Holcim Awards for Asia Pacific

The Holcim Awards Gold 2011 for Asia Pacific was awarded to a project that upgrades a traditional building method with effective low-tech measures through engineering and design. The Earthen School Tipu Sultan Merkez, in a small village near Lahore, Pakistan, was designed by architect Eike Roswag of Ziegert Roswag Seiler Architekten Ingenieure, Germany. It was constructed using a cob (clay, sand, water and straw) lower floor, combined with an upper floor made of earth-filled bamboo walls. Intense research on cob construction resulted in a significant increase in strength and durability, and extended maintenance intervals compared to former approaches.

Holcim Awards Silver went to the conversion of a former textile factory and adjacent land into an agricultural production site and retail outlet in central Bangkok. The Urban Farm Urban Barn, designed by a project team led by Isavaret Tamonut of TTH Trading, reintroduces elements of self-sufficiency, while reconnecting food production and consumption.

Holcim Awards Bronze was awarded to a team led by architect Ken Yeang of T R Hamzah & Yeang International for a 14-level commercial and retail building located in Malaysia’s federal administrative city of Putrajaya. The building brings together state-of-the-art technologies appropriate for high-quality use in two interconnected towers. The towers use vegetation to actively reduce energy consumption, provide solar shading, and create comfortable spaces considering all requirements of utilization.

Six Acknowledgement prizes were shared between three projects in Indonesia, two in India and one in Japan. The “Next Generation” (student category) prizes were awarded to project visions for urban transit cycling in Beijing, urban planning and revitalization of Navi Mumbai, and a decentralized sanitation system near New Delhi.

The Holcim Awards ceremony for Asia Pacific in Singapore concluded the series of five events and followed the presentation of winners in Casablanca, Milan, Buenos Aires and Washington, D.C. Winners of Holcim Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze in each region qualify for the Global Holcim Awards 2012. In addition, all prize-winning projects at the regional level, including the Acknowledgement and Next Generation winners, will compete for Global Holcim Innovation prizes. Winners of the global prizes will be announced in April 2012.