OPEN CALL: Sustainable Design Project Submissions for the Holcim Foundation Awards 2025
The world’s most significant competition for sustainable design is calling for entries. The Swiss-based non-profit Holcim Foundation seeks client-supported projects of all scales in the late-stage design phase to be recognized from a global prize pool of USD 1M.
The entry window is open until February 11, 2025, at 2pm UTC. The international competition has a long-standing history of awarding significant projects, including the BIG U in New York City by Bjarke Ingels Group (known popularly as the Dryline) and la Quebradora Waterpark in Mexico City by Taller Capital and Manuel Perló Cohen.
The Awards Ceremony will occur at the Foundation’s Venice Forum event on November 20, 2025, coinciding with the Venice Biennale of Architecture. As part of the prize, the winning teams will receive travel and accommodation to be part of the ceremony.
The competition is free to enter and is open to client-supported and commissioned projects in the detailed design phase that are yet to be realized. Projects already under construction are eligible, provided construction is not completed before February 11, 2025.
Awarding excellence
With an aspiration to elevate standards in sustainable design internationally, the competition has appointed leading global architectural figures to chair the independent juries for the five regions it covers.
The Holcim Foundation Awards 2025 Jury chairs include:
–Sou Fujimoto (Asia Pacific)
–Kjetil Trædal Thorsen (Europe)
–Sandra Barclay (Latin America)
–Lina Ghotmeh (Middle East and Africa)
–Jeanne Gang (North America)
They will award four winners per region, with one winner per region selected for a special recognition prize.
The independent juries will evaluate entries through the Foundation’s goals for sustainable construction:
–Healthy Planet: Structures that minimize resource use, avoid emissions, and embed solutions to repair ecosystems and restore biodiversity.
–Viable Economics: Financial planning that combines short-term project feasibility with long-term circular value creation.
–Thriving Communities: Inclusive and affordable living environments that cultivate equity, health, and well-being.
–Uplifting Places: Beautiful and spatially relevant structures that align with the local context and culture.
Supporting sustainable design
The Holcim Foundation Awards, which have run for twenty years, have a strong point of difference by empowering architects, urban planners, and engineers to submit client-supported projects that have reached the detailed design phase but have yet to be realized.
The Awards have also been a catalyst in elevating the work of practices of all sizes pioneering in their fields and putting projects struggling to get the attention they deserve in developing regions on the global stage.
Past winners include
SHAU Microlibraries, Indonesia, SHAU
A unique approach to providing accessible reading spaces in densely populated urban areas comes courtesy of a series of smart Microlibraries. Find out more.
BIG U, US, Bjarke Ingels Group
An ambitious urban-scale initiative that goes beyond convention to create a more resilient and enjoyable Lower Manhattan waterfront. Find out more.
Hikma Complex, Niger, Mariam Issoufou Architects
Combining ancient and modern building techniques, an old mosque becomes a vibrant community library, while a new mosque creates civic space for all. Find out more.
Submit your project
Submitting entries in the competition is free, using a web-based form to provide information in English on the project sustainability summary, project design team, project images, and technical drawings. More information
Links Holcim Foundation Awards 2025
Media Kit / Past winners / Jury / FAQs
About the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to support people who are change accelerators for sustainable construction. In addition to its flagship Awards program, the Foundation partners with academics and industry-leading practitioners to create educational opportunities and organizes events to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices.
For inquiries: info@holcimfoundation.org