Montreal urban development wins Holcim bronze prize

A Montreal team won the bronze prize in an international competition for sustainable construction that drew more than 3,000 submissions from 118 countries.
The competition was launched by the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction in collaboration with five of the world’s leading technical universities. The final winners were announced in April following a three-year competition cycle that gave away USD 1 million in prize money.
Joint winners of the gold category were an urban integration project in Caracas, Venezuela, and the design for a new main railway station in Stuttgart, Germany. Silver went to a regional master plan and renewal strategy for the Mulini Valley near Amalfi and Scala, Italy.
The Montreal project that won the bronze award is a low-cost housing and urban renewal project, designed by a team led by Daniel Pearl with Mark Poddubiuk and Bernard Olivier of L’OEUF (L’Office de L’Eclectisme Urbain et Fonctionnel). The team won USD 150,000. Their project was recognized for its community involvement and many beneficial technologies for outstanding building performance and efficiency
The award was presented by the chair and president of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP) Olivia L la O’ Castillo (Philippines) who cited the environmental and social sensitivity of the project, and transferability: “The integrated method of planning could be applied in many other circumstances. Thus the project can be a reference even an inspiration for similar projects anywhere,” she said. The project also serves as a valuable model for joint financing schemes.
The projects submitted were judged by an independent 14-person jury consisting of leading architects, engineers, and university professors from 10 countries.
The Holcim Foundation’s partner universities were ETH Zurich, Switzerland), MIT Boston, USP So Paulo, Brazil, Wits Johannesburg, South Africa and Tongji Shanghai, China.
CEO of Holcim and Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation, Markus Akermann (Switzerland) confirmed the next cycle of the Holcim Awards competition will open for entries in mid 2007. The Foundation has a number of other initiatives include a three day forum in April next year dedicated to the theme of urban transformation to be hosted by Tongji University in Shanghai, China.