Visionaries & Builders

"Sustainable construction is an attitude, a special way of thinking–not a specific technology. Every decision one makes as an architect has a variety of consequences. The selection of a window, for example, is not only a choice of a specific type to provide a view; it involves how one controls heat and air, and shows what type of relation to the outside world one seeks. Thus one must always strive to keep the whole in mind."– Donald Bates, head of the jury for Asia-Pacific of the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction

It was a very proud moment for the group of about 30 Filipinos at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Of the nine awards given for the first Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, a global competition with US$2 million in prize money, two went to Filipinos.

A team of three friends from Cagayan de Oro took the silver award for a simple but most effective structure that provides fast regeneration of corals in devastated areas. Marine biologist Lemuel Alfeche developed an eight-legged concrete structure assembled underwater and planted with juvenile corals which, in record time, can grow into a thriving coral community which serves as a new home for a rich variety of fish and other marine life.

The concrete legs are built on land. "It’s simple, basic steel and cement construction," explains Ronald Rodriguez, a cement and construction materials dealer in Cagayan de Oro. These are assembled Lego-like by divers under water. The legs, attached to a central post, provide stability so that the structure can withstand underwater currents. Calcium bicarbonate content in the cement is biologically friendly to corals, and the configuration of the legs allow penetration of sunlight, fostering coral growth.

The international jury of experts cited the project’s "innovative focus"on an "endangered environment upon which many small coastal communities depend for their livelihood". It further hailed the project as a "simple yet intelligent tool that (is) affordable, require little technical expertise and can easily be replicated in different contexts".

Alfeche, who also teaches at the Mindanao Polytechnic State College, calls his design "acanthasia" and reveals that the prototype (there are six of them) undergoing tests at the Duka Bay Resort in Medina, Misamis Oriental, only costs $1,800. "Because of the exponential growth of the corals, the economic returns for these experiments were already recouped," he says.

Among the winning projects, this –entitled Concrete Substrates for Accelerated Coral Restoration–is the only one that features as its main component cement, which is the primary business of the sponsoring Holcim. That, however, was not the determining factor for its success.

"There was a long debate," says Holcim Philippines chief operating officer Paul O’Callaghan on whether the use of cement was mandatory for the projects. "But in the end, the Foundation decided that innovative construction also means innovative materials, so the use of cement was not made a requirement."

While admitting that "we at Holcim are of course absolutely passionate about cement", Holcim chairman of the board Rolf Soiron emphasizes that "the Foundation is about construction (and) the long-term needs for quality housing and infrastructure for both poor and wealthy regions".

Among the professional builders and planners and professors are 25-year-old civil engineer Artessa Saldivar-Sali and 21-year-old architecture student Aaron Lecciones, whose plan for an Ivatan agricultural campus in Itbayat, Batanes won one of three Encouragement awards, given to young professionals with projects that may not be perfect but which show great potential.

Artessa, who has a civil engineering degree from the University of the Philippines and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, came up with the concept for the campus when the family company Geotecnica was contracted to build an irrigation dam on Itbayat island, the only island in the Batanes group flat enough to allow rice production. The campus will have a fisheries and agricultural institute, an Ivatan language institute, a museum, a livelihood center and residences for students and visitors to promote agri-tourism. The entire campus will be eco-efficient, with innovative uses of energy resources and waste disposal.

The project was cited for its direct involvement of local stakeholders in the decision making process through community consultations at the village level, and the subsequent facilities contained in the campus answer their needs and are in line with the province’s 10-year development plan.

China won five of the awards, including the gold prize for the regeneration of a clan settlement in Hangzhou, designed by architecture Prof. Qing Chang and his students at Tongji University in Shanghai. The bronze prize went to an innovative housing renovation in Hiroshima that utilizes an "air suit" that clothes an old housing building designed by architect Kazuhide Doi of Japan.

In addition, China won two Acknowledgement awards and two Encouragement awards, with India taking the other Acknowledgement prize.

