Brussels Furniture Fair
francisco-marea 11/12/2018

WAF 2018, architecture with a capital A

This year the world community of architecture gathered from 28 to 30 November for the World Architectural Festival at the Amsterdam Rai in the Netherlands. Not just talks, lectures, presentations, seminars and reflections on the theme of architecture, but also awards for the world’s best projects

More than 130 judges representing over 35 countries, 33 categories (divided into future project and completed projects) that run the gamut from buildings linked to Culture, Education, Health, Sport, but also Residences, Offices, Hotels

Kampung Admiralty in Singapore, designed by the WOHA studio, wins the World Building of the Year Award, the Oscar of Architecture. It is a building that combines in a single building a mixture of public facilities and services, with a series of commercial, residential and health spaces as well as community services, surmounted by vast green terraces, capable of generating biodiversity. The jury felt that this was a project that could be a lesson for cities and countries around the world.

Kampung Admiralty

Kampung Admiralty

 width=

Le terrazze verdi di Kampung

The 2018 Future Project of the Year, which celebrates the best of the world’s un-built architecture, is the Masterplan of river parks/botanical parks in Medellin, Colombia, by Sebastian Monsalve + Juan David Hoyos. A project of great impact that aims at regenerating the vast river heritage of Medellin. The festival’s jury was deeply impressed by the quality of strategic thinking and by the vision of how urban spaces could be developed, used and inhabited.

 width=

Masterplan dei parchi fluviali/parchi botanici a Medellin, in Colombia, di Sebastian Monsalve + Juan David Hoyos

BATLLE I ROIG Arquitectes win the 2018 Landscape of the Year thanks to their Pedestrian Path, along Gypsum Mines in Barcelona. It is a series of pedestrian and bicycle routes in the form of a green belt on the perimeter of the city. A “poetic response with minimal means”, the jury affirmed, who also praised it for its innovative use of materials.

Camilo Moraes, Piedras Bayas Beachcamp

Camilo Moraes, Piedras Bayas Beachcamp

The 2018 Small Project of the Year was awarded to Camilo Moraes for Piedras Bayas Beachcamp in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The sustainable and itinerant tourist resort is located in the unspoiled landscape in northern Chile and has made the most of the use of local techniques and materials.

 width=

Piedras Bayas Beachcamp, Camilo Moraes

In addition to these other Awards, a brand new one this year honours the city that hosted the festival, the Amsterdam Prize for the best building completed in Amsterdam between January 2017 and July 2018 (won by Benthem Crouwel Architects with North South Line). Among others, Architectural Photography Awards, Best Use of Certified Timber Prize (for the best use of certified wood), Use of Colour Prize, Glass Future Prize, WAF Research Programme (to promote the ideas highlighted in the WAFX Manifesto) and the WAFX Award (assigned to future projects that address the key challenges that architects will have to face in the coming years, covering different thematic areas: climate, energy and carbon, water, aging and health, reuse, smart cities, construction technology, cultural identity, ethics, power and justice, virtuality).

Among the numerous winners of the categories we shall mention a few.

For Culture The Piano Mill by Conrad Gargett in Stanthorpe, Australia for its perfect form.

 width=

Hammershus Visitors Centre, Arkitema Architects

For the Display category Arkitema Architects and the professor Christoffer Harlang are awarded for their Hammershus Visitor Centre in Allinge, Denmark.

For Hotel and Leisure (award supported by GROHE) the winner is SeARCH for the Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam that sets itself apart for its modular construction in wood and its sustainability.

 width=

Hotel Jakarta, SeArch, (Photo credit westcord)

The Small Scale Housing Winner (supported by GROHE) awards Allford Hall Monaghan Morris for the Weston Street project in London.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris - Weston Street

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris – Weston Street

The Muku Nursery School by Tezuka Architects in Fuji City, Japan wins the School award for the idea of the platform on the roof that is used as a play area for the children.

Muku Nursery School, Tezuka Architects

Muku Nursery School, Tezuka Architects

Next Office wins the Future Projects category for their Sadra Civic Center in Iran that aims at creating a vital urban nucleus for a new city.

 width=

Sadra Civic Center, Sadra Civic Center

It is the same studio that also won the award for the Future House category for Guyim Vault House in Shiraz, Iran for a project that finds the balance between its traditional closed vaults and modern transparency.

 width=

Guyim Vault House Next Office

Our latest stories

Christina O meets James Bond
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Christina O meets James Bond

More a private yacht than a cruise ship, this vessel was conceived as a floating luxury hotel. It’s how Four Seasons I is redefining the seafaring experience: with more space, vast panoramic suites, and a pool that seemingly disappears

Projects&Hospitality
The Gulf’s autumn calendar
Minutes icon
2 minutes

The Gulf’s autumn calendar

From Riyadh’s fast-growing design scene to major fairs and exhibitions across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Amman and Doha, the region’s cultural calendar is filling up. Here are the key design, architecture and art dates to add to your diary from September through November

Events
Treading lightly as guests of nature
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Treading lightly as guests of nature

In the Philippines, nestled in a cove dominated by sheer cliffs, Lagen Island Resort / El Nido by WATG & Wimberly Interiors embodies a regenerative approach to hospitality

Hospitality
Gaya Beach House
Minutes icon
1 minute

Gaya Beach House

Juhu Beach, Mumbai | Lissoni Casal Ribeiro

Projects&Hospitality
Between aesthetics and technology
Minutes icon
2 minutes

Between aesthetics and technology

Fluid spaces, discreet elegance, and a sea-inspired color palette. This is the new T52 Awandra, a successor to Baglietto's 33 and 44-meter series, but with an elevated level of customization – including in its exterior design

Projects&Hospitality
Archifeed expands from Beirut to Miami
Minutes icon
1 minute

Archifeed expands from Beirut to Miami

Founded by architects and educators Teymour Khoury and Yasmina Mahmoud, Archifeed has expanded its Architecture Summer Workshops from Beirut to Miami, introducing high school students to architectural thinking before they enter university

Design