Last week, designers, architects, and engineers from across North America gathered in Chicago to celebrate the best of sustainable design across the continent at the LafargeHolcim Sustainable Construction Awards. Organized by the non-profit LafargeHolcim Foundation, the worldwide awards ? which take place at the regional level, before converging on a global best-of showcase ? have grown since their founding in 2003 as sustainability has evolved to become a fulcrum of contemporary design.
This year, Canadians were well-represented at North America’s regional showcase. Jason Heinrich from the University of British Columbia (and DIALOG) took home the Second Prize in the Next Generation category, open to designers under 30. Heinrich’s project envisions a holistically sustainable neighbourhood in Vancouver, combining energy-efficient building performance with a grassroots framework for “agent-based change.” Jason Heinrich of UBC and DIALOG
Meanwhile the University of Buffalo’s Sarah Gunawan claimed 3rd Place in the Next Generation Prize. Gunawan’s playful project imagines a wildlife habitat adapted into the single-family homes that make up Markham, Ontario. Birds and bats and raccoons are welcomed into the suburban neighbourhoods of North America through “ecological prosthetics” that would be attached to homes.
Sarah Gunawan of the University of Buffalo
In the main draw, the Silver Award was claimed by Vancouver’s Oliver Lang...