Today has turned out a very wonderful day for Ms Priscilla Namwanje, a graduate of Architecture from Makerere University, who emerged 1st Prize winner in the LafargeHolcim Awards, the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design. Ms Namwanje graduated from the Ivory Tower in 2018.
In the category which she emerged winner that is dubbed, the Next Generation category, recognition is given to visionary concepts and bold ideas of young professionals and students. In the competition region of Middle East Africa, the jury selected four entries to receive Next Generation prizes. The winning projects were from Uganda, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and Iraq with judges describing them as having an intrinsic optimism about the future.
Namwanje’s project, a Connective Infrastructure in Uganda – Inter-scale design for community integration is a multi-scale design project for a neighborhood in Kampala to foster social interaction and economic vitality.
According to information from the judges, she intends to bridge gaps in the Muyenga-Namuwongo neighborhood with her project. Thus, between the two very different districts, new connections and a network of public spaces are to be created: bridges, jogging trails, a marketplace, a train station, urban gardens, and cultural and recreational facilities. The district is to be transformed from a gray locality into a green social neighborhood. Walkways will be upgraded and will double as drainage channels to help mitigate flooding. The local community will be involved in the implementation of each step of the project.
“Co-creation is a tool to solve the problem of community fragmentation, not just in the spatial sense but also in terms of policy,” Namwanje says.
The jury were so impressed with her plan which they say is capable of fostering social cohesion, transform the environment and can be transferred to other areas of the world.
“We liked that the project makes a link between an answer that is inherently urban and a highly localized human scale. It shows a deep awareness of how we live and how we want to live.” Marilyne Andersen, a judge at the competitions said.
The 2nd prize (USD 20,000), Living Memorial in Jordan – Cemetery reconfiguration for urban greening; a project that attributes new public character to cemeteries in Amman, conserves land, and enhances the value of urban green space was won by Tala Shelbayh, a student at German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan.
Evgenii Varlygin, a student at the Technical University of Munich, Germany won the 3rd prize (USD 15,000) with the Plastic Extractor in Sierra Leone – Multipurpose recycling facility; A multipurpose facility to collect and recycle plastic litter and enhance social and economic life in an informal settlement in Freetown.
4th prize (USD 10,000) went to the Earthen Education in Iraq – School reinterpreting vernacular architecture project; An educational complex in Basra to revive the architectural and cultural value of Mesopotamian Marshes by Noor Marji, architect/student, Amman, Jordan.
The LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction was created in 2003 by LafargeHolcim as an independent legal entity to raise awareness of the important role that architecture, engineering, urban planning, and the building industry have in achieving a more sustainable future. LafargeHolcim is the global leader in building solutions across more than 70 markets. The Group is reinventing how the world builds to make it greener, smarter, and healthier for all.
