Global Galvanizing Awards. Winner excels in circularity

The presentation of the Global Galvanizing Awards was undoubtedly one of the highlights of Intergalva 2024. This prestigious ceremony took place in the atmospheric Lauretum. Zinkinfo Benelux and its parent organization, the European General Galvanizers Association (EGGA), proudly look back on a successful event in which a Swiss project emerged as the winner.

The Global Galvanizing Awards honor the innovative use of hot-dip galvanized steel by architects, engineers and artists worldwide. An expert jury awarded prizes for the most effective and innovative applications of galvanizing in both architecture and engineering. In addition, industry associations that had submitted entries participated in a voting process for the Industry Award for Circular Thinking. 

Circular building material

The galvanizing industry emphasizes the importance of hot-dip galvanized steel as a perfectly circular building material. Hot-dip galvanized steel offers innovative solutions that optimize sustainability and facilitate the circularity of steel structures and components. The Industry Award for Circular Thinking highlights a project that perfectly reflects these values. This year, the award went to the Kopfbau Halle 118 in Winterthur, a project by the Swiss baubüro in situ. This building, which has been expanded to include three additional floors of studios and workshops, illustrates how consistent reuse of materials can lead to significant savings in greenhouse gas emissions and primary raw materials. Compared to a new building, this project saved about 60 percent in greenhouse gas emissions and 500 tons of primary raw materials.

Emergency staircase from 1990

Reused components include windows, natural stone slabs, wooden roof elements, EPS insulation, granite slabs, aluminum profiles, clinker bricks and steel. The steel, taken from demolished buildings in Basel and Zurich, is particularly suitable for reuse thanks to the durability of hot-dip galvanizing and the simplicity of disassembly and reassembly. Of note is the 22-meter-high hot-dip galvanized exterior staircase, originally built in 1990 as an emergency staircase in Zurich, which now provides access to the K118 building. This staircase hardly needed any adjustment after all this time, underlining the durability and quality of hot-dip galvanized steel. The reuse of components in the K118 project resulted in a 59 percent CO2 reduction, or 494 tons, compared to a new building. The reused hot-dip galvanized steel contributed to a 16 percent CO2 reduction, or about 80 tons.