëd Abillama Architects and one by students from the AUB were honored for architectural excellence.
The event, designed to celebrate sustainable construction and to create a strong foothold for environmental and community-based architecture in the region, was held in the presence of renowned architects, engineers, planners, professionals, industry professors and visionaries.
Key figures such asDr. Bilal Hamad,President of Municipality of Beirut, Bernard Fontana CEO of Holcim Group, Dr. Howayda el Harithy, Head of Holcim Africa Middle East Jury and Edward Schwarz, General Manager of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction took part in the event.
One of the top prizes, the Silver, was received by the talented Lebanese Raëd Abillama of Raëd Abillama Architects for its urban forest rehabilitation in Lebanon. The urban plan develops the facilities and services needed in the park and facilitates its opening to the public, promoting it for cultural, social, sports, and environmental activities, while also maintaining and conserving the park’s natural habitats. The prize value is of 50,000 dollars.
Students Marylynn Antaki, Christina Attiyeh, Mira Boumatar, Romy El Sayah and Yara Rahme from the American University of Beirutreceived the 4th prize of “Next Generation” for their urban energy recovery and development concept.
An ecological park for sustainable research and technology planned for an industrial zone located in Ankara won the Gold prize. The project incorporates various sustainable features such as natural lighting, geothermal heat pumps, green roofs, passive ventilation and water efficiency/irrigation systems. The award’s value amounts to 100,000 dollars
A project conducted in parallel by the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), Addis Ababa and Bauhaus University, Weimar, Germany received Bronze, of a value of 30,000 dollars.
Five Acknowledgement prizes for outstanding public infrastructure were also distributed. One of them went to the Palestinians Shatha Safi of Riwaq Center for Architectural Conservation in Palestine and Yara Sharif of NG Architects and Palestine Regeneration Team inUnited Kingdom, for their women’s center and playground in Palestine that creates social and physical infrastructure for cooking, education and gardening as a conduit to empowering women in the community.
Commenting on the event, Edwards Schwarz said: “The winning submissions show how multi-disciplinary responses to the challenges facing design and building are being developed. They focus on the importance to sustainable development at an economic, ecological and social level”.
The guests had the opportunity to see an exhibition showcasing the winning projects where environmental standards and urban needs were seamlessly integrated.
This cycle of the Awards competition, which is conducted by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, has closed with significantly more submissions than ever before- 264 entries from Africa Middle East – reflecting the growing awareness and importance of sustainable construction in our region.
Holcim Awards submissions for projects in Africa Middle East were evaluated by an independent jury hosted by the American University of Beirut and included Howayda Al-Harithy (head of jury, Lebanon), Marc Angélil (Switzerland), Javier de Benito (Switzerland), Aziza Chaouni (Morocco), Fasil Giorghis (Ethiopia), Daniel Irurah (South Africa), Francis Kéré (Burkina Faso), Hansjürg Leibundgut (Switzerland), and Amer Moustafa (United Arab Emirates).
The internationaljury selected the winners using the “target issues” for sustainable construction that include the “triple bottom line” of environmental, social and economic performance, and also recognize the need for architectural excellence and a high degree of transferability.