Holcim Foundation Awards 2025

Sustainable Design’s Most Significant Prize

The world’s most significant competition for sustainable design is calling for entries. The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation seeks client-supported projects of all scales in the late-stage design phase to be recognized by a global prize pool of USD 1M, split between 20 winning entries.

The competition is free to enter and is open to client-supported and commissioned projects of all scales at the detailed design phase that have yet to be realized. Projects already under construction are eligible, provided construction is not completed before February 11, 2025.

The entry window is now open from October 1, 2024, until February 11, 2025. The Awards Ceremony will take place at the Foundation’s Venice Forum event on November 20, 2025.

Supporting Sustainable Design in Middle East and Africa

· The Awards’ legacy is impressive. Past winners from the Middle East and Africa region include community-driven buildings, including Pritzker Prize-Winning Diébédo Francis Kéré’s Gando Secondary School in Burkina Faso, which the Foundation awarded in 2012.

· The Awards have also been a catalyst in elevating the work of emerging practices pioneering in their fields and projects struggling to get the attention they deserve in developing regions.

· One example from the MEA region includes Mariam Issoufou Architects’ design for a new mosque in Dandaji, Niger, which reinterprets traditional local construction methods. The new mosque was complemented by transforming a neighboring derelict mosque into a literacy center and library, which has since become a valuable community gathering point.

Francis Kéré Speech, Courtesy of Holcim Foundation.

Quotes from Past Winners, MEA

“Before I was seen a nice young man from Africa building schools. After winning the Holcim Foundation Awards, people started calling me a designer, and it paved the way for my career”.  

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Architect & Founder, Kéré Architecture, 2012 Winner MEA

“That award was a pivotal moment in my career, as it confirmed that we were on the right track with our approach to sustainability. It gave us the confidence to continue down this path, to keep learning from local contexts, and to never compromise our commitment to holistic, community-driven design. The Holcim Foundation’s recognition was a powerful affirmation that has continued to guide and inspire our work.” 

Mariam Issoufou, Architect & Founder Mariam Issoufou Architects 2018 Winner.

Awarding Excellence

Holcim Foundation Awards jury chairs are world-leading architects: Sou Fujimoto (Asia Pacific), Kjetil Thorsen (Europe), Sandra Barclay (Latin America), Lina Ghotmeh (Middle East and Africa), and Jeanne Gang (North America).

Jury Chair, Middle East & Africa

Lina Ghotmeh

Founding Principal, Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture, France |  

Lina Ghotmeh is a renowned Franco-Lebanese architect recognized for her sustainable and innovative designs that blend history, memory, and ecology, exemplified in projects like the Stone Garden tower in Beirut. https://www.holcimfoundation.org/experts/lina-ghotmeh

More details at: awards.holcimfoundation.org