Foundations 15, the magazine of the Holcim Foundation, is dedicated to the 4th International Holcim Forum which took place in Mumbai, India, and focused on the importance of sustainable construction in driving economic development.

The magazine summarizes the keynote speeches of architects Sir David Chipperfield (UK) on durability and public space, and Alejandro Aravena (Chile) on the importance of “uncommon sense” on reconstruction projects. Economist Lucas Bretschger (Switzerland) reported on the potential of sustainable construction for controlling CO2 emissions and architect Brinda Somaya (India) provided examples of varied challenges in India today.

The concluding debate distilled the key findings of the Forum, with panelists Marc Angélil (Switzerland), Nirmal Kishnani (Singapore), Ashok Lall (India), and Werner Sobek (Germany). They are convinced that a change of social mindset and political initiative still remain necessary to make sustainability the norm in building construction around the world.

The 80-page publication is a summary of the Holcim Forum attended by about 350 representatives of various industries and disciplines from around 40 countries. It includes an array of photos of participants and from the four Forum workshops – improvement of informal settlements, densification, urban metabolism, and gains delivered by sustainable buildings – where participants exchanged their ideas and took part in topic-related excursions to sites in the city of Mumbai. 

download Foundations 15 (PDF, 6MB)
Academic publication to follow

A publication on the topic of Economy of Sustainable Construction edited by Ruby Press of Berlin will be released towards the end of 2013. This book will include academic papers delivered at the Holcim Forum and articles inspired by the symposium.

Book details

Foundations 15 (80 pages. 208 x 296mm) is published by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Hagenholzstrasse 85, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland.

ISBN 978-3-7266-0097-6.