Lawson Centre for Sustainability designed by Mecanoo Architecten wins a 2025 Holcim Foundation Award for Best Practice in Sustainable Design

Posted: October 28, 2025

Lawson Centre for Sustainability: render

Lawson Centre for Sustainability featuring the George & Martha Butterfield Rooftop Farm and surrounding landscape (Render by Mecanoo)

Congratulations to Trinity College’s design architects Mecanoo Architecten – recipient of a major international architectural award for the new Lawson Centre for Sustainability.

The Lawson Centre for Sustainability is one of four winners in the North American region of the 2025 Holcim Foundation Awards for Sustainable Design, highlighting global trends reshaping sustainable design and construction. With a total prize pool of $1 million USD, the Holcim Awards are among the world’s most significant and generous honors in sustainable architecture.

“We are thrilled for Mecanoo to receive this international design award for our new Lawson Centre for Sustainability. The new mass timber, zero-carbon and LEED platinum building will have an enormous impact in the way we learn, live and connect as a community at Trinity College,” said Professor Nicholas Terpstra, Provost & Vice-Chancellor, Trinity College. “Opening in the coming year, our new residence and academic building will set a new standard for sustainable architecture at Trinity College and the University of Toronto.”

For outstanding contributions to sustainable construction, the 20 winning projects will each receive $40,000 USD from Holcim Foundation.

“We are grateful to the Holcim Foundation for this wonderful recognition for the Lawson Centre for Sustainability. We are so happy that Mecanoo will use the award to sponsor a specially designed Trinity Mecanoo Table for the main student lounge, made with reclaimed wood from trees removed from the site. Receiving this award is a testament to Trinity’s unwavering commitment to sustainability,” said said Francine Houben, Founding Partner/Creative Director, Mecanoo.

“This year’s 20 winners use the right materials in the right places, bring communities into the process from day one, and design with nature as an ally. The projects are inspiring because the solutions they offer are replicable and implementable – they set a credible path forward for industry,” said Laura Viscovich, Executive Director, Holcim Foundation.

In addition, one project from each of the five global regions will be honoured with a Grand Prize, which will be announced at the Awards ceremony in Venice on November 20, 2025.

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  • Lawson Centre for Sustainability: view from Devonshire Place (Render by Mecanoo)

About Trinity College’s Lawson Centre for Sustainability

Designed by Mecanoo in collaboration with local architects RDHA, the Lawson Centre for Sustainability reflects Trinity College’s commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation. Every aspect of the new building has been thoughtfully planned to truly embody sustainability and to integrate the beauty of the college’s existing buildings with the very best contemporary sustainable design. A zero-carbon and LEED Platinum facility, the Lawson Centre for Sustainability is one of the first to use mass timber for residential construction in North America,. With the new building, Trinity’s residential capacity will increase by 80%.

What makes the Lawson Centre for Sustainability unique is that it features all the major sustainability components in one facility, including mass timber, geothermal exchange system, rooftop photovoltaic array and rooftop farm. In addition, almost all major building materials are sourced in Ontario, including mass timber, compressed bricks and limestone.

Re-envisioning the north end of the Trinity College campus, there will be plenty of outdoor multi-use areas, including two courtyards, landscaping designed to feature drought-tolerant and native species that encourage biodiversity, and generous outdoor and indoor bicycle parking.

The leading-edge building also serves as the home-base for Trinity College’s innovative Integrated Sustainability Initiative, which will provide students state-of-the-art areas for research and experiential learning including the Community Kitchen and the George and Martha Butterfield Rooftop Farm. The University of Toronto’s new Lawson Climate Institute will be also housed at the Lawson Centre for Sustainability. The new Institute strengthens the College’s collaborative partnership with U of T and aligns with Trinity’s vision for the Lawson Centre for Sustainability to become a campus hub for learning, research and activity on sustainability and in experiential learning in food systems.

Through Trinity’s commitment to the environment and responsible stewardship and the Integrated Sustainability Initiative, the college is integrating the principles of sustainability in all aspects of the student experience to bring awareness to environmental and human connections, and to support the well-being of the community.

The Lawson Centre for Sustainability will open in 2026: “View Our Progress”

 

Categories: Announcements; College News; Living Trinity; Sustainability