The 2024 World Architecture Festival (WAF) unveils the shortlist of the most innovative architectural projects globally, with a special focus on exceptional lighting design. The festival, set to take place at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, from 6-8 November, will highlight the transformative power of lighting in architecture.
TAWA Refugio by CONTEXTO. Photo credit: Nicolas Gildemeister
Today's shortlist honours the finest new buildings and landscapes, along with groundbreaking future concepts, across 33 categories, including a dedicated category for lighting design. The Inside World Festival of Interiors shortlist, celebrating outstanding interior design in ten categories, will be revealed on Wednesday, 10 July. This year’s selection emerged from over 800 entries, featuring 480 projects by more than 350 unique practices.
WAF remains the world's largest live-judged architectural awards programme, where finalists present their work to an international panel of judges.
Among the finalists are prominent global architects like Zaha Hadid Architects, WOHA, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, MVRDV, Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Kohn Pederson Fox, and Nikken Sekkei. Emerging practices will also compete against these established names, demonstrating the dynamic and evolving nature of architectural lighting design.
This year, the shortlist spans 71 countries, with top entries from China, Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and Singapore. The international judging panel comprises 175 industry experts from 32 countries, including luminaries like Kelley Cheng, Sanjay Puri, Mariana Simas, Sonali Rastogi, Mario Cucinella, Emre Arolat, Ian Ritchie, Charu Kokate, Yael Reisner, Sir Peter Cook, and Nigel Coates.
On the final day of the festival, winners from 43 categories will vie for prestigious titles, including World Building of the Year, Landscape of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and Interior of the Year. Special prizes, such as the WAFX award, will recognize projects addressing critical global issues through cutting-edge design.
WAF programme director Paul Finch remarks, "The range of entries this year made shortlisting a challenge. We're excited to welcome architects from around the globe to this year's festival. Our WAFX section will highlight future projects tackling the world's most pressing environmental and social issues, with announcements on 15 July. With 175 judges in attendance, this will be a truly international event, showcasing the theme 'Tomorrow' and exploring future architectural directions."
Returning to Singapore for its 17th edition, WAF follows previous festivals in Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Berlin. This year's event promises an enriching experience with live-judged awards, crit presentations, keynote talks, and a thematic conference programme. Co-located with the Inside World Festival of Interiors, WAF will host leading architects and designers for three days of talks, awards, exhibitions, and fringe events, spotlighting the best in lighting design and more.
Source: www.v2com-newswire.com
