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WAF: The Latest Architecture and News

Rem Koolhaas to Give Closing Keynote at 2018 World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam

Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect and founder of the Rotterdam-based firm OMA, has been announced as the closing keynote speaker at the World Architecture Festival. The event will take place in Amsterdam at the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre on from 28-30 November.

Peruvian University Students Win World Architecture Festival's Inaugural 'Water Research Prize'

World Architecture Festival has announced the winner of its inaugural Water Research Prize. First place was awarded to a team of students from Pontificia Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) who designed a water management system that "captures, stores, and treats rainwater and inserts it into pre-existing water networks."

World Architecture Festival Calls for Entries for 2018 Architecture Drawing Prize

In partnership with Make Architects and Sir John Soane’s Museum, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced the call for entries for the second edition of The Architecture Drawing Prize. Launched in 2017, the prize is conceived to celebrate and showcase the significance of drawing as a tool in capturing and communicating architectural ideas.

The Architecture Drawing Prize embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally-produced renderings, while recognising the enduring importance of hand drawing. The organisers invite entries of all types and forms: from technical or construction drawings to cutaway or perspective views – and anything in between.

Shortlist Revealed for World Architecture Festival Awards 2018

The World Architecture Festival has announced the shortlist for their 2018 awards slate, featuring 536 projects ranging from small family homes, to schools, stations, museums, large infrastructure and landscape projects. The world’s largest architectural award program, the WAF Awards year saw more participation this year than ever before, with more than 1000 entries received from projects located in 81 countries across the world.

At the 2018 World Architecture Festival in November, the shortlisted teams will be invited to present their designs to a jury of more than 100 international judges, who will determine the best projects within the completed and future project categories. These finalists will then move on to present to the 2018 Super Jury who will determine the winners of for the 2018 World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year and Landscape of the Year.

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Submit Your Project for the 2018 World Architecture Festival Awards

It's time to get your applications ready! Now in its 11th year, the World Architecture Festival will take place in Amsterdam from November 28 to 30. Organizers expect nearly 500 architectural practices to compete for prizes in over 30 categories. The event moves to the historic Dutch city following two years in Berlin.

The Festival is the world's largest live architecture awards event--all shortlisted architecture projects are presented in person by the architects to an esteemed panel of judges. And this year, nearly half of the 120 judges are expected to be women. 

Contemporary Concert Halls Have Become Multi-Functional Catalysts for Urban Change

In their video series for the November 2017 World Architecture Festival, PLANE—SITE delves into contemporary concert hall design. The five films highlight major themes in today’s musical architecture through an interactive, multimedia panel. Using Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Wroclaw’s National Forum of Music, and the Philharmonie de Paris as examples, the videos show how contemporary concert halls are more technological and multi-functional than ever before, demonstrating how architecture redefines the modern-day musical performance experience.

The series acted as a starting point for a conversation between the WAF audience and panelists, moderated by PLANE—SITE’s Andres Ramirez. Panelists included Michel Cova of dUCKS scéno, Tateo Nakajima of Arup, and Jacob Kurek of Henning Larsen.

Guangming Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Project Wins World Building of the Year 2017

The Chinese University of Hong Kong & Kunming University of Science and Technology’s Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Project in Guangming Village has been named the World Building of the Year for 2017 at the finale gala of the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Berlin.

The project becomes the 10th to hold the title of World Building of the Year. Last year, the award was given to Robert Konieczny + KWK Promes' National Museum in Szczecin - Dialogue Centre Przełomy.

Due to the "high standard of category winners presented in the first two days of WAF", the super jury has also awarded a Director’s Special Award to Superlofts Houthaven in Amsterdam by Marc Koehler Architects.

Winners of the year's Future Project, Landscape, Small Project, Iran Special Prize and Best Use of Colour awards were also announced. Continue after the break to see the winners.

World Architecture Festival Reveals Day 2 Category Winners of their 2017 Awards

Day 2 of the 2017 World Architecture Festival is now complete, and with it, 14 more projects have been announced as category winners of the event’s 2017 awards.

