A Waterloo School of Architecture professor is a member of a team that took silver in the main category of the North America section of the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction.
Lola Sheppard is one of four primary authors of the proposal for an Arctic Indigenous Wellness Centre, a building described as providing cultural and health-related services to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples who are often forced to travel out of their communities for specialized medical assistance.
The centre reflects the traditional Indigenous concept of wellness.
The award-winning proposed Arctic Indigenous Wellness Centre.
The other lead members of the second-place team in the competition's category for established professionals are Mason White, Sheppard’s partner in Lateral Office, a Toronto architecture and design practice, and Nicole Redvers and Wilbert Cook, who are both members of Yellowknife’s Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation.
Another team with Waterloo ties took second place in the awards’ next generation category for young professionals and students.
Daniel Gonzalez and Noor Shaikh, who both earned master’s degrees in environmental studies at Waterloo, won for their project Off the Wall, designed to develop innovative sustainable alternative construction materials for wall veneers and insulation.
The international awards' competition, run by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, showcases the role that architecture, engineering, urban planning, and the building industry play in achieving a more sustainable future. Each competition cycle, from announcement to completion, spans three years.
Winners are selected by international and independent panels of experts in five regions — Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East Africa, and Asia Pacific — as well as a global jury.