For the first time in Moscow: the winners of the European region of the architectural Holcim Awards competition have been announced

In the “School of Dramatic Art” theater building in Moscow, the ceremony of the prestigious award in the field of sustainable architecture, Holcim Awards 2014, was held for the European region. The ceremony was opened by the Chief Architect of Moscow, Sergey Kuznetsov.

The international competition is held simultaneously in five geographic regions on the initiative of the Swiss Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction in collaboration with renowned technical universities around the world and aims to promote the idea of ​​sustainable development in architecture and construction. The announcement of the winning participants of the European region was held in Moscow for the first time. Opening the ceremony, the Chief Architect Sergey Kuznetsov said:

“Over the last ten years we have been actively promoting the principles of sustainability in architecture — including in the construction of Sochi Olympics sites, and now, in preparation for the World Cup. All these principles are extremely valuable. I am glad that Holcim Awards prize is awarded to a large number of projects that have such qualities. However, one should not forget about their architectural beauty and aesthetics. After all, a building that is truly environmentally sustainable — is at the same time elegant. Using these principles in Moscow’s architecture, we will be able to make it truly unique.”

The jury took into account the architectural excellence of projects when selecting the winners, along with such criteria as environmental, social and economic effectiveness and practical feasibility of the project. The total prize fund for the European region of the competition was 300,000 dollars. Twelve projects received awards in various categories.

Gold, silver and bronze — for an eco-park, a low-budget campus and “collective” urbanism

The main gold prize of Holcim Awards 2014 and 100,000 dollars was awarded to the project of Anthropic Park — the creation of a freshwater ecological reserve in Saline Joniche in southern Italy. Francisco Leiva of Grupo aranea (Spain) and Marco Skarpinato of AutonomeForme (Italy), and others developed a concept for the rehabilitation of coastal areas that were degraded during the industrial era. In the proposed picturesque area, a shape-shifting ecosystem will be reconstructed with rich flora and fauna and the conditions for nesting migratory birds. As noted by Arno Brandlhuber (Germany), a member of the jury, the authors demonstrated an optimal balance of human intervention in the natural environment. In addition, the project organically combined all 5 main criteria for eco-sustainable design: environmental, social and economic efficiency, architectural beauty and feasibility of implementation.

Silver and 50,000 dollars were awarded to French architects Gilles Delalex, Yves Moreau, and Thomas Wessel-Cessieux from Muoto architects for the project of a multi-purpose building on the new university campus of Paris-Saclay, France. The building is designed as an open system with a wide range of public functions and the efficient use of space. “Thanks to the elegant design combining economic and aesthetic solutions, the low-budget structure transforms restriction into dignity”, noted the members of the jury.

Bronze and 30,000 dollars for the original design project for an area of urban planning in Vienna, Austria was received by a team of authors from Arenas Basabe Palacios arquitectos (Madrid, Spain). They developed a framework for urban development which is based on a grid of gardens and a set of rules. Construction on the sites between the gardens is carried out gradually according to the changing needs of residents and their collective decision. As noted by the jury, the project organically combines formal and informal approaches, and the participation of architects and community residents.

Next Generation — the future generation for sustainable architecture

In the category of Next Generation, which is conducted among young professionals and students, the jury awarded 6 prizes to designers from Austria, France, Ireland, Russia and Spain.

The Russian team from St. Petersburg which included Alexander Veshnyakov, Dmitry Ivanov, Natalia Mikhailova, Alexander Tyron, and Nadezhda Pavlova was awarded the Next Generation Holcim Awards second prize for the concept of creating civic centers for small Russian towns, which are connected in a virtual online network. The young architects’ project is aimed at solving our country’s urgent problems of developing social activity in small towns.

Acknowledgement prizes and awards of 25,000 dollars were also awarded for innovations in the field of building materials and technologies. The development team from Stuttgart (Germany) created unique reusable aggregates for concrete that do not require a binding agent (concrete without cement!). The design team of TETRA architecten (Belgium) won the award for the Material Flows project, a construction materials recycling and logistics hub in Brussels.

The ceremony, which was held in English, was conducted by the well-known journalist Vladimir Pozner.