The world’s largest architectural award program, the WAF Awards year saw its biggest year yet, with a total of 924 entries received from projects located in 68 countries across the world. The finalist projects will be selected live at the festival by a Super Jury made up of jury chair Robert Ivy, Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects; Nathalie de Vries, Director & Co-founder of MVRDV; Ian Ritchie, Founder of Ian Ritchie Architects; and Christoph Ingenhoven, Founder of Ingenhoven Architects.

Check out the Day 1 winners here, the full shortlist here, and see the Day 2 winners after the break.

2017 World Architecture Festival Announces Day 1 Award Winners

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced the Day 1 category winners of their 2017 awards slate. Winners selected among 32 categories over the first two days of the conference will then continue on to compete for the title of the World Building of the Year 2017 to be announced on the final day of the event on Friday.

The world’s largest architectural award program, the WAF Awards year saw its biggest year yet, with a total of 924 entries received from projects located in 68 countries across the world. The finalist projects will be selected live at the festival by a Super Jury made up of jury chair Robert Ivy, Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects; Nathalie de Vries, Director & Co-founder of MVRDV; Ian Ritchie, Founder of Ian Ritchie Architects; and Christoph Ingenhoven, Founder of Ingenhoven Architects.

You can check out the full shortlist here, and see which built and future projects took home awards after the break.

Fringe Events to Celebrate the City of Berlin at World Architecture Festival 2017

With the 2017 World Architecture Festival less than two weeks away, the event has shared the program of Fringe events scheduled for attending architects to enjoy. Taking place in Arena Berlin in the German Capital from November 15-17, WAF 2017 will also provide opportunities for architect-led tours and parties throughout the city.

Following the Festival’s theme of ‘Performance,’ events will center on the performative quality of different architectural typologies and themes including housing, public spaces, festivals, cultural institutions and new technologies.

Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize

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Hybrid: WINNER - Memento Mori A Peckham Hospice Care Home by Jerome, Xin Hao Ng. Image Courtesy of World Architecture Festival

The World Architecture Festival, with co-curators Make Architects and the Sir John Soane’s Museum, has announced the winner of the their inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize, established to recognize the “continuing importance of hand drawing, whilst also embracing the creative use of digitally produced renderings.”

From 166 entries from architects, designers and students across the globe, 38 of the best drawings were shortlisted within three categories: Digital, Hand-drawn, and Hybrid. From that list, commendations and a category winner were chosen, with the overall grand prize awarded to the year’s best drawing. Submissions were evaluated on technical skill, originality in approach and ability to convey an architectural idea, whether for a conceptual or actual building project.

This year, the overall winner was Momento Mori: a Peckham Hospice Care Home by Jerome Xin Hao Ng, produced as part of Ng’s final diploma project at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.

“[The drawing is] a superbly conceived and executed perspectival view looking down through the building from roof level, praised for its technical skill and the sensitivity with which it depicted the spaces found in such institutions as settings for multi-generation social interaction,” said Jeremy Melvin, Curator of World Architecture Festival (WAF).

The 2017 World Architecture Festival will take place in Berlin from November 15-17. Learn more about the Festival and purchase delegate passes here. Use the discount code ARCHDAILY17 to receive 20% off. An incredible list of speakers including Alison Brooks, Charles Jencks, Pierre de Meuron and Francis Kéré will feature across 3 days from November 15th to 17th at the Arena Berlin, Germany. Conferences, city tours, lectures and critiques of the shortlisted projects from the 2017 WAF awards are among the events scheduled for the festival.

See the winners and shortlisted drawings below.

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Winners Announced of Inaugural WAFX Prize for World’s Most Forward-Looking Architectural Concepts

The World Architectural Festival has announced the 11 winners of their newest award slate, the WAFX Prize, sponsored by GreenCoat®, celebrating the world’s most forward-looking architecture. The prize is awarded to future projects that address key challenges architects with face over the next 10 years, spanning topics including climate, energy & carbon, water, ageing and health, re-use, smart cities, building technology, cultural identity, ethics, power and justice.