The impetus for the creation of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction came from the realization that the challenges of sustainability facing Holcim "are not limited to the manufacturing and distribution that we control but also to the use and application of cement, aggregates and concrete in construction activites," says Rolf Soiron, chairman of both Holcim Ltd. as well as the Holcim Foundation. "We asked ourselves how could Holcim best contribute to raising the profile of sustainability issues in the wider sense."

Holcim’s commitment to sustainable construction and development is an integral part of its corporate fabric. An active member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, it led the establishment of the Sustainable Cement Initiative with an Agenda for Action that incorporates improvement targets in such areas as emissions control, waste handling and industry impact on climate and biodiversity. It regularly publishes a Corporate Sustainable Development Report detailing verifiable progress in various areas of performance, including corporate governance, environment, economic, social and stakeholder relations.

"Progress and sustainable development are essential characteristics of the Holcim brand," stresses Soiron. "In the long-term interest of our business, we want to play a role in development that benefits all people and our planet–now and in the future."

Founded in 1912 in the little Swiss village of Holderbank (the company’s original name, changed to Holcim in 2001), Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement, aggregates (gravel and sand), concrete and construction-related services. Holcim is today active in over 70 countries, with 2004 sales of over 13 billion Swiss francs. In the Philippines, Holcim has plants in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao, with annual capacity of almost 9 million metric tons of cement.

In late 2003, the company established the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction and endowed it with a budget and the mission to be a catalyst for sustainability in the construction industry. Although funded by Holcim, the Foundation operates independently, with its own advisory and management boards. In 2004, it gathered 120 experts in Zurich to discuss the issue of sustainable construction; the results of the forum were subsequently published. To further the issue of sustainability, Holcim realized it must go beyond its product and corporate sphere.

"We are merely one supplier of a material," says Soiron. "To contribute to a greater orientation towards sustainability of the whole complex construction chain, we must recognize the central leverage of architectural design and the crucial role of specifiers, planners, and architects. They are in the central position to influence change."

With this in mind, the Foundation launched in late 2004 the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, a competition to "recognize any contribution to sustainable construction–irrespective of scale–in architecture, landscape and urban design, civil and mechanical engineering and related disciplines".

A Technical Competence Center was set up with a network of five universities in different regions of the world: Tongji University in Shanghai for the Asia-Pacific region, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich for Europe, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston for North America, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil for Latin America, and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa for Africa/Middle East.

Over 3,000 entries from 118 countries were submitted, of which 1,508 met the initial qualifications. These entries were then screened and evaluated by regional juries composed of academicians and professionals, all independent experts of international stature. Regional winners were announced in individual ceremonies in September and October; the Asia-Pacific awarding ceremony was held on September 22 at the historic Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, with China’s Vice Chairman of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee and member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Feng Zhijun and Holcim chairman Rolf Soiron as guests of honor.

For Asia-Pacific, nearly 300 entries were received from eleven countries. Evaluation of the projects was based on five Target Issues, which are, briefly:

Quantum change and transferability, showing innovation beyond conventional procedures which must be transferable and replicable;

Ethical standards and social equity, involving quality working conditions in all stages of the project, as well as participation of stakeholders (neighborhoods, users, etc.);

Ecological quality and energy conservation, with responsible and efficient use of natural resources;

Economic performance and compatibility, demonstrating economic feasibility and proper use of resources;

Contextual response and aesthetic impact, improving the physical environment in terms of landscape, infrastructure, urban fabric and architecture.

Explains juror Ashok Lall, architect and dean of the TVB School of Habitat Studies in New Delhi, "To win a prize or award, it is not enough to excel at one or two Target Issues. Winning projects must measure up relatively well across the board," although he clarifies that "there is no such thing as an ideal project that gets a top score for all five Target Issues."

Three categories of prizes were given. The Encouragement Prizes are exclusively for young professionals. The Acknowledgement Prizes are ranked just below the main Awards–Gold, Silver and Broze–the top three projects in the region which automatically qualify for the Holcim Global Awards to be announced in April 2006 in Bangkok.

It is indeed a source of great pride for the Philippines to be represented in this global competition, and an even greater source of pride that Filipinos are at the forefront of responsible, sustainable efforts to build a better world.