Winners unveiled for LAGI 2025 Fiji competition for clean energy and water landscapes

The winners have been announced for the LAGI 2025 Fiji design challenge. The competition called for clean energy and water solutions to be based in Fiji’s Marou Village.

Two winners were selected from 205 submissions, which organizers described as “visionary artworks in the landscape” that are “designed to generate clean energy and water while reflecting the hopes of Marou residents for a future grounded in environmental stewardship and cultural identity.”

“We never imagined that people from across the world would be designing with us in this way,” said Ilisari Naqau Nasau, Acting Chief (Sau Turaga) of Marou.  “On behalf of myself, the elders, and the entire community of Marou, I wish to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to all of the designers who participated in the LAGI 2025 Fiji competition. These solutions for energy and water systems will not only benefit us today, but will also support our future, and the futures of our children and grandchildren.”

The first winner, titled The O and designed by Alberto Roncelli, manifests as a solar-powered pavilion shaped as a perfect circle. The pavilion seeks to unite clean energy, rainwater harvesting, and cultural gathering beneath the timber canopy, while also generating 150 MWh of electricity and 1.2 million liters of filtered water annually.

“LAGI Fiji represents a unique opportunity to explore renewable energy in a meaningful and poetic way,” said Roncelli. “I’m honored to develop this vision over the coming months and look forward to working closely with the Marou community.”

The second winner is Ligavatuvuce (“Hands that Offer and Uplift”) by Young Kang. Rising from the landscape as a gesture of open palms offering yaqona (kava), the scheme comprises a sculptural system of solar energy and rainwater harvesting as well as a gathering space. Drawing from Fijian tradition and local craftsmanship, and built collectively, the structure generates 120 MWh of electricity and provides 4.5 million liters of water annually, while creating a shaded ceremonial space that supports both community life and sustainable tourism in Marou Village.

“LAGI 2025 was an incredible opportunity to create something deeply connected with the Marou community, while advancing sustainability-focused art through concepts rooted in cultural traditions that link present and future generations,” said Kang.

Each team will now receive $100,000 USD to prototype their ideas, with prototypes to be exhibited at the Fiji Arts Council in Suva in early 2026. One project will ultimately be selected for full-scale construction in Marou Village.

You can compare the latest cohort of winners with those of previous Land Art Generator Initiative competitions by reviewing our ongoing coverage here.