Green Solutions Awards 2020-21 International Winners

Out of 192 buildings, districts and infrastructures, 24 went forward to the international phase of the competition. 8 were awarded the Green Solutions Award, as well as the mentions awarded by the juries. 

These projects were persuasive as they tackled the key issues of sustainable construction: frugality of materials, energy efficiency, health & comfort of users, off-site construction, protection of biodiversity, circular economy, etc. They were also chosen for their potential to inspire the professionals of the sector, and to be replicated at a large scale.

Discover the winners

Sustainable Construction Grand Prize: Turo de la Peira from Barcelona, Spain

Imagine the complexity of building a swimming pool, add the complexity of optimising an urban gap and choose to integrate the building as much as possible into its environment, while optimising the use of the land to create a garden in a limited space. The result is the Turo de la Peira sports centre, where the swimming pool and gym are located in the same building, with a bioclimatic vegetated façade that opens onto a garden. A tour de force to which we must add an automated natural ventilation system for the gym!

• Joint Mention: Customer Service Centre of State Grid Corporation of China from Tianjin, China

This is a smart and sustainable building, integrating a complex control of different functions. The analysis of the data allows the comfort of the occupants to be optimised. This is the Chinese vision of the office building of tomorrow!

• Joint Mention: Ecocampus Provence from Sainte-Tulle, France

This student campus in France uses bioclimatic design and bio-based materials to achieve a very good combination of architecture and engineering to develop something optimal. Frugal dimension.

• Joint Mention: Humanscapes Habitat from Auroville, India

This is an Indian housing building that is an inspirational combination of social vision and low tech sustainability.

Sustainable Renovation Grand Prize: Green Factory from Lyon, France

This is the transformation of a disused factory into a service building and laboratory. Everything is there, the materials used are low-carbon or bio-sourced, the air quality is monitored in real-time and the whole approach combines everything that is necessary for a sustainable project.

• Joint Mention: Triple Space from Madrid, Spain

The project shows that it is possible to renovate very simply while paying attention to air quality, occupant comfort and using an adiabatic system that anticipates future cooling and heating needs.

• Joint Mention: Green Renovation of the Kunshan Civic Ethics Hall from Kunshan, China

This is a comprehensive renovation approach that places great emphasis on performance monitoring.

• Mention: Bréquigny Highschool from Rennes, France

It is a highly replicable project that uses prefabrication.

Sustainable District Grand Prize: Nanterre Cœur Université from Nanterre, France 

The project has the ambition to adapt the territory to its uses. In Nanterre, in the immediate vicinity of Paris, the project’s actors have endeavoured to recreate a link between the business district of La Défense and the popular residential areas. This was done by taking biodiversity into account, creating important spaces for life and soft mobility, while at the same time being very ambitious on the energy aspect. Now fully delivered, this district has been one of the pioneers in promoting positive energy buildings and an urban smart grid involving various renewable energies.

• Mention: Suzhou Suqian Industrial Park from Suqian, China

This project includes a remarkable collaboration between China and Singapore. Moreover, more than the work on a district, it is the construction of a sustainable city that mitigates the impact of the arrival of new inhabitants in this region. So you can imagine the importance of the challenge. Long-term governance, mobility, territorial planning are only some of the issues at stake.

Sustainable Infrastructure Grand Prize: Mehr.Wert.Pavillon from Heilbronn, Germany

By betting on the circular economy, it shows how urban areas can be sources of materials. The Mehr Wert Pavilion in Germany is built entirely from recycled materials and can be completely dismantled. A feat in terms of sobriety that should send a signal to all planners and builders.

• Joint Mention: Urban Farm of the Vegetal Arch from Paris 20, France

With its 1,000 m² of rooftop crops, the urban farm of the Vegetable Arch in Paris supplies fresh fruit and vegetables to the cooking school located on the premises. A great example that relies on education to raise awareness of the importance of integrating nature in the city. It provides a concrete answer to today’s major challenge.

• Joint Mention: Plan Lumières 4.0 from Wallonia, Belgium

This low-energy modernisation of motorway lighting in Belgium takes into account various factors such as affluence, biodiversity, location to reduce light pollution and consumption. This project is also replicable to other light projects.

Category Energy & Temperate Climates: Antonio Brancati Middle School from Pesaro, Italy

It is a passive school built around a common-sense approach that has resulted in a budget that allows for great replicability. A complete project.

• Joint Mention: ArroyoFresno nZEB Passivhaus Plus from Madrid, Spain

It is a passive building that anticipates the future heating and cooling needs of Southern Europe.

• Joint Mention: CO2 Neutral Buildings from Männedorf, Switzerland

This highly technological building, covered with photovoltaic panels on the facade, produces all the energy it consumes, thus foreshadowing the buildings of tomorrow.

• Joint Mention: Biobased Renovation of 24 Social Housing Units from Raon-l’Étape, France

We were impressed by the sobriety of this renovation project on an occupied site. It is widely replicable in Europe and uses prefabrication.

Category Energy & Hot Climates: Rivière-Salée Medico-Social Centre from Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie (France)

This is a building that is both economical and resilient. Located in New Caledonia (Southern Pacific Ocean), this building is unique in its extensive use of wood and dry construction, in order to limit the impact of materials on the immediate urban environment and the resources available on the island.

From an architectural and performance point of view, we have a medical building that reduces the use of air conditioning to a strict minimum thanks to the use of low-pressure chimneys and patios cooled by the natural circulation of air and vegetation. Congratulations to those involved in this project for their consideration of user comfort in a building where it is essential.

Category Low Carbon: 4 Passive Social Housing Units in Straw Wood from Plainfaing, France

These buildings are built in straw and wood. 90% of the materials by volume are derived from plant fibres. The use of such materials has a huge positive impact on carbon emissions. The project shows that energy and environmental performances are compatible with social concerns such as low rent. The energy consumption cost about 15€ per month per accommodation. Last but not least, the project is very replicable. It is a role model for the low carbon construction sector.

• Mention: Entrepatios Las Carolinas from Madrid, Spain

This holistic project followed many sustainable principles (materials with low impact, bioclimatic conception, common spaces to encourage social interactions, and so on.) and really tackles the issue of carbon emissions. Also, the inhabitants were included in the process and the project is quite replicable.

• Mention: Erweiterung Eisbärhaus, Neubau Bauteil C from Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany

We were amazed by its emission rate: it is one of the best we have ever seen (9,00 KgCO2/m2/year). 

Category Health & Comfort: Schroeder 2020 from Kockelscheuer, Luxemburg

Obviously, it has very good health and comfort performances. It reaches the DGNP Certificate, it has good ventilation, CO2 detectors, acoustic comfort, and so on. But the project also has many other qualities, that we wanted to highlight: its cost is very reasonable (1666.67 €/m2), the employees were included in the project and the building is very much connected to its surroundings. Bravo!

• Mention: Passive House for the Elderly from Camarzana de Tera, Spain

It is the cheapest project (841 702 €, so 1221.63 €/m2), with great qualities. It is a complete construction that considers the comfort of the elderly. Also, the building reaches Passive House standard in energy and air quality.

• Mention: Bord’Ha from Bordeaux, France

The project has very good comfort although it uses no air conditioning system. The building is well incorporated into the city. It has a strong social aspect: the project was made with the people who live and work there.

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If you missed the ceremony, you can access the recording and see the winners.

Source: Construction21