Archinect - News

Atelier tao+c's Capsule Hostel and Bookstore is the 2021 World Interior of the Year

2021-12-03T20:03:00-05:00

In culmination of the two organization's shared annual awards program, the World Architecture Festival and INSIDE Festival of Interiors have just named the Capsule Hostel and Bookstore in Qinglongwu, China as the 2021 winner of the World Interior of the Year prize.

The design features a 20-person hostel and community bookstore space inserted into a 232-square-meter (2,500-square-foot) stone house set amongst the richly forested landscape of Zhejiang Province.

Image © Su Shengliang

Atelier tao+c's intention was to explore the idea of a “building within a building” by transforming the former mountainside residence into a combination of different competing uses with the particular challenge of ensuring privacy for the hostel guests while enacting a workable network of wayfinding for customers of the bookstore.

Image © Su Shengliang

Judges commended the project for its “sensitive and inventive remodeling of a modest traditional building in a remote setting,” stating that it was “a cross ...

BIG's CopenHill waste-to-energy ski slope named World Building of the Year 2021

2021-12-03T18:52:00-05:00

It doesn't happen every day that a large piece of urban infrastructure is crowned the globe's best new building design, but at today's closing ceremony of the annual World Architecture Festival, one industrial facility reigned supreme over a shortlist of 200 noteworthy new buildings: CopenHill, the illustrious waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen also known as Amager Bakke, has been declared the World Building of the Year 2021.

Representing the Production, Energy & Recycling category, the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed project vastly expands the definition (and expectation) of an energy-sector facility, featuring a ski slope, hiking trail, and green terrains on its roof, sporting the world's tallest artificial climbing wall on its vertical facade as well as hosting a rooftop bar, cross-fit area, and a viewing plateau of the city.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj/Courtesy of WAF.

WAF Program Director Paul Finch praised the way CopenHill "addresses the role of architecture in the new world of recy...

Architectural Photography Awards: 24 photographers selected for this year's shortlist

2021-11-23T17:34:00-05:00

In collaboration with the World Architecture Festival since 2012, the Architectural Photography Awards (APA) has been celebrating the work of professional and amateur photographers with a passion for capturing the beauty of architecture and the built environment.

According to APA organizers: "Images of the built world are ubiquitous, used beyond the world of architecture and design, you will see buildings in advertisements for finance, cars, travel and more. Despite the visibility of these images, their creators are invisible. The APA crosses sectors and continents to raise awareness of the skill of these photographers; their ability to translate the sophistication of the built world..."

Among 2000 entries this year, 24 photographers were chosen across the categories Exterior, Interior, Sense of Place, Building in Use, Mobile and Portfolio. Below is a selection of shortlisted photographs from each category.

EXTERIOR CATEGORY

APA 2021 Exterior shortlist: Bully Hill House in New York...

View images of the best shortlisted timber projects from the 2021 World Architecture Festival

2021-09-07T19:00:00-04:00

In preparation for the "world's largest annual, international, live architecture event," the World Architecture Festival recently announced its shortlists for the best new buildings, landscapes, and interior projects from around the globe. As media partners of the WAF 2021 Awards, Archinect is showcasing this year's shortlisted projects.

Continuing with the Festival's awards program announcements, following is this year's shortlist for the WAF Certified Timber Prize. According to Ben Gunneberg, CEO of Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC): "It is inspiring to see the large variety of buildings in the finals, benefitting from the use of certified timber in so many ways. While some of the architects chose timber for its flexibility and robustness, others appreciate its natural look and the positive effects it has for people, climate, and the planet."

Eight shortlisted projects have been selected from a series of submissions from 13 countries and 28 architects an...

View images of the best new interior projects from the World Festival of Interiors: Inside 2021 shortlist

2021-07-26T19:49:00-04:00

The World Festival of Interiors (Inside 2021) is the sister festival to the renowned World Architecture Festival. As media partners of the WAF 2021 Awards, Archinect showcased a selection of shortlisted projects for this year's World Architecture Festival awards program. According to the World Festival of Interiors, "this year's shortlist consists of over 100 of the very best designed interior projects by some of the world's foremost design and architecture firms across more than 20 countries."

Covering 11 categories ranging from hotels, workplaces, homes, and restaurants, all shortlisted projects and design teams will "go on to compete in the live-judging in front of a panel of industry experts and an audience of their peers at the festival in Lisbon," explains the Festival.

Clockwise from top left: Ya Space! By PIG Design; A Train Station As An Epoch by Faber Group; Smart Design Studio by Smart Design Studio; Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects. Images courtesy of INSIDE Shortlist 202...

View the best new buildings and landscapes in this year's World Architecture Festival Awards shortlist

2021-07-21T16:48:00-04:00

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) announced its 2021 shortlist highlighting the best buildings and landscapes that have been completed around the world between 2019–2021. Recognized as the world's most extensive architectural awards program, this year's shortlist consists of 200 projects selected from 732 entries from 55 countries.

The theme for the 2021 edition of the festival is Resetting the City: Greening, Health, and Urbanism, and the awards attracted submissions across 20 completed buildings and landscape categories; an "increase of 44% in submissions from 2019's edition of the festival."

Clockwise: Al Hosn Masterplan by Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi; Eden by Heatherwick Studio; Chinese Culture Exhibition Center by Qingdao Tengyuan Design; Majara Residency by ZAV Architects. Images courtesy of WAF

According to WAF: "The architects and designers behind each shortlisted project will compete for category prizes live at WAF in December. Presentations of the short...

Sou Fujimoto, BIG, Studio V Architecture, and 3deluxe among category winners of 2021 WAFX Awards

2021-07-06T21:07:00-04:00

The World Architecture Festival Awards (WAFX Award) has announced 12 project initiatives that aim to address "some of the world’s most pressing challenges." The 2021 awards program celebrates project proposals from across the world tackling today’s global issues, ranging from pandemic control and the climate emergency to social equity, cultural identity, aging populations, and food supply.

The Festival shares: "The WAFX Award winners are all selected from entries to the Future Projects category in the WAF Awards Program, for their ambition and scope. This year’s category winners include a fast installation modular hospital for epidemic prevention, a floating eco-campus off Manhattan Island, a grand prototype smart transportation city from Bjarke Ingles and Toyota, a zero-carbon office development in central London, the world's first high-rise data center in Shanghai, and a new eco-tourism typology at Cagbalete Island, Philippines."

The overall WAFX winner will be announced at the 20...