Celebrating the world’s most innovative architectural projects, WAF will host a live event from November 30 – December 2, bringing together the global community of architects and designers
Photography by Zhu Runzi featuring Yuandang Bridge by BAU Brearley Architects+Urbanists, Shanghai, China
Representing the world’s biggest live-judged architectural awards programme, World Architecture Festival (WAF), which is celebrating its 15th year in 2022, revealed the 420-strong shortlist for this year which has been selected from hundreds of entries from over 50 countries, including Portugal, Malaysia, Finland, Mexico, Turkey, Australia, Japan, India, and the UK.
The shortlist celebrates the best newly completed buildings and landscapes, ranging from rural and coastal villas, to contemporary religious buildings, to the very latest healthcare buildings completed since the pandemic began. The shortlist also includes Future Projects, showcasing the most inspiring new architectural concepts.
Furthermore, and to bring together the global community of architects and designers following the pandemic, WAF will host a live festival event set to take place later this year, from November 30 – December 2, under the theme of ‘Together’.
Photography by Yang Ying Design Studio featuring Shuikou Mountain Workers Movement Memorial Museum by Yang Ying Design Studio, Changsha, China
‘Together’ is the theme for this year’s edition and, as part of a live events programme, an international panel of speakers will explore and debate how architecture is responding to the renewal of collective post-pandemic life, and in the light of commitments to combating climate change.
WAF’s unique, live-judged awards programme, forming the heart of the festival, will see architects and designers behind each shortlisted project compete for 43 category prizes. Category winners will then compete against each other on the final day of the festival for the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year and Landscape of the Year, as well as Future Project of the Year and Interior of the Year. Projects from across the shortlist will be selected for Special Prizes, including the Best Use of Natural Light Prize, Best Use of Certified Timber Prize, and the newly introduced International Building Beauty Prize.
This year’s entrants range from major world architects, including Foster + Partners, 3XN Architects, Zaha Hadid Architects, and White Arkitekter, to numerous smaller and exciting new practices. This year’s international judging panels will include Mario Cucinella, Tracy Meller, Sanjay Puri, Gonka Arik Caliskan, Sir Peter Cook, Yui Tezuka, Shane O’Toole, Eva Jiricna, Issa Diabaté, Nadia Tromp, Jo Noero, Ann Lau, and Nigel Coates.
Photography by Ankit Jain featuring Secure Sanand by Studio SAAR, Sanand, India
‘The number and quality of entries this year has been very encouraging, and we are looking forward to meeting in-person to carry out category judging, and then our best-in-show awards,’ says WAF programme director, Paul Finch. ‘We are delighted to be hosting the event in the magnificent city of Lisbon, and we look forward to re-engaging with our architect and designer friends from across the world.’
This is the first time WAF has been hosted in the Portuguese capital, following previous editions in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Singapore, and Berlin. WAF and its co-located event, INSIDE World Festival of Interiors, will welcome the world’s leading architects and designers to Lisbon for three days of talks, programmes, awards, exhibitions, and fringe events.
The full shortlist for this year’s completed buildings, future, and landscape project awards can be viewed here.
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