Lafarge Africa Seeks Entry for Sustainable Construction Award

Lafarge Africa has strengthened its commitment to quality and sustainable building as it announced the sixth edition of its 6th International LafargeHolcim Awards for Sustainable Construction. 

This is as  the world counts down to the 2030 United Nations’ projection for sustainable cities.

To this effect, the firm said  that it had started accepting entries for the award from qualified professionals.

According to the company, the LafargeHolcim Awards recognises and rewards innovative projects and bold ideas from  professionals and students respectively that seek to address sustainability in construction. 

The competition emphasises the important roles of  architecture, engineering, urban planning and related disciplines in achieving a more sustainable future.

Shedding more light on the initiative, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development Director, for Lafarge Africa, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, stated that the award was open to eligible engineers, architects, builders, planners, construction firms, project owners, students and non-governmental organisations working in the building industry. 

Encouraging qualified Nigerians  to enter for the award, she said: “Our aspiration is for Nigeria to be well represented across the Middle East and Africa region. We are hopeful that more Nigerians would be encouraged by the success stories of others who have been recognised in past editions of the award, the likes of Nigerian-born Kunle Adeyemi.

 “In 2014, Adeyemi won an Acknowledgement  Prize for Chicoco Radio Media Center; the amphibious building in Delta City of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Such ambitious and creative entries are what we seek  again to put Nigeria on the world map of sustainable construction. We sincerely hope that our professionals and students will seize this opportunity”.

Lauding the initiative, immediate past President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Tonye Braide, noted that the award was apt considering the growing population and urbanisation rate in Nigeria. 

He further added:  “The process of evaluation is both fair and transparent. With the credibility of the award sponsor, I believe that quality will not be compromised. Such transparency is what you get when you have independent experts as juries from across the world; Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East Africa and Asia Pacific, are coming together to evaluate and select outstanding entries”.

Sustainable Development and Corporate Brand Manager of the company,  Ms. Titilope Oguntuga, gave the criteria of the award as innovation and transferability, ethical standards and social inclusion, resource and environmental performance, economic viability and compatibility as well as contextual and aesthetic impact. 

“Entries for the LafargeHolcim Awards will close on February 25, 2020. The regional jury evaluation will take place between June and July 2020 , while regional winners will be announced in November 2020,” Oguntuga added.