Scan Magazine | Architecture Feature | World Architecture Festival
Photo: Tom Howard
Celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture Last year, World Architecture Festival (WAF) celebrated its tenth anniversary in Berlin around the central theme of Performance. This year, the world’s biggest architecture festival is back with a bang, gathering the best and most fascinating speakers and thinkers in the world of spatial and landscape design for three days of inspiration, competition and excellence in Amsterdam. By Linnea Dunne
Founded on a dedication to celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture, WAF every year presents an interesting programme of keynote talks from influential speakers within the industry – but at its heart is always a prestigious awards show, with live judging presentations and over 500 short-listed finalists representing firms from all over the globe. Looking at the dramatic transformation of its host city, this year’s festival will take place 28 to 30 November, and pres28 | Issue 117 | October 2018
ent speakers including Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Marieke van Doorninck; director of CRAB Studio, Professor Sir Peter Cook; Li Xiadong, Professor of architecture at Tsinghua University; and Rem Koolhaas, renowned Dutch architect and founder of Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), who will deliver the closing keynote. In conjunction with the main festival is also the INSIDE World Festival of Interiors, co-located and taking place simultaneously with WAF, also with a number
of notable keynote speakers, including India Mahdavi, principal of India Mahdavi architecture and design, and Maria Warner Wong, co-founder of WOW. Like every year, the Nordic architecture scene is well represented among the many brilliant short-listed projects, with global stars such as Bjarke Ingels Group unsurprisingly included alongside more up-and-coming firms. A total number of 32 projects located in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland have been nominated, representing everything from hospitals and airports to an urban action plan and a sand sanctuary that aims to counterbalance war history. Web: www.worldarchitecturefestival.com Facebook: Architecture Festival Instagram: @worldarchfest