World Architecture Festival

• 08/10/2014 - The winners of 16 award categories

  World Architecture Festival has just announced the winners of 16 award categories on the opening day of the event in Singapore. Please find details of the winners below, with individual press releases attached.

   

  To download hi-res images of each of the winners, please visit the WAF 2014 Dropbox at the link below:

  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3502hnvooc2ln2/AABJBAyad2YHi5P55GnyqObKa?dl=0 

    

   

  Completed Buildings:

  • House: House for Trees by Vo Trong Nghia Architects
  • Housing: The Carve by A-Lab
  • Office: Liberty Place by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp
  • Higher Education and Research: Dalarna Media Library by Adept
  • Display: Te Kaitaka 'The Cloak' by Fearon Hay Architects
  • Schools: Chobham Academy by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
  • Shopping: Yalikavak Marina Complex by Emre Arolat Architects
  • Religion: La Ascension del Señor Church by AGi architects

  Future Projects:

  • Culture: Freedom of the Press Monument by Gustavo Penna Arquiteto & Associados
  • Commercial mixed-use: Isfahan Dreamland Commercial Centerby Farshad Mehdizadeh Architects
  • Health: The Extension of The People's Hospital of Futian by Leigh & Orange
  • Leisure-led development: Antakya Museum Hotel by Emre Amrolat Architects
  • House: The Olive Grove by Ian Moore Architects
  • Office: Agashiyan by Sanjay Puri Architects
  • Infrastructure: Linköping Central Station by Metro Arkitekter (Sweco group)
  • Masterplanning: North West Cambridge Masterplan byAECOM Design & Planning

  
  
  See the photogallery

  
• 19/09/2014 - Shortlist for inaugural Colour Prize

  A bank in Australia, a bridge in Sweden and a chapel in Vietnam, are among the eight projects shortlisted by the World Architecture Festival (WAF) for its inaugural Colour Prize.

   

  Sponsored by AkzoNobel, who are also Headline Partner of the festival, the Prize is the first of its kind to feature on the festival’s awards programme, the only criterion is that colour is an integral part of the exterior of the project.

   

  The shortlisted projects are:

  Project Name	Architect	Project Location
  Skyttelbron Shuttle Bridge in Lund	Sweco Architects	Lund, Sweden
  University of Paris IV-Sorbonne's Clignancourt Centre	GPAA	Paris, France
  National Australia Bank	Woods Bagot	Melbourne, Australia
  ASB North Wharf	BVN Donovan Hill in association with Jasmax	Auckland, New Zealand
  Departments Of Law And Central Administration, Vienna University of Economics and Business	Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau	Vienna, Austria
  The Chapel	a21studio	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  Casa Lapis	Architron Design Consultants S/B	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  Sustainable Industries Education Centre	MPH Architects	Adelaide, Australia

   

  The architects responsible will now present their projects to the prize judges, including Dr Charles Robert Saumarez Smith CBE, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts, and Goh Cheok Weng, General Manager for Projects, AkzoNobel Decorative Paints for South East & South Asia, live at the festival in October. The prize winner will be announced at the WAF awards ceremony on Friday 3 October.

   

  Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival said: “Congratulations to the projects that have made the shortlist for this inaugural prize, as they all clearly demonstrate how the deft use of colour can transform the impact of a project. Varying from the subtle and subdued to the eye-catching and extravagant, these projects signify the increasing importance with which architects and designers use colour to reflect the tone or language of a building.”

   

  Added Goh Cheok Weng, General Manager for Projects, AkzoNobel Decorative Paints for South East & South Asia: “It is a huge honour for AkzoNobel to be one of the sponsors for the seventh World Architecture Festival. To have participants from more than 60 countries just shows how big the festival is, and we are very grateful to be a part of it.”

   

  “As the world’s largest coatings company, we appreciate how important it is for architects to explore beyond their capabilities in order to come up with designs that are ethereal and unique. With insights from many renowned architects, WAF will most definitely be the perfect learning platform for inspiring the world’s leading architects.”

