Egyptian Project in Ezbet Ishaq Receives the Prestigious Holcim Foundation Commendation Award and $ 10,000 Grant
Cairo, November 18, 2023: Demonstrating commendable creativity and innovation in the realm of sustainability, an Egyptian project focusing on constructing eco-friendly classrooms from recycled materials, including 9000 plastic bottles filled with sand, blocks, bamboo, and natural clay in Ezbet Eshaq, received an appreciation award from the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. This recognition is part of the latest round of the Holcim Sustainable Construction competition, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards globally in sustainable construction.
The Egyptian project was honored with a $10,000 award in the acknowledgment category, lauding the team’s dedication to sustainability standards, innovation, and positive social impact. This recognition is part of a series of awards with a total value of one million US dollars, presented by the Holcim Foundation to the winning projects.
The competition had 2,380 registrations of interest from 114 countries and 500 submissions that met the entry criteria. Among them, five projects were honored with a Gold prize for their exceptional contributions to local sustainable development in their respective regions. The Holcim Awards Juries also acknowledged fifteen additional projects with a Silver prize for their role in advancing sustainable construction. Additionally, five winning projects received Bronze awards, and another five projects were recognized in the Acknowledgements category.
The winning projects champion advances in approaches ranging from adaptive reuse and material circularity to participatory design and cooperative business models. They also address critical challenges including energy management, community empowerment and issues of land use and restoration.
Laura Viscovich, Executive Director of the Holcim Foundation, highlighted the common ambition of all the winning projects to enhance community health, well-being, and prosperity. She praised the winners for designs, which embody the Foundation’s goals for sustainable construction, stating, “In a world where sustainability has multiple interpretations, the Holcim Foundation is proud to shine a light on projects that demonstrate best-in-class solutions for creating uplifting places that meet human development goals while restoring and regenerating natural systems”.
She added, “We encourage all our Holcim Awards winners to use this global recognition as a platform to help speed up the realization of sustainable construction in their regions”.
The Holcim Awards, with its mission of recognizing and promoting projects from around the world that are accelerating sustainable construction, has a rigorous selection process driven by independent regional juries. The juries assess each submission using a holistic approach to sustainability which focuses on environmental, social, and economic impacts, contextual relevance, and transferability potential.
The Egyptian project’s victory affirms the immense capabilities and great potential that Egypt has in the field of sustainable construction. This honor serves as a powerful motivator for further innovation and development in this vital sector, and it underscores the importance of continuous work toward building a more sustainable future for the coming generations.
It’s worth mentioning that the Holcim Awards are organized by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, an independent entity operating within the Holcim Group, of which Lafarge Egypt is a member. Lafarge Egypt takes pride in its affiliation with the Holcim Group and its commitment to achieving sustainable development and implementing leading solutions in the construction sector, through the shared vision of Lafarge Egypt and the Holcim Group. Lafarge is committed to promoting sustainable construction practices not only in Egypt but also globally.
