WAF world architecture festival 2012

after five years of hosting the world architecture festival (WAF) in barcelona, spain the event is heading to a new destination, singapore, from october 3rd-5th, 2012 in celebration of this anniversary.

featuring a comprehensive mix of architectural styles, from british colonial civic buildings to art deco office blocks, the southeast asian country’s rich building heritage is beginning to be recognized on a broader global scale. this year’s festival will be hosted within the acclaimed marina bay sands resort designed by moshe safdie, whose firm won an WAF award in 2010. (see designboom’s coverage of moshe safdie’s marina bay sands completed and during the construction phase)

the festival will include a programme of exhibitions, keynote addresses, presentations and seminars delivered by the international line-up of participants. the largest architectural awards programme in the world, the WAF awards will once again be a focal highlight of the event. in the past entrants have ranged from smaller, local practices to renowned global architectural firms. all of the entrants compete as equals, presenting their projects on a global stage in an interactive format, live in front of an international judging panel and festival delegates.

this year’s jury includes: ben van berkel, UNstudio; jürgen mayer h., j. mayer h architecture design research; mok wei wei, W architects; kongjian yu, turenscape; marcio kogan, studio mk27; kerry hill, kerry hill architects; tang guan bee, tangguanbee architects; edouard francois, maison d’architecture edouard francois; ivan harbour, rogers stirk harbour + partners; ole scheeren, buro ole scheeren; richard hassell and wong mun summ,WOHA; sanjay puri, sanjay puri architects and birgit lohmann, editor-in-chief of designboom.

paul finch, WAF programme director said: ‘since our inaugural festival in 2008, WAF has evolved into a truly global event, annually attracting thousands of architects and designers from across the world. following four fantastic years in barcelona we feel the time is right to move the festival to a new location, and where better to celebrate our fifth birthday than at moshe safdie’s award winning marina bay sands in singapore.

the festival represents an exclusive forum for the architectural community to showcase projects, debate and discuss current trends and learn from some of the world’s most inspirational designers.

this year’s jury features some of the industry’s leading minds and most-respected thinkers, who are each individually at the very forefront of their respective fields. we’re looking forward to seeing the quality of this panel matched by the creativity and ingenuity of the projects that they will be judging.’

for details on the award’s entry conditions and how to apply go to: http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/entry_conditions.cfm

for conference rates and to purchase tickets visit: http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/visitor_costs.cfm

see designboom’s coverage of the world architecture festival from 2009, 2010, 2011. designboom is an official media partner of the world architecture festival 2012.

WAF building of the year 2011 ‘media-ICT building’ by cloud 9, barcelona, spain image © luis ros courtesy of enric ruiz-geli see designboom’s full article cloud 9: ‘media-ICT building’

WAF building of the year 2010 ‘MAXXI – national museum of XXI century arts’ by zaha hadid architects, rome, italy image © zaha hadid architects see designboom’s full article zaha hadid architects: MAXXI

WAF building of the year 2009 ‘mapungubwe interpretation center’ by peter rich architects, limpopo, south africa image © peter rich architects see designboom’s full article peter rich architects: mapungubwe interpretation center