Global Holcim 2015 Award Winners

Over 6,000 projects in 152 countries were submitted for the 4th cycle of the USD 2 million Holcim Awards, which take place every 3 years. The winners were selected by an international jury* led by Harvard GSD Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, culled from the five regional awards given out last year: Africa and Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Per the Holcim Foundation, "All three prizes recognize architectural interventions that deliver tangible benefits to local communities."

Global Holcim Awards Gold 2015 – USD 200,000
Articulated Site: Water reservoirs as public park, Medellín, Colombia
Mario Camargo and Luis Tombé, Colectivo720, together with Juan Calle and Horacio Valencia, EPM Group (Empresas Públicas de Medellín), Colombia

Global Jury Report: "Great care went into the further development of the project, with particular attention given to the elaboration of construction and landscape details that strengthen the overall objective of the proposal. A hidden infrastructure within the city is opened up, made public, and transformed into a civic space – one situated at the intersection of architecture, landscape, infrastructure and urban design. The jury applauds the careful integration of the ensemble into the physical and social fabric of Medellín, reading the scheme as a robust proposition that fulfills all criteria set forth by the Holcim Foundation.

"The project foregrounds the value of water as an important resource of urban life, celebrating a piece of infrastructure as a civic work of collective pride and beauty – another step in the transformation of Medellín from a troubled city a decade ago into a city with a high quality of life, from a place of neglect to a place of hope. It is in this respect that the jury considers the scheme to offer a model of best practice, one to be emulated in other cities, whether in Latin America or around the globe."

Global Holcim Awards Silver 2015 – USD 100,000
Post War Collective: Community library and social recuperation, Ambepussa, Sri Lanka
Milinda Pathiraja and Ganga Ratnayake, Robust Architecture Workshop, Sri Lanka

Global Jury Report: "The project submission tells a powerful story, not just of a building, but of a society in the process of establishing strong foundations for its future development. The juxtaposition of weapons and tools on the introductory panel sets both the tone and objective of the endeavor, with a persuasive and well-chosen pair of images, making the conceptual framework of the project more than clear: how to transform a discharged army without mission into a motivated workforce at the service of society?

"The project offers proof that the vision can indeed be translated into reality. Rather than remaining in the realm of the abstract, the submitted entry outlines a set of concrete measures, ranging from the introduction of an educational program to the deployment of particular construction techniques – all beautifully and clearly outlined. The authors recognize the potential of using an army’s knowhow in logistics for peaceful purposes, while strengthening social bonds. The jury sees significant value in the basic message of the scheme and greatly appreciates its translation into a tangible physical structure – the construction of a library and public facility for building the physical and social fabric of a community."

Global Holcim Awards Bronze 2015 – USD 50,000
The Dryline: Urban flood protection infrastructure, New York City, USA
Bjarke Ingels and Kai-Uwe Bergmann, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark/USA), One Architecture (Amsterdam) and team

Global Jury Report: "Notwithstanding the merit of the proposal’s vision and its commitment to translate an infrastructure into an urban space accessible to all, the project was nonetheless controversially discussed. On the one hand, the jury appreciated the scheme’s bold proposition to tackle the ramifications of climate change by means of a construction that offers a surplus value to society – turning a problem into an opportunity. On the other hand, the issue was raised as to whether the project was not more reactive rather than proactive, addressing the effects of climate change instead of its root causes.

"Debate aside, the project makes a political statement by means of an architectural and urban proposition, arguing that climate change indeed can no longer be suppressed or discarded as a figment of environmentalist imagination and that tangible solutions truly exist. Moreover, the jury considered the project’s potential as model to be applied in other contexts, with the case of New York understood as a prototype from which to learn in order to pursue similar strategies in susceptible regions around the globe, including, most importantly, regions with limited economic resources."

*Members of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2015: