Lafarge Recognises Indian Innovation [22 Mar 2012]

Lafarge, one of the world leaders in building materials, announced the winners of the 2011 Lafarge Invention Awards, a competition to recognise innovative thinkers who will contribute to the future evolution of sustainable construction in India.
A panel of Lafarge executives and Indian experts selected three innovative projects and rewarded their talented Indian inventors with prizes of Rs. 1,000,000, Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 250,000. Ashok B Lall Architects was awarded first prize for – Integrated Hollow Structure for space cooling, KT Group were awarded second prize for Precast concrete panel, with Manasaram Architects for Bamboo Symphony also being recognised.
Bruno Lafont, Chairman and CEO of Lafarge said, “India is a country that embraces innovation, which is reflected in the quality of the projects rewarded by the Lafarge Invention Awards. There is a wonderful synergy between the Indian market which is driven by progress, and Lafarge which made innovation a key priority for the group, and which is the foundation of Lafarge’s success in India. The recent opening of our Construction Development Lab in Mumbai, will enable us to develop even faster and more local solutions for the construction industry boosted by the fast pace of demographic growth”.
Created in 2010, the Lafarge Invention Awards are designed to reward and support projects on building materials (through products, industrial procedures, construction methods or services) contributing to sustainable construction. The winners will also be invited to visit the Lafarge Research Centre in France, the world’s leading research facility in building materials. In total, sixty projects were submitted from entrepreneurs, new companies, consultants, architects, researchers and academics based in India for this competition, which started in September 2011.

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