The Nation - Global Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects

The second Holcim Awards competition to promote sustainable construction
worldwide is now open for entries. With prize money of USD 2 million, the
competition encourages building solutions that go beyond convention to address
the challenges of sustainability.

The global competition is an initiative of the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation
and closes on February 29, 2008.

The Holcim Awards are open to anyone involved with projects in the area of
sustainable construction architects, planners, engineers, or project owners.
All building projects are eligible for the competition if construction had not
started before June 1, 2007. The competition also encourages young
professionals less than 35 years of age. The Next Generation category is open
to projects at a conceptual level or early stage of design.

Chairman of Holcim Ltd and of the Advisory Board of the Holcim Foundation, Rolf
Soiron (Switzerland), stressed that progress and sustainable development were
closely linked to the name Holcim: Through the Holcim Awards competition, the
Holcim Group is committed to incorporating the principles of sustainable
development into the built environment learning from innovation, and
celebrating new solutions, he said.

Measuring up to target issues for sustainable construction
Submissions in the Awards competition are evaluated by independent juries in
five regions of the world, using a five-point definition of sustainable
construction. These so-called target issues serve as a yardstick to measure the
degree to which a building contributes to sustainable development. Three of the
five target issues follow the key goals of the Rio Agenda: balanced
environmental, social, and economic performance. One target issue applies
specifically to building and a further target issue recognizes the need for
significant advancements that can be applied on a broad scale.

Siam City Cement (SCCC), the Group company of Holcim in Thailand, was host of
the first global Holcim Awards ceremony in 2006. SCCC Vice Chairman of the
Board of Directors, Veraphan Teepsuwan, commented on the broad scope of the
competition: The Holcim Awards demonstrate the importance of international
diversity in approaches to sustainable construction, he said.

Jury panels of international experts
The juries will be chaired by internationally renowned architects and academics
including Ashok Lall, architect, India (for region Asia Pacific) and Charles
Correa, architect, India (for the global jury). A full list of all members of
each jury is available on www.holcimawards.org, where comprehensive information
on the competition is available and entries can be submitted on-line in English
only.

TVB School of Habitat Studies professor, Principal of Ashok B Lall Architects
and head of the regional jury for Asia Pacific, Ashok B Lall, stressed the
importance of promoting the rapid transition to sustainable construction.
Construction is an activity imbedded in a specific time and place but
sustainable construction optimizes the use of present and future resources, he
said.

Supported by world-renowned technical universities
To carry out the competition the Holcim Foundation works closely with leading
technical universities: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich),
Switzerland; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA;
Tongji University (TJU) in Shanghai, China; Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) in
Mexico City, Mexico; and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in
Johannesburg, South Africa.

46 prize winning projects in the first competition
The Holcim Awards competition 2005/06 attracted more than 3,000 submissions
from 120 countries. Joint winners of the global Awards Gold were an urban
integration project in Caracas, Venezuela, and the design for a new main
railway station in Stuttgart, Germany. The global Awards Silver went to a
regional masterplan and renewal strategy for the Mulini Valley near Amalfi,
Italy and Bronze to a low-cost housing and urban renewal project in Montreal,
Canada.

Construction of many of the prize-winning projects has progressed. In Germany,
2.8 billion has been allocated for the construction of the new main railway
station in Stuttgart, global Holcim Award Gold winner, and in Spain,
construction of the Holcim Award 2005 for Europe, Metropol Parasol in Seville
is due for completion this year. Details about all 46 prize-winning projects
and the Holcim Foundation are available at www.holcimfoundation.org.

The Holcim Awards competition is an initiative of the Holcim Foundation for
Sustainable Construction, which is supported by Holcim Ltd but is independent
of its commercial interests. Holcim Ltd is one of the world's leading suppliers
of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel) as well as downstream
activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt including services. The
Holcim Group holds majority and minority interests in more than 70 countries on
all continents.

Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
Hagenholzstrasse 85, CH-8050 Zurich/Switzerland
Phone +41 58 858 82 92
info@holcimfoundation.org
www.holcimfoundation.org