We spoke with our CEO Miljan Gutovic to learn more about Building Icons across the world built using Holcim's innovative and sustainable building solutions.
What is a Building Icon?
Inspirational buildings at the heart of our cities as well as key infrastructure projects, built sustainably with Holcim Inside. We bring added value to these projects for our customers with our circular, resilient, low-carbon, energy-efficient and smart building solutions, from end-to-end.
One great example of a Building Icon is Wood Wharf, a large mixed-use development in London. Here Holcim provided custom low-carbon ECOPact concrete mixes for several towers, one of which uses concrete with 20% recycled construction demolition materials. The project will also be the first in the UK to use a technology developed by Holcim with carbon removal pioneer neustark. This removes CO2 from the atmosphere and injects it into demolition concrete, storing it permanently.
Through projects like these Holcim meets customers’ evolving needs, by developing cutting-edge solutions and services that offer exceptional value. Every Building Icon is different and we work closely with our customers to help them achieve their ambitious technical and sustainability targets.
Miljan Gutovic, CEO, Holcim
Why are you shining a spotlight on Holcim’s Building Icons?
To showcase the best of Holcim. What we offer as a company with our innovative and sustainable building solutions, but also what inspires us as we decarbonize building at scale – because it makes good business sense, and because it’s the right thing to do.
For example, in Greece, the new neighborhood of The Ellinikon will transform the lives of thousands of Athenians. For the developer, Lambda Development, Holcim’s commitment to innovation and sustainability is crucial to realize our shared vision. To date, Holcim’s solutions are inside 90% of The Ellinikon’s structures, and we work closely with the customer to develop and supply high-value end-to-end systems, from custom low-carbon ECOPact concrete and low-carbon ECOPlanet cement mixes, to our high-strength DYNAMax and permeable Hydromedia concretes.
Wood Wharf in London, UK
The Ellinikon in Athens, Greece
Metro Tunel in Melbourne, Australia
Moranta Tower in Monterrey, Mexico
By showcasing projects like The Ellinikon, we are shining a light on what we do, but also why we do it. Building Icons will give a voice to those icons of building in their own right – our customers and their bold project visions, the world-class architects who design our icons, and our Holcim colleagues who help to build the places where all of us live, work, learn and play.
Why are Holcim’s sustainable building solutions so important?
Holcim is a leader in sustainable building, and we’re making decarbonization and circular construction drivers of profitable growth as we deliver superior performance. Building Icons is also about sparking a shift in the built environment that answers the question: “What kind of world do you want to live in?”
We are answering it by showing how our sector can deliver the sustainable built environment that a rapidly growing and urbanizing world population needs.
Take Melbourne, Australia, where a growing population led to the need to expand the city’s metro network. The transformational Metro Tunnel project has been realized using Holcim’s ECOPact low-carbon concrete for two nine-kilometer tunnels and five stations. The project has achieved a 52% reduction in embodied carbon, thanks in large part to our bespoke mix designs.
Another example comes from Mexico. Due in part to its proximity to the U.S., the industrial city of Monterrey is booming, with a wealth of infrastructure, residential and commercial construction projects ongoing. Here Grupo DAGS is realizing Distrito Karena, a large mixed-use development in Saltillo. This includes the 21-floor Moranta Tower, which is Holcim’s first full ECOPact project in Mexico. On top of that, our SMARTCast digital technology has been used to optimize the mix design.
What excites you most about Building Icons?
The fact that it gives us an opportunity to spotlight the best of Holcim, and to celebrate the Holcim Spirit. Through Building Icons we want to mobilize everyone across the building value chain to accelerate sustainable building together – from our colleagues, customers and business partners, to architects, public authorities, investors and future talents.
It is also exciting that Holcim has so many icons across the world to showcase, and I’ve only given you a brief teaser here. This is because Building Icons is what we do.
Let’s continue building them, together.
Miljan Gutovic, CEO, Holcim, visiting the advanced crushing system in France with which Holcim can upcycle 100% of construction demolition materials (CDM) into new building solutions.
