Teams from Thailand and New York have received top honors in the 2014 regional Holcim Awards for Asia Pacific, an award which recognizes the most innovative and advanced sustainable construction designs. Among the top three winners are the “Protective Wing” bird sanctuary and a locally-adapted orphanage and library in Nepal.
Each year, thousands of birds are smuggled in and out of Thailand for their exotic colors and bird calls, to be sold on the world’s growing black market. Rescued birds usually die in confinement because they are retained in cages for up to five years as evidence during prosecution of smugglers. The Bird Sanctuary in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand serves as both an educational facility and a bird rehabilitation center including a small hotel and bird viewing tower, in a site that simulates the natural habitat. More at: http://www.holcimfoundation.org/Projects/protective-wing
Overview:
The 13 recognized projects will share over $300,000 in prize money, with the top three projects overall going on to be considered for the global Holcim Awards, to be selected in 2015.
The 13 projects were:
GOLD: “Protective Wing” Bird Sanctuary
SILVER: “Children’s Ziggurat” Locally-adapted orphanage and library
BRONZE: “Post-War Collective” Community library and social recuperation
Acknowledgement Prize: “Between Walls” Community medical center and school
Acknowledgement Prize: “High-Tech Low-Tech” Sustainable research center featuring traditional woodworking methods
Acknowledgement Prize: “Megacity Skeleton” Stakeholder participation for urban up-grading
Acknowledgement Prize: “Resurrected Canals” Urban water transport system
Next Generation” First Prize: “Panda-Watching” Historic village reconstruction
Next Generation” Second Prize: “Adaptable Portable” Modular housing for urban poor
Next Generation” Third Prize: “Social Design” Urban neighborhood remediation
Next Generation” Fourth Prize: “Formal-Informal DNA” Urban network upgrading
Next Generation” Fifth Prize: “Re-Made Fabric” Garment district intervention
Videos and text sourced and credited to the Holcim Awards Foundation who conducted this programme – received with permission.