   

  He went on to draw a parallel between AkzoNobel’s recently launched Human Cities initiative and the theme of the WAF keynote speech, to be delivered by Buro Ole Scheeren, who will speak about architecture and urbanism. “Human Cities highlights our commitment to improve, energize and regenerate urban communities,” said Goh. “Together, we can work hand in hand to implement this vision and transform communities through colour while making our cities more ‘human’.”

   

  AkzoNobel believes that colour forms an integral component of any construction undertaking. As the sponsor of the WAF awards’ Innovative Use of Exterior Colour Prize, AkzoNobel endeavours to be the global colour authority that consumers and professionals come to for inspiration and quality.

   

  The WAF awards sit at the heart of the festival, and will see practices from around the world compete across 29 individual award categories for global recognition. Competing across three category groups of completed buildings, landscape projects and future projects, previous WAF award entrants have ranged from renowned global architectural firms to small local practices. Architects of every shortlisted project are invited to attend the festival to give a live presentation to a panel of judges, asserting their case for why their project should win. The winners of each category are put forward to compete for the coveted World Building of the Year award, presided over by the festival’s ‘super-jury’, with the presentation of the award being the culmination of WAF 2014.

   

  
  
  See the photogallery
• 06/09/2014 - New sessions and speakers announced

  This year’s festival will welcome more than 2,000 attendees from more than 60 countries who will experience an extensive programme of conference sessions, seminars, workshops and exhibitions.

  The festival will start at 10am on Wednesday 1^st October with a newly announced keynote speech from Ole Scheeren, Principal, Buro Ole Scheeren. Ole will give his unique perspective on the relationship between architects, architecture and urbanism, in a world changed utterly by the wave of city-building which is defining and transforming life in the 21st century. Ole joins fellow keynote speakers Richard Rogers, Rocco Yim, Saskia Sassen and Moshe Safdie who will speak on a range of issues and topics reflecting this year’s festival theme of ‘Architects and the City’.

  Additional new programme sessions announced today include:

  ‘Starting from Scratch’ – WAF Main Stage- 15.20 - 16.00, Wednesday 1 October

  Leading architects will join the developers of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city in discussing the key issues informing new town programmes. The session will explore the challenges involved in realising the vision of creating a thriving city which is socially harmonious, environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient. When completed in 2020, the city will have an estimated 350,000 residents. Ho Tong Yen, CEO, Sino Singapore Tianjin Eco City, will be joined on the panel discussion by Andy Wen, Executive Director, Aedas; Kevin Kwang Yang Sim, Principal, New Space Architecture; and Lars Autrup, Head of Projects, Realdania Foundation.

  ‘Pleased to meet you: Heatherwick Studio’ - WAF Festival Hall Stage – 12.00 – 12.40, Thursday 2 October

  Following Thomas Heatherwick’s keynote speech at WAF 2013, his eponymous practice will showcase its unique use of materials, from the ordinary to the extraordinary and experimental, and how these are being incorporated at its new ‘The Learning Hub’ project for Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

  ‘Meet your next client’ – WAF Festival Hall, Various times

  For the first time, the organisers of WAF are arranging a series of networking sessions for delegates to meet representatives of some of the region’s prominent developers and city planners, including Ayala Land Premier, Fortis Healthcare, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Europe, Hong Leong Holdings Limited, Singapore Housing & Development Board, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad.

  Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival said: "With only 30 days to go until WAF 2014 kicks off in Singapore, our comprehensive conference programme continues to grow in size, scope and spirit. As the world’s leading architects and designers are preparing to descend on Moshe Safdie’s remarkable Marina Bay Sands, we’re looking forward to three jam-packed days of design debate and discussion of all that is truly inspiring about architecture and the profession.”

  Architects from across the globe will also be preparing to present their projects that have been shortlisted for the WAF Awards, which sit at the heart of the event. 283 projects have been shortlisted across 29 categories of Completed Buildings, Future Projects and Landscape Projects in the world’s biggest architectural awards programme. Uniquely at WAF, two representatives from every single shortlisted practice attend the festival to present their nominated project live in 20 minute crit sessions over the first two days of the event.

