My Basket
On Monday 8 May 2017 the two World Habitat Awards winners for 2016 were presented with their trophies by Dr Joan Clos. The award ceremony took place as part of the morning plenary session on the first day of the 26th Governing Council of UN-Habitat.
Andrea Krstovic, Chief Executive Officer, and board member Claudia Thiesen, accepted the award on behalf of More than Housing, our winning project in Zurich, Switzerland.
More than Housing involves 50 cooperatives coming together to provide affordable, socially inclusive living for families and individuals from all backgrounds and income levels. The result has been one of the largest cooperative housing schemes in Europe.
A Roof, A Skill, A Market was also a winner. This project works across the Sahel in five African nations building earth roofs for homes and community buildings. Locally available materials are used ensuring an environmentally sustainable replacement for metal roofs. Families and communities also benefit from the training of masons, developing skills and generating incomes. Their Deputy Director, Cecilia Rinaudo, accepted the trophy on behalf of the project.
Following the presentation, the winners took part in our side event which aimed to showcase the achievements of the two projects and explained further their award-winning approaches to solving housing problems. The challenges faced by both projects were discussed, and although in two very different contexts, how they both address the same issues – affordability and sustainability of housing.
The UN-Habitat Governing Council takes place until Friday 12 May. You can follow the hashtag #GC26 on Twitter for updates from the events.
Join the discussion