The Holcim Awards Gold 2011 for Europe and USD 100,000 was awarded to German architects realities united for a project on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Museuminsel in the heart of Berlin. The Flussbad urban plan will remediate an area rich in cultural heritage by transforming an under-utilised arm of the River Spree into a natural 745m-long "swimming pool". The project will form a swimming zone equivalent to 17 Olympic-sized pools - and directly improve the quality of urban life and the ecology of the waterway.

Holcim Awards Silver went to a project that converts a former factory into a new City Hall and Civic Center for the city of Oostkamp in Belgium by not only recycling the main structure and materials but also re-using the space itself and its technical infrastructure.

Holcim Awards Bronze was presented to a smart transformation plan for a viaduct on a bypassed section of an expressway into vertical homes, using an existing structure for a completely different use that brings new economic potency to Southern Italy.

Four Acknowledgement prizes were shared between projects in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The top prize in the "Next Generation" (student category) was awarded to a concept in the United Kingdom and a further two prizes went to project visions in Spain.

The Holcim Awards ceremony in Milan follows the first regional ceremony for projects in Africa Middle East held in Casablanca. The series of events will continue for the other regions of the world in Buenos Aires, Washington DC and Singapore.