{"id":6348,"date":"2014-12-22T14:27:29","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T19:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=6348"},"modified":"2017-03-15T09:23:21","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T13:23:21","slug":"holcim-awards-looking-at-the-vanguard-of-u-s-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/holcim-awards-looking-at-the-vanguard-of-u-s-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Holcim Awards: Looking at the vanguard of U.S. projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For this BIG Manhattan flood-protection project, berms are strategically located to protect infrastructure and create a protective upland landscape. The concept is one of three U.S.-located projects up for a global award.<\/span> Images courtesy Holcim Canada<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this month, the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction announced<\/a> its global jury for the international design competition, making now a fitting time to revisit the top trio of North American projects up for the prize.<\/p>\n

Run by an independent initiative created by the Swiss cement giant Holcim, the awards celebrate \u201cinnovative, future-oriented, and tangible construction projects\u201d that have not yet been built (although many use the awards to spur actual construction<\/a>.) The jury uses \u2018target issue\u2019 criteria referred to as the five Ps<\/a>: progress, people, planet, prosperity, and place. Among the 15 finalist projects vying for the prize are three located in the United States\u2014the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners of the North American regional awards division, which took place earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPoreform\u201d is a concrete surface capable of rapid water absorption to prevent urban flooding. The surface feeds water to subterranean basins.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"A14NAgoUSnv-09\" The Gold winner was Poreform\u2014a design concept by Amy Mielke and Caitlin Gucker-Kanter Taylor (Water Pore Partnership) for Las Vegas that seeks to reposition water infrastructure as civic project for a desert city that occasionally faces floods due to local drainage systems incapable of handling storms. The material is a porous concrete surface poured in place with fabric formwork; it is designed to absorb water, feeding rain runoffs into underground basins with a capacity of more than 75,000 ML (20 billion gal). Capable of rapid saturation and slow release, the pores of this \u201curban skin\u201d are inlets to a new infrastructure that \u201creframes water as a valuable resource rather than a liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Las Vegas, the Poreform concept would be calibrated to absorb the rainwater, which would then be captured and released from a primary basin beneath the downtown area. When dry, this subterranean space would also serve as a venue for exhibitions and performances. Once the storms hit, the tank would keep the downtown from flooding, while still offering the public above a visible way to understand water management.<\/p>\n

The next contender for the global prize also deals with a city\u2019s relationship with water, but in a different way. The BIG U is an urban flood protection infrastructure concept for New York City, envisioned by a large team that includes Danish architect\u2014and former Construct keynote speaker\u2014Bjarke Ingels. Winner of the North American Silver award, this project involves a defending \u2018ribbon,\u2019 wrapped around Lower Manhattan to safeguard the city against the effects of storms like 2012\u2019s Hurricane Sandy. However, it is not a monolithic wall, but rather a series of small-scale solutions designed for each local community. It was billed as merging \u201cthe requirements of a Robert Moses type of hard infrastructure with the local community-driven sensitivity of Jane Jacobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The components of flood protection for Lower Manhattan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The BIG U master plan would be executed in several phases, using a raised berm strategically to create a sequence of public spaces along the raised bank. This barrier would incorporate a range of neighborhood functions, fostering local commercial, recreational, and cultural activities. The three major components are:<\/p>\n