20 sustainable projects honored at Holcim Foundation Awards 2025

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction has announced the 20 winners of its 2025 Awards. The awards, divided into five Grand Prizes and 15 Regional Winners, are aimed at “highlighting global trends reshaping sustainable design and construction.”

The winning projects span Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America. The five grand prize winners will each receive $80,000, while the 15 regional winners will each receive $40,000. The awards recognize sustainability across all scales, from a 2000-square-foot semi-permanent school in a Kenyan forest to large and mega-scale urban regeneration projects in major cities such as Madrid, Dhaka, and Shenzhen.

“This year’s 20 winners use the right materials in the right places, bring communities into the process from day one, and design with nature as an ally,” said Laura Viscovich, Executive Director of the Holcim Foundation. “The projects are inspiring because the solutions they offer are replicable and implementable-they set a credible path forward for industry.”

Below, we have detailed the 20 winning projects. You can learn more on the official website here, and compare this year’s selection to those of previous years through our ongoing coverage of the series here.

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

Grand Prize – Asia Pacific

Old Dhaka Central Jail Conservation in Dhaka, Bangladesh by FORM.3 ARCHITECTS

Description: A historic jail site in central Dhaka is reimagined as a vibrant public space, blending adaptive reuse, passive cooling strategies, and local craft to deliver a culturally rooted, economically viable model for sustainable urban renewal. 

Grand Prize – Europe

Art-Tek Tulltorja in Pristina, Kosovo by RAFI SEGAL A+U, OFFICE OF URBAN DRAFTERS, ORG PERMANENT MODERNITY, STUDIO REV

Description: A former brick factory in Prishtina is reimagined as a creative and tech program, combining clean energy, circular construction, and community-led programming to drive cultural, social, and economic regeneration in post-conflict Kosovo.

Grand Prize – Latin America

Schools for Flood-Prone Areas in Porto Alegre, Brazil by ANDRADE MORETTIN ARQUITETOS ASSOCIADOS, SAUERMARTINS

Description: A Brazilian public school is redesigned to act as a multi-level refuge during annual floods, ensuring vital shelter for the local community, whilst offering a unique architecture that acts as a learning tool in itself.

Grand Prize – Middle East & Africa

Qalandiya: the Green Historic Maze in Qalandiya, Palestinian Territory by RIWAQ – CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION

Description: An incremental restoration project looks to revive a fragile historic village, honoring vernacular architecture, championing community engagement, optimizing ecological rehabilitation, and highlighting adaptive reuse.

Grand Prize – North America

Moakley Park in Boston, MA, USA by Stoss Landscape Urbanism

Description: A community-led waterfront park in Boston that integrates restored marshes, stormwater management, adaptive landscapes, and native plantings to create a resilient and inclusive public space

REGIONAL WINNERS

Regional Winner – Asia Pacific

Gelephu Mindfulness City in Gelephu, Bhutan by BIG – BJARKE INGELS GROUP

Description: A bold design in Bhutan integrates spiritual values, passive design, and renewable energy into a large-scale urban plan. Shaped by the landscape and local materials, it aims to set a global benchmark for sustainable urban planning and development.

Regional Winner – Asia Pacific

Healing Through Design in Bengaluru, India by THE AGAMI PROJECT / A THRESHOLD

Description: A compact health center in Bengaluru uses recycled stone and timber, passive cooling, and community-led design to form a vibrant, inclusive hub for healing, culture, and social resilience.

Regional Winner – Asia Pacific

Pingshan River Blueway Landscape in Shenzhen, China by SASAKI ASSOCIATES

Description: A 40km river corridor in Shenzhen is transformed into a biodiverse public landscape, integrating passive measures to reduce the urban heat island (UHI) effect, material reuse, and regional cultural heritage to create a flood-resilient, inclusive urban greenway. 

Regional Winner – Europe

School in Gaüses in Girona, Spain by TED'A ARQUITECTES

Description: A rural school in Catalonia built from local earth, timber, and tile rethinks education through sustainability, turning its forested site into a space where children learn by doing—inside and out. 

Regional Winner – Europe

The Crafts College in Herning, Denmark by DORTE MANDRUP

Description: A vocational campus uses recycled materials, passive design, and shared public space to connect education with sustainable building and craft, offering students a hands-on model for learning by making. 

Regional Winner – Europe

The Southern River Parks in Madrid, Spain by ALDAYJOVER ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE

Description: A large-scale restoration of Madrid’s southern riverbanks turns degraded land into resilient green infrastructure, using native planting, water reuse, and community-led design to address climate, biodiversity, and social challenges.

Regional Winner – Latin America

Barrio Chacarita Alta Housing in Asunción, Paraguay by MOS ARCHITECTS & ADAMO FAIDEN

Description: An innovative social housing project in Asunción’s Chacarita Alta district upgrades an informal settlement through resident participation, providing safe, affordable homes and transforming a polluted ravine into vibrant public spaces and pathways. 

Regional Winner – Latin America

Origin: The Reunion with the Lost Gardens in Medellín, Colombia by CONNATURAL

Description: Shaping a new landscape in Medellín, the project removes an obsolete concrete structure to uncover a buried creek. Integrating urban farming, water gardens, and outdoor classrooms, it reconnects a university campus with its natural hydrology. 

Regional Winner – Latin America

Sesc Parque Dom Pedro II in São Paulo, Brazil by UNA ARQUITETOS

Description: In central São Paulo, a derelict triangular lot wedged between highways and a river is reborn as a vibrant community center for the city’s underserved downtown population. 

Regional Winner – Middle East & Africa

Brookside Secondary School in Asaba, Nigeria by STUDIO CONTRA

Description: A school harnessing locally crafted, low-carbon clay bricks revives nearly lost artisanal skills, whilst providing economic opportunities for the area. 

Regional Winner – Middle East & Africa

Waldorf School in Nairobi, Kenya by URKO SÁNCHEZ ARCHITECTS

Description: A semi-permanent primary school campus in Nairobi's forest poetically merges classrooms with nature, utilizing modular, earth-filled walls and lightweight roofs. 

Regional Winner – Middle East & Africa

Zando Central Market in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo by THINK TANK ARCHITECTURE

Description: Redeveloping Kinshasa’s central market, this project provides safe, comfortable, shaded stalls for 20,000 vendors using passive design, breathable brick façades, and open concrete structures. 

Regional Winner – North America

FortWhyte Buffalo Crossing Paul Albrechtsen Visitor Centre in Winnipeg, MB, Canada by Stantec Architecture

Description: A net-zero visitor centre in Winnipeg reconnecting communities to reclaimed landscapes, drawing on Indigenous design collaboration, and passive strategies. 

Regional Winner – North America

Lawson Centre for Sustainability - Trinity College at the University of Toronto in Toronto, ON, Canada by MECANOO ARCHITECTEN

Description: A climate-conscious urban infill education hub at Toronto’s Trinity College is deploying passive design strategies that foster community, circularity, and ecological restoration.

Regional Winner – North America

Portland Intl. Main Terminal in Portland, OR, USA by ZGF

Description: A sustainably expanded airport terminal with locally sourced materials, passive daylighting, and community-informed design.