Bridge of Peace first awarded ecological project from BiH and the region

Youth Center “Bridge of Peace”; by architect Vernes Čaušević and peace activist Kemal Pervanić, has received the prestigious international Lafarge Holcim award for sustainable construction and the Silver Medal for the European region.

The Holcim Foundation award was presented as part of the 17th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. For the 6th cycle of the Holcim Foundation award competition, 4,742 applications were submitted in the main category from 121 countries, including projects to be built in 134 countries.

The applications were evaluated by prestigious international experts, members of independent juries. The award includes a trophy and a financial support of 50,000 US dollars, which will contribute financially to the construction of the Center, whose start is planned for 2022.

The project “Youth Center Bridge of Peace” is the only awarded project from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the wider region of Southeast Europe. This project - also received a Certificate of Appreciation as a finalist for the global award given by the same foundation, “Cycle 2021”, because it represents a beacon of peace and sustainability in the Balkans.

- The idea for the Center project was launched in 2013, when the "Bridge of Peace" purchased a plot of land, with the aim of building an independent and permanent home, where they can host their programs throughout the year - said Pervanić.

The project is located between two ethnically separated villages near Prijedor: Kevljani and Petrovo Gaj, near the former Omarska concentration camp. Over the past twelve years, the Bridge of Peace has gathered more than 1,500 young people and volunteers of all nationalities at this location through the organization of art festivals and other programs.

The design is led by architect Vernes Čaušević, director of the company Projekt V Arhitektura, registered in Sarajevo and London. This company has been closely cooperating for many years with the charitable organization "Bridge of Peace" founded by peace activist Kemal Pervanić, a survivor of the former Omarska concentration camp.

Architect Vernes Čaušević recalls that in 2014, the first workshop for young architects and students from London, Banja Luka and Sarajevo was organized. Later, cooperation continued through a series of educational workshops, public discussions and exhibitions, as well as the annual educational program of the organization 'Architecture for Democracy'.

Speaking about the work process on the building, which also involves rammed earth technology, Čaušević explains that it is a natural building system using a mixture of loam, clay and gravel, which is compressed in formwork, creating hard, beautiful and thermally efficient thick walls.

- We decided to mix clay from Kevljani with locally available waste materials, gravel and loam, from surrounding quarries and mines, and to use rammed earth technology to revitalize similar forgotten traditional construction methods and transform them into a current and relevant technique for the modern world. This process of mixing earth from different locations in divided communities is actually a symbol for the re-mixing of different people and the creation of a multi-ethnic community - emphasized Čaušević.

The awarded project will be built using ecologically sustainable construction technologies and materials with low carbon content, including the structure and facade made of rammed earth. Since 2016, the design and material prototype have been developed in close cooperation with global earth building expert Martin Rauch, honorary professor at the UNESCO Chair for Earthen Architecture, director of the Lehm Ton Erde company from Austria.