World Architecture Festival 2015

Jan - Feb 2016

World Architecture Festival 2015

January 30, 2016

The eighth World Architecture Festival (WAF) took place from 4 to 6 November and gathered more than 2,000 architects and designers at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. With over 700 entries, 338 shortlisted projects from 47 countries vied for 31 award categories. This year’s jury included Manuelle Gautrand, founding partner, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture; Sou Fujimoto, principal director, Sou Fujimoto Architects; and Sir Peter Cook, director, CRAB Studio.

Winners from Asia and Australia
Four winning projects came from Singapore—two of which belonged to the Future Projects category. Gardens at Punggol by Serie + Multiply consultants, which was noted for its scheme that naturally retains culture and reinterprets tradition, won in the Commercial Mixed-Use category. Winning the Experimental category is SPARK’s Home Farm, which is, according to the judges, “a culturally, socially and environmentally sustainable project that offers a real model for the future and gives real thought to the value of the elderly population”.

Saigon House, by a21 studio (World Building of the Year 2014 winner) was awarded winner of the House category for its playful and communal approach to living. Another Vietnam project that demonstrated a commitment to using locally sourced materials and resources is the Cam Thanh Community House, which won the Civic and Community prize for Completed Buildings. This project was also featured in FuturArc’s Year-end Nov-Dec 2015 issue. The Community Green Station in Sha Tin, Hong Kong by Hong Kong Architectural Services, which was highly commended in the Production, Energy and Recycling category, was published in the same issue.

Three completed projects from Japan won in their respective categories: Toho Gakuen School of Music by Nikken Sekkei for the Higher Education and Research category; Soma City Home for All by Klein Dytham Architecture for the Culture category; and HIGO by Nakayama Architects for the Office category.

There were two winning projects from Australia: Casba by Billard Leece and SJB Architect for the Mixed-use Development of the Year and Walumba Elders Centre by Iredale Pedersen Hook for the Health category.

China’s Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu by Oval Partnership won in the Shopping category for its “sympathetic urban plan in terms of scale, social integration and walkability”. The Office award for Future Projects category was given to Sanjay Puri Architects’ Reservoir in Rajasthan, India.

World Building of the Year 2015 and overall winners
Winning in the Housing category is The Interlace—a vertical village in Singapore—that eventually earned the World Building of the Year award. Designed by OMA/Buro Ole Scheeren, the project won for its radical and alternative approach to contemporary living in a tropical environment. Another Singapore project—SkyTerrace @ Dawson by SCDA Architects— was highly commended in the Housing category. It was featured in FuturArc’s Jan-Feb 2013 issue.

Winning in the Housing category is The Interlace—a vertical village in Singapore—that eventually earned the World Building of the Year award. Designed by OMA/Buro Ole Scheeren, the project won for its radical and alternative approach to contemporary living in a tropical environment. Another Singapore project—SkyTerrace @ Dawson by SCDA Architects— was highly commended in the Housing category. It was featured in FuturArc’s Jan-Feb 2013 issue.

The winner for Landscape of the Year is Turenscape International’s Yanweizhou Park in China, which showcases a replicable and resilient ecological solution to large-scale flood management. Similar to 2014, a Canadian project—Vancouver House by BIG Bjarke Ingells Group—won Future Project of the Year. Lidingövallen, a Swedish football stadium in miniature by DinellJohansson, was awarded the Small Project of the Year.

INSIDE 2015 winners
Inside World Festival of Interiors 2015, which took place alongside WAF, had over 100 project nominees across nine categories—half of which had been shortlisted from 16 countries.

Some of the winners include: Vivarium by Hypothesis (Thailand) for Bars & Restaurants category; Exploded by One Plus Partnership (China) for Civic, Culture & Transport category; and the University of Queensland Oral Health Centre by Cox Rayner Architects (Australia) for Health and Education category.

HASSELL’s Medibank Workplace, a project featured in FuturArc’s Workplace Jul-Aug 2015 issue, won in the Office category. Singapore’s Produce Workshop won in the Retail category for Kki Sweets and The Little Dröm Store—one of the projects featured in this issue.

The World Interior of the Year award went to Hotel Hotel by March Studio, a contemporary hotel in Canberra, Australia, which won the Hotel category on the first day.

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