As we face a
global climate crisis that must be addressed, sustainability has quickly become
one of the most crucial aspects to consider in contemporary architecture.
Designs that go beyond current standards, showcasing sustainable responses to
technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues have arisen in
recent years, garnering much-deserved praise for the innovative and
environmentally-friendly solutions they propose.
The LafargeHolcim Awards stands out as the
world's most significant competition for sustainable design. The criteria of
the USD 2 million competition are as challenging as the goal of sustainability
itself. The competition is for projects at an advanced stage of design, not
finished works.
Although
construction is a globalized industry with intensive exchange across
continents, this year significant differences were seen between the projects in
each region. “In Latin America, a striking number of project
authors dealt with water,” says Sarah Nichols, representative of the
Academic Committee of the LafargeHolcim Foundation
who supported the jury meeting at the University of São Paulo.
Sanitation and
clean water are major issues across Latin
America, states jury member Carlos Espina from Argentina.
In fact, millions of people in Latin
America have no access to adequate amounts of sufficiently
clean drinking water, and at the same time the region is plagued again and
again by devastating floods, including the metropolitan areas. It’s encouraging
to see so many projects considering ways to manage water cycles effectively.
763 projects
were up for consideration by the jury, chaired by Brazilian architect Angelo
Bucci. “Projects that are good for the community fundamentally
enhance their chances of being realized,” he remarks. “The history of the
competition proves that the Awards will give the winning projects additional
recognition that helps them to move forward,” adds Carlos Espina.
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