Words Patrick Kasingsing
Images World Architecture Festival
After spending two years in limbo and having to cancel the live event this year due to pandemic restrictions, the World Architecture Festival and INSIDE Festival finally crowned its four major winners today in a digital ceremony, putting to a close an edition of the world’s largest architecture and design event unlike any other.
This year’s WAF jurors had to whittle down 496 shortlisted entries from 62 countries to get to their initial slate of 43 category winners, a process whose difficulty was further compounded by differing timezones, locations, and internet connection quality, hallmarks of working in the so-called new normal. The category winners, who all have a fighting chance to secure the plum prizes, then had to present their project again to the prestigious Super Jury, who will then convene to deliberate the overall winners of the festival. Meet this year’s batch of well-deserved winners below, alongside judges’ comments.
WAF 2021 Winners
World Building of the Year: CopenHill by BIG Architecture
WAF Writeup: CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, opens as a new breed of waste-to-energy plant topped with a ski slope, hiking trail and climbing wall, embodying the notion of hedonistic sustainability while aligning with Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
World Interior of the Year: Capsule Hotel and Bookstore in Qinglongwu by Atelier TAO+C
Jury comments: “A sensitive and inventive remodelling of a modest traditional building in a remote setting. And what a surprise when you go inside. A cross between a beehive, a climbing frame and a pagoda, this building is exceptionally skilful and entertaining. A beautiful hybrid idea executed with poetry, sophistication, and warmth.”
Future Project of the Year: Silo City by STUDIO V Architecture
Jury comments: “This project started with the ruins of the world’s greatest collection of grain elevators, and through wonderfully seductive imagery envisages a future for them, the City of Buffalo – and of post-industrial cities”.
Landscape of the Year: Al Fay Park by SLA
Jury comments: “Al Fay Park is a thoughtful and intelligent response which takes into consideration pressing contemporary social and environmental issues. It is more over a delightful and biodiverse oasis in a dense desert city.”
Pinoys in fighting form for 2021
Seven practices, nine projects, 11 categories; this year’s WAF and INSIDE Festival saw the largest number of Philippine shortlisted entries thus far, a surprisingly formidable showing that had festival director Paul Finch ask eventual WAFX overall winner William Ti, Jr. during his presentation “What is happening in the Philippines?”
Notable among this field of entrants are fresh names like Buensalido + Architects, BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture + Design, and Habúlan and Ngo Design Studio, who made the WAF category shortlists for the first time. There were also some repeat appearances, from WAF stalwart WTA Architecture and Design, to second-time showings by Carlo Calma Consultancy and Alero Design Studio. Jorge Yulo also returns to the competitions track with an interior design follow-up to his last shortlisted entry (Mecha Uma) back in 2017’s INSIDE Festival, the La Cabaña de Resurección. This strong architectural showing by the country at a global stage even led to a house resolution pushed by The Arts, Culture, and Creative Industries Bloc of the 18th Congress (ACCIB) of the Philippine House of Representatives, honoring the entrants’ achievements.
More than just a larger contingent, this year’s batch of Pinoy designers brought in accolades left and right. The category award may have proved elusive for all entrants, but this year’s slate of recognitions for local entries is no small feat in a field of global bests. To recap, below are the awards reaped by our local WAF contenders.
Pinoys also excelled in the satellite events held within the WAF. The coveted Peter Davey Prize of the Architectural Review Emerging Architecture Award (AREA) 2021 was presented to previous WAF winners Sudarshan Khadka and Alexander Eriksson Furunes. In the 2021 Architecture Drawing Prize, Pampangueño architectural designer Eldry John Infante got on the shortlist.
ASEAN wins: small but commendable
For this year’s WAF category shortlists, ASEAN entries performed modestly well on top of Philippine wins, netting Highly Commended nods for Singapore and Indonesia (three of which are for one entry alone, the Microlibrary Warak Kayu by SHAU). Vietnam’s MIA Design Studio netted ASEAN a coveted category win for House and Villa (Suburban) for Sky House. The House category is one that Vietnam routinely performs well in, with VTN Architects alone netting three wins from 2012 to 2017, alongside a21 Studio, who won the category back in 2015.
For INSIDE, the plethora of strong Thai entries were struck down in their respective categories, a surprise as they’ve historically fared well in the interior design competition; one ASEAN entry, the YTL Headquarters by Singapore’s Ministry of Design, nabbed a category win for Office and was in the running for the Interior of the Year prize. The full list of ASEAN WAF awards below:
The future?
While WAF Digital Edition enabled the much-delayed event to finally take place and allowed more people access to the event, the experience of presenting live to distinguished jurors, watching crit sessions of your favorite studios, or simply savoring the sights of the host city cannot be replaced. While so much uncertainty still lingers (we have a new Covid-19 variant on the loose to boot), there is still ample time for things to improve before the next WAF installment (“We plan to be live in Lisbon in December 2022!” proclaims Paul Finch in his Letter from London). Hopefully, by then, we have an even larger batch of Pinoy entries, a larger ASEAN presence, and that same defiant sense of hope that pushes designers and creatives to craft award-winning solutions in an uncertain and fast-changing world. •
Thanks to GROHE Philippines for sponsoring the practice crits that Kanto organized for Filipino WAF finalists. Your support is building a community of architects and designers who believe in life-long learning and critical thinking. Excerpts of the practice crits will soon be available for viewing in GROHE Pacific’s Facebook page.