A Global Call for Scalable Biobased Construction Material Solutions

Il premio globale Built by Nature 2024 si è concentrato sullo stimolo all’adozione di materiali da costruzione biobased innovativi. Il primo premio di 250.000 euro è stato assegnato all’azienda di Singapore Widuz per le sue soluzioni di prodotti in bambù. I tre secondi classificati hanno ricevuto un finanziamento di 50.000 euro ciascuno. Built by Nature ha inoltre stanziato altri 100.000 euro per un programma di supporto, mentoring e networking per tutti i vincitori e i finalisti selezionati.

2024 Prize Winners

WIDUZ manufactures BVL™ structural products using bamboo fibres sourced from FSC-certified plantations and biobased adhesives for superior strength, durability, and environmental benefits, making it up to three times stronger and 20% lighter than typical engineered timber.

CASA CONGO is a bamboo-adobe programme in Nicaragua and Mexico, providing affordable, sustainable, and resilient housing for communities in emerging economies.

ELEMENTERRE, based in Senegal, uses clay and Typha to manufacture load-bearing bricks and insulating boards.

SUGARCRETE® from the UK, upcycles sugarcane waste into sturdy building elements, using mineral binders to achieve different degrees of structural strength.

Discover the winners and finalists

About the 2024 Prize

The Built by Nature Prize, the world’s first awards programme focused on biobased construction materials, is encouraged by the response to our first call for submissions, receiving 297 applications in total, representing a global distribution of submissions, with half coming from Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Materials featured included seaweed, mycelium, sheep’s wool, hemp, sugarcane and coconut waste, secondary timber, seashells, and invasive water weeds. Fifteen finalists performed highest against the Prize criteria, demonstrating: intended use in the built environment; proof that the product can be manufactured using current technology; that the product is already in the marketplace, and favourable approaches to carbon, nature and social impacts.

Meet the jury

Dr Yasmeen Lari Honorary Advisor
Arief Rabik Chair and Founder of Bamboo Village Trust
Ariel Shtarkman Managing Partner of Undivided Ventures
Mae-ling Lokko Assistant Professor, Yale University School of Architecture
Stig Hessellund Architect and Project Manager, Realdania
Ana Belizario Commercial Head, Urbem
Liz Ogbu Designer and Spatial Justice Activist