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 2021 World Architecture Festival during the return of its physical event which takes place on December 1–3 in Lisbon. 

Paul Finch, Director of the World Architecture Festival, comments: "This year’s WAFX winners feature an inspiring set of ideas and approaches in respect of many of the major issues of our time. From all-wood offices to conceptual projects combining nature with the man-made, architects have once again shown how design can be deployed to tackle challenges and investigate opportunities."

The WAFX 2021 Category Prize Winners are:

• Construction Technology winner: ‘Museum for Architecture + Residences’ by Sou Fujimoto Architects
• Aging winner: ‘Taikang Community Gui Garden’ by Sunlay
• Climate, Energy & Carbon winner: ‘Paradise, London’ by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

• Cultural Identity winner: ‘Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi’ by Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi 
• Food winner: ‘Cagbalete Sand Clusters’ by Carlo Calma Consultancy Inc.
• Smart Cities winner: ‘Toyota Woven City’ by B.I.G. Architecture D.P.C.

• Health winner: ‘The Deformable Modularized COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention Hospital, Shanghai’ by School of Architecture & Design, China University of Mining and Technology
• Re-use winner: ‘Silo City’ by STUDIO V Architecture
• Ethics & Values winner: ‘#WeThePlanet Campus’ by 3deluxe 

• Digital Technology winner: ‘Shenzhen Qianhai Telecommunication Centre’ by Schneider+Schumacher International GmbH
• Social Equity winner: ‘A Resilient Duplex for Fort Seven First Nation’ by Two Row Architect and KPMB Architects
• Water winner: ‘Horizon Manila’ by William Ti, Jr.

On July 12–14, 2021, live interviews with all 12 WAFX Award winners will take place during the WAF Futures virtual event. In addition to these interviews, each presenting team will be in conversation with special guests joining the virtual event including acclaimed architect Alison Brooks; Founding Partner of Ash Sakula Architects Cany Ash; Head of Architecture at Royal Academy Vicky Richardson, and more. 

For more details on the 2021 World Architecture Festival and sister event Inside Festival of Interiors please visit click here.