Regional winners for Holcim Awards 2014 - Latin America

The Holcim Awards 2014 announced the winners for the Latin America competition. During the recent awards ceremony in Medellín, 12 projects from throughout Latin America were recognized as models of sustainable construction that demonstrate the evolving state of sustainable construction and the Holcim Awards standards of environmental, social and economic performance. The Latin America regional awards ceremony is the third in a series of five events following Moscow for Europe and Toronto for North America.

The winning projects received a shared money prize of more than US$330,000. Aside the top three winners, five Acknowledgement Prizes and four Next Generation-winning projects (young professionals and students) were recognized.

Holcim Awards Gold 2014: Articulated Site: Water reservoirs as public park
MAIN AUTHORS: Mario Fernando Camargo Gómez - Colectivo720, Cali, Colombia; Luis Orlando Tombé Hurtado - Colectivo720, Cali, Colombia

"A landscape and urban design project for a public park in Medellín, Colombia, that merges social imperatives with technical requirements won the top prize. Architects Mario Camargo and Luis Tombé from Colectivo 720 in Colombia designed a park that encompasses landscape and urban design, as well as architecture and urban planning. The public space and pre-existing elements are transformed to create an outdoor auditorium and venues for a range of community activities. 

At the prize giving ceremony in Medellín, Bruno Stagno applauded the Holcim Awards Gold project for exploring uncharted and interdisciplinary terrain. “Within the project, aesthetic, social, economic and environmental concerns are combined to form a sophisticated ensemble of public spaces and create a ‘socio-technical’ landscape of magnificent beauty”, he said."

For further project details, click here.

Holcim Awards Silver 2014: Arboreal Platform: Low-impact timber rainforest center
MAIN AUTHORS: Román Jesús Cordero Tovar - PLUG architecture, Mérida, Mexico
FURTHER AUTHOR(S): Izbeth Katia Mendoza Fragoso - PLUG architecture, Mérida, Mexico

"The headquarters of Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Cordillera Volcánica Central in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, received the silver award. Román Cordero from PLUG architecture in Mexico designed an elevated wooden structure that is sensitive to its context and uses low-cost passive and active systems to minimize its environmental footprint. The wooden structure is covered by a roof constructed with panels made of recycled aluminium milk packages."

For further project details, click here.

Holcim Awards Bronze 2014: Children’s House: Pedagogically-aligned school
MAIN AUTHOR Francisco Pardo - AT103, Mexico City, Mexico; Julio Amezcua - AT103, Mexico City, Mexico

"A school building in San Andrés Payuca in Mexico founded on an alternative educational model that integrates agriculture, farming and building construction into the curriculum received the bronze award. The self-built school design led by architects Julio Amezuca and Francisco Pardo of AT103 in Mexico proposes the use of cement-reinforced compacted earth blocks with tapered corners that permit assembly in a series of curves based on organic principles."

For further project details, click here.

• Five Acknowledgement prizes for outstanding public infrastructure: "Architects Daniel Bermúdez (Colombia) and Juan Herreros (Spain) received an Acknowledgement prize for their vertically-stacked Ágora Bogotá (International Convention Center) with a minimized building footprint and maximized outdoor public space in the heart of Colombia’s capital (Further project details). Damian Fernandez and Joaquin Trillo of Red Comunidades Rurales in Argentina were acknowledged for their center for water harvesting and agricultural production for indigenous and Criollo communities of the Chaco forest in Argentina. (Further project details). Further Acknowledgement prizes went to a site-responsive school in Jacmel, Haiti, designed by a Polish group of architects led by Maciej Suida with indoor and outdoor classrooms that form “neighborhood clusters” (Further project details); a rural campus for the Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Acatitlán that is dedicated to sustainable development and community regeneration and was designed by a team led by Oscar Hagerman from Mexico (Further project details); as well as an urban restoration project for Quito by Al Borde Arquitectos from Ecuador that proposes a “social economy” to refurbish the historic center of the city." (Further project details)

• Four “Next Generation” prizes for inspiring visions of tomorrow: The Holcim Awards competition also seeks bold ideas in the “Next Generation” category for young professionals and students. The “Next Generation” 1st prize went to a team of students from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina for a riverside infrastructure redeployment plan for Manaus in Brazil. The proposal transfers activities currently on the fragmented waterfront onto a floating platform that connects the river and the city (Further project details). Two students from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México received the 2nd prize in the “Next Generation” category for a recycled timber church and community center in Zoh Laguna in Mexico (Further project details). 3rd prize went to students from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba for an urban regeneration through densification plan for Córdoba (Further project details), and the 4th prize was presented to a group of students from Universidad Latina (Heredia) and Universidad Hispanoamericana for a library and media center social development project in San José, Costa Rica. (Further project details)

Holcim Awards - Latin America independent jury included: Bruno Stagno (head of jury, Costa Rica), Marc Angélil (Switzerland), Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), Alfredo Brillembourg (Venezuela), Angelo Bucci (Brazil), Fernando Diez (Argentina), Harry Gugger (Switzerland), Vanderley John (Brazil) and Andreas Leu (Switzerland).