  The winners of each category will be eligible to compete for the festival’s ultimate prize, The World Building of the Year, which will be presided over by WAF’s ‘super jury’. The super-jury comprises a selection of the world’s leading architects and designers, led by renowned British architect Richard Rogers. Rogers will be joined on the super-jury by Rocco Yim (Hong Kong), Julie Eizenberg (USA), Enric Ruiz Geli (Spain) and Peter Rich (South Africa).

  Two additional prizes will be awarded at this year's festival for the first time to reward the creative use of colour and materials: The Exterior Colour Prize, sponsored by AkzoNobel; and the Wood Excellence Prize, sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC).

  The event is being held in association with Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA)’s festival of ideas about the city, Archifest.

  World Architecture Festival is collocated with INSIDE World Festival of Interiors (www.insidefestival.com). INSIDE celebrates the world’s finest interiors of the last year and also has at its heart a live international awards programme.

   

  For further press information on the World Architecture Festival contact:

  Philip Sorensen at FTI Consulting

  +44 (0) 20 7269 7218

  [email protected]   

   

   

  
  
  See the photogallery
• 30/07/2014 - Shortlist for inaugural Wood Excellence Prize

  A spa in Vietnam, a power station in France and an airport terminal in New Zealand are among the eight projects shortlisted by the World Architecture Festival (WAF) for its inaugural Wood Excellence Prize.

   

  Sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the Wood Excellence Prize is the first of its kind to feature on the festival’s awards programme, the only criterion is that wood is an integral part of the project.

   

  The shortlisted projects are:

  Project Name	Architect	Project Location
  The Tent	a21studio	Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam
  Pittwater House	Andrew Burges Architects	Sydney, Australia
  Earth Wind and Fire	Atelier Arcau	Vannes, France
  School't Hofke	UArchitects	Eindhoven, The Netherlands
  Regional Terminal at Christchurch Airport	BVN Donovan Hill	Christchurch, New Zealand
  Salvaged Ring	a21studio	Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam
  Alex Monroe Studio	DSDHA	London, UK
  The Pinch	Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong	Zhaotong, China

   

  The architects responsible will now be invited to present their project to the prize judges live at the festival this October. The prize winner will be announced at the WAF awards ceremony on Friday 3 October.

   

  Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival said: “This was a great way to appreciate how a 'traditional' material can be used to transform exteriors and interiors in new and unexpected ways.”

   

  David Venables, European Director, AHEC said: "We were delighted to see so many entries for the Wood Excellence Prize; the response to this new initiative has been great and from a long list of over 40 we have chosen eight great timber projects to go forward for the final judging in Singapore led by renowned  architect, Matteo Thun. The Festival is going to provide a new platform for showcasing wood in architecture around the world and we can't wait to be part of it."

   

  The American Hardwood Export Council will be exhibiting at WAF and plans to highlight the results of ‘The Wish List’ – an ambitious design project featuring a stellar list of architects and designers, including Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, John Pawson, Alison Brooks and Amanda Levete.  The project showcases how life cycle assessment tools can be used to create an environmental profile for product design. AHEC recently commissioned Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research for 19 American hardwood species.  Life Cycle Assessment is a scientific tool that helps industry to establish environmental frameworks that have real meaning and assess true sustainability.

   

  The WAF awards sit at the heart of the festival, and will see practices from around the world compete across 28 individual award categories for global recognition. Competing across three category groups of completed buildings, landscape projects and future projects, previous WAF award entrants have ranged from renowned global architectural firms to small local practices. Architects of every shortlisted project are invited to attend the festival to give a live presentation to a panel of judges, asserting their case for why their project should win. The winners of each category are put forward to compete for the coveted World Building of the Year award, presided over by the festival’s ‘super-jury’, with the presentation of the award being the culmination of WAF 2014.

  
  
  See the photogallery