World Architecture Festival is heading to the USA for the first time in its 18-year history

Left to right: Past Winners – Quay Quarter Tower by 3XN; Darlington Public School by fjcstudio

[English text below, provided by World Architecture Festival] ‘Oscar-nya dunia arsitektur’ akan digelar di Miami untuk edisi ke-17, menjadi kali pertama festival ini diselenggarakan di Amerika Serikat. Bertempat di Miami Beach Convention Center, Florida, pada 12–14 November, World Architecture Festival (WAF) akan menyambut arsitek dan desainer papan atas dari seluruh dunia dalam tiga hari penuh program diskusi, penghargaan, pameran, dan acara pendamping lainnya. Festival ini akan menampilkan praktik arsitektur internasional terdepan, proyek-proyek baru terbaik, serta berbagai diskusi