Dezeen Awards 2022 announces world's best Sustainable projects across Sustainable categories

Dezeen has revealed the winners of this year's Dezeen Awards sustainability categories. Out of 15 shortlisted projects within the 3 sustainable categories, 4 projects were awarded the category winners' prize.  This year again, NPO Aoyama Design Forum (ADF) proudly supports the award as a media partner.

Sustainable design of the year: K-Briq by Kenoteq, Photo courtesy of Kenoteq

Entries were initially scored by Dezeen Awards' jury of eight leading sustainability industry professionals before the winners were decided by a master jury that met at One Hundred Shoreditch in September made up of sustainable design and author Babette Porcelijn, Dodds & Shute co-founder Nick Shute and co-founder of Cornish design company Green&Blue Gavin Christman.

Sustainable building of the year: Mustardseed by Localworks

Kampala-based Localworks constructed the Mustardseed Junior School in Uganda entirely from local resources. The building houses both a kindergarten and a primary school for local children.

Sustainable building of the year: Mustardseed by Localworks, Photo by Will Boase

The 1,146-square-metre building features walls built from earthbags filled with soil and external walls finished with an unpainted lime-earth render.

Sustainable building of the year: Mustardseed by Localworks, Photo by Will Boase

"Mustardseed is a considered, creative and inspiring kindergarten and primary school set within a biodiverse landscape, the perfect environment for children to learn about the importance of ecology and sustainable building," said the sustainability master jury.

"It demonstrates that innovation doesn't need to be driven by technology; we need sensible solutions that adopt slow thinking and responsible design," they continued. "The world needs more projects like this."

Sustainable interior of the year: The Circus Canteen by Multitude of Sins

Local studio Multitude of Sins designed a restaurant interior in Bangalore made of almost all reclaimed materials. The studio aimed to create a dining interior with a minimal carbon footprint.

Sustainable interior of the year: The Circus Canteen by Multitude of Sins, Photo by Ishita Sitwala

The restaurant features a series of scrap metal archways as well as a booth made out of mismatched salvaged objects.

Sustainable interior of the year: The Circus Canteen by Multitude of Sins, Photo by Ishita Sitwala

"The Circus Canteen is a bottom-up, democratic way to design from scratch that references the street and its culture in its design language in an uplifting and fun way," said the judges.

"So often sustainability is a heavy topic and this shows that it can be creative," they continued. "The world needs a bit more bonkers!"

Sustainable design of the year: K-Briq by Kenoteq

K-Briq is a sustainable building brick that is made mainly from construction waste. The brick was launched by Scottish startup Kenoteq and generates less than a tenth of the carbon emissions in its manufacture than regular brick.

Sustainable design of the year: K-Briq by Kenoteq, Photo courtesy of Kenoteq

The design by Kenoteq offers better insulation properties than a standard clay brick and can be produced in any colour.

"K-Briq is an opportunity to have an impact at scale, a thorn in the side of an industry that is largely static and crying out for disruptors," said the sustainability master jury.

Highly commended: Learning and Sports Center by General Architecture Collaborative

General Architecture Collaborative constructed the community centre in collaboration with residents of Masoro Village in Rwanda using local materials.

Highly commended: Learning and Sports Center by General Architecture Collaborative, Photo by Katie Garner

The Learning and Sports Center was organised across a grid system, creating a series of small courtyards featuring brick-paved streets.

"Designed, built and operated by community members of a small rural farming village, this project goes beyond simply being a community hall," said the judges. "More than just bricks and mortar, it succeeds by creating a sustainable building rooted in social sustainability, empowering the local community through knowledge transfer in multiple ways."