Rafael Viñoly, Charles Jencks, and Kim Cook Among Lead Speakers for WAF 2017

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced their program for the 2017 edition focusing on the theme of “Performance.” An incredible list of speakers including Alison Brooks, Charles Jencks, Pierre de Meuron and France Kéré will feature across 3 days from November 15th to 17th at the Arena Berlin, Germany. Conferences, city tours, lectures and critiques of the shortlisted projects from the 2017 WAF awards are among the events scheduled for the festival.

The seminars, speeches, debates and discussions will examine “the topic of performance from the perspectives of housing, public spaces, festivals, cultural institutions and new technologies.”

How Narinder Sagoo And Foster + Partners Are Turning Architectural Preconceptions On Their Head (With A Pencil)

This short article, written by the author and critic Jonathan Glancey, coincides with the launch of the inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize – a competition curated by the World Architecture Festival, the Sir John Soane's Museum, and Make. The deadline for the award has been extended to September 25, 2017, and successful entries will be exhibited in both London and Berlin.

For architects, says Narinder Sagoo, Head of Design Communications at Foster + Partners, drawings are about story telling. They are also a highly effective way of raising questions about design projects. Although the history of architecture—certainly since the Italian Renaissance—has been mapped by compelling drawings asserting the primacy, and reflecting the glory, of fully resolved buildings, there is another strain of visualisation that has allowed architects to think through projects free of preconceptions.

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The Power of Architectural Drawing: The Sketches That Saved St. Mark's

This short essay, written by the author and critic Jonathan Glancey, coincides with the launch of the inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize – a competition curated by the World Architecture Festival, the Sir John Soane's Museum, and Make. The deadline for the award is the 18th September 2017 and successful entries will be exhibited in both London and Berlin.

For John Ruskin, Venetian Gothic design in the guise of polychromatic gasworks in Brentford, ornate factory chimneys in Croydon, glistering gin palaces in Bloomsbury and even the well-meaning Reform Club in Manchester was nothing short of anathema. Even at their risible best, these flamboyant Victorian buildings were idle travesties of the influential 19th Century critic’s beloved Ca’ d’Oro and Palazzo Ducale adorning the Grand Canal.

Call for Entries: The 2017 Architecture Drawing Prize

Update: the deadline for this competition has been extended to September, 25, 2017 at 23:30 BST.

Make, the Sir John Soane’s Museum and the World Architecture Festival (WAF) have come together to create a prize for architectural drawing. The Prize recognises the continuing importance of hand drawing but also embraces creative use of digitally produced renderings.

The Architecture Drawing Prize welcomes entries from architects, designers and students from around the world while celebrating drawing’s significance as a tool in capturing and communicating ideas.

Shortlist Revealed for World Architecture Festival Awards 2017

The World Architecture Festival has announced the shortlist for their 2017 awards slate, featuring 434 projects ranging from small family homes, to schools, stations, museums, large infrastructure and landscape projects. The world’s largest architectural award program, the WAF Awards year saw more participation this year than ever before, with a total of 924 entries received from projects located in 68 countries across the world.

WAF Reveals Theme for 2017 World Architecture Festival

UPDATE: You still have time to perfect and submit your award-winning entries! The final entry deadline for the World Architecture Festival Awards is this Friday 2 June at Midnight (BST).

The World Architecture Festival (WAF)
has announced the theme for the tenth edition of the conference: ‘Performance.’

Held November 15-17 at the Arena Berlin in Germany, the festival will focus on the topic of performance in architecture. This will include several new additions to the tour program, including a visit to Hans Scharoun’s revolutionary Berlin Philharmonie; Gerhard Spangenberg’s Radialsystem V, a former pump station transformed into a venue for contemporary dance and music; and Frank Gehry’s recently-completed Pierre Boulez Concert Hall.

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