LafargeHolcim Awards celebrate winning European sustainable construction designs in France

29 September 2017

The prize-giving ceremony for the regional LafargeHolcim Awards for Europe 2017 took place in Marseille, France, on September 28. In a night that celebrated European contributions to building a more sustainable future, French architect Gilles Delalex received the LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition, and LafargeHolcim Awards Gold Award went ex aequo to two Belgian teams.

An awards ceremony à la française

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On September 28, Bénédicte de Bonnechose, CEO of Lafarge France, welcomed guests to the LafargeHolcim Awards Europe ceremony by highlighting the company’s long-standing relationship with Marseille and its outstanding architecture. MuCEM provided the fitting setting for this welcome, and for the following rooftop reception, allowing guests to take in views of the French coast through the unique Ductal® lace façade.

Over half of the projects previously honored by the Awards are either soon to be built or have been completed. This progress is celebrated for the first time this year with a new award from LafargeHolcim Group, the LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition, which is awarded for a completed winning project from a previous competition, that stands as a particularly successful example of sustainable construction. The Recognition for Europe went to Gilles Delalex and his team from Muoto Architecture Studio in Paris, who won LafargeHolcim Awards Silver in 2014. The architects excelled in accommodating infrastructure for eight universities under the roof of a highly economical and cost-efficient building that was completed in 2016.

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Not one, but two Gold Awards!

The job of the independent expert jury was complicated by the spectrum of the 792 valid European projects, whose subjects ranged from urban design to technical innovation. In the end, it was decided to award two entries with equal Gold Awards in the Main category:

- Clever waste management in Brussels, Belgium - TETRA architecten

- Integration of a concrete plant in Brussels, Belgium - BC architects and studies

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These projects exemplify a new era in sustainable construction because they are characterized not by stand-alone measures but by holistic concepts that integrate technical, social, economic, and ecological aspects in a balanced way. LafargeHolcim has and will continue to support and encourage architects in creating projects that have sustainability built into their DNA, as Beat Hess, Chairman of the Board of Directors, explained: “We encourage architects, engineers, and builders to think beyond conventional notions of sustainable construction.”

See all the winning projects on the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction website

Teams from the two LafargeHolcim Awards Gold ex aequo winners. The first prize was shared by two projects in Brussels, both of which excel in terms of their multi-functionality.
Winners of a LafargeHolcim Awards Gold ex aequo (l-r): Wes Degreef, Laurens Bekemans, Jasper Posen, Nicolas Coeckelberghs and Ken De Cooman, all BC architects & studies for Mix-City: Urban integration of an existing concrete mixing facility, Brussels, Belgium.
Winners of a LafargeHolcim Awards Gold ex aequo from TETRA architecten for Logistics Framework: Adaptable structure for a garbage collection company, Brussels, Belgium.
Bill Dunster, Principal and Lalit Chauhan Architect & Urban Planner, ZEDPods (l-r), representing the LafargeHolcim Awards Bronze winning team for Air Rights: Zero Energy Development units on parking lots, London, United Kingdom.
Four teams from France, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland received LafargeHolcim Awards Acknowledgement prizes.
The first LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition for region Europe was presented to Gilles Delalex and his team from Muoto Architecture Studio for their low-cost flexible university building Lieu de vie campus hub at the University of Paris-Saclay.
Roland Köhler (left), Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim, responsible for Europe presents the inaugural LafargeHolcim Building Better Recognition to Gilles Delalex on behalf of his team from Muoto Architecture Studio for their low-cost flexible university building Lieu de vie campus hub at the University of Paris-Saclay.
Welcoming guests to the LafargeHolcim Awards prize handover ceremony 2017 for region Europe on behalf of the host Country was Benedicte de Bonnechose, CEO of Lafarge France.

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