An environmental remediation project on the coast of Southern Italy that connects nature with the imprints of humanity won the top prize.

Architects Francisco Leiva of Grupo aranea (Spain) and Marco Scarpinato of AutonomeForme (Italy) integrate the process of restoration in an area that has been degraded during the industrial age. The shape-shifting ecosystem generates a flooded landscape filled with flora and fauna, with a special focus on migrating birds.

A building that will host a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, cafés, street terraces and a pedestrian square on the new university campus of Paris-Saclay received the Holcim Awards Silver. Gilles Delalex, Yves Moreau and Thomas Wessel-Cessieux from Muoto architects (France) have designed a minimal structure that uses rough materials, robust and long-lasting techniques, and vertical stacking to superimpose different activities above one another.

The jury acknowledged the minimal deployment of architectural and technical means that is resilient and adaptable to future needs: “The elegant design merges economic and aesthetic considerations in such a way that the low-cost structure turns limitation into a quality”.

An urban design project in Vienna that identifies a set of rules for establishing a sustainable urban neighborhood received the Holcim Awards Bronze. The urban plan by Enrique Arenas, Luis Basabe and Luis Palacios of Arenas Basabe Palacios arquitectos (Spain) uses a framework of gardens for the project’s physical and social development.

The approach establishes a minimally-invasive intervention that will develop over time according to the needs of the community at every stage. The jury especially commended the focus on questions of procedures, including stakeholder participation and its effects on physical form: “The proposal offers a method for a step-by-step urban densification, combining both bottom-up/top-down and formal/informal practices to create an urban commons”.

The Holcim Awards competition also seeks visions and bold ideas in the “Next Generation” (young professionals and students) category. The jury decided to confer an unprecedented six prizes in recognition of the outstanding quality of submissions from across Europe. The “Next Generation” 1st prize, went to Hani Jaber, Ricardo Mayor, Héctor Muñoz, and Ignacio Taus of DAT Pangea (Spain) for a series of three socially-focused architectural designs.

Their portfolio of projects includes a spatial plan and agricultural restructure, a productive urban garden as well as temporary spaces for public engagement. The jury was impressed by the design propositions that aim for a dialog between architecture and politics, taking key social problems into consideration while offering appropriate design solutions to address specific issues at hand.