The 6th International LafargeHolcim Awards for projects and visions in sustainable construction attracted almost 5,000 entries by authors in 121 countries. More than 40% of the projects were submitted in the Next Generation category for students and professionals up to 30 years of age.

“We are thrilled to see quite an even spread of projects across all five regions of the world, showing that sustainable construction is at the forefront of the design and building industry in developed and developing countries alike,” says Edward Schwarz, Head of the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. “One third of all entries were made by women, and a higher ratio of 40% of entries in the Next Generation category were submitted by women,” he added. Nearly half of all submissions in Latin America and Middle East Africa are in the Next Generation category, in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific the ratio between the open Main Category and Next Generation Category is roughly 2:1. The authors of the entries are based in 121 countries, while the projects to be realised are located in 134 countries.

Berlin-based [phase eins]. is currently conducting a formal check of all entries. The submissions meeting the competition’s conditions will then be evaluated by independent juries in five regions of the world headed by Jeannette Kuo, Switzerland (Europe); Loreta Castro, Mexico (Latin America); Mariam Kamara, Niger (Middle East Africa); Reed Kroloff, USA (North America); and Nirmal Kishnani, Singapore (Asia Pacific). The five “target issues” for sustainable construction of the LafargeHolcim Foundation serve as the evaluation criteria for adjudicating the competition and comparing projects from diverse locations and a wide range of programs. For the first time, Main Category entrants were required to provide a qualitative response on CO2 Lifecycle Assessment, taking into account embodied carbon in design, construction, operation and deconstruction.

The regional winners will be announced in Athens, Greece (Europe); Toronto, Canada (North America); Guayaquil, Ecuador (Latin America); Dubai, UAE (Middle East Africa); and Sydney, Australia (Asia Pacific). In each region, a LafargeHolcim Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze will be presented, as well as four Acknowledgement prizes and four Next Generation prizes.

The LafargeHolcim Awards is the world’s most significant competition in sustainable design and offers prize money of USD 2 million per three-year cycle of regional and global Awards. The Swiss based LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction is an initiative of LafargeHolcim, the global leader in building materials and solutions with over 70,000 employees in over 70 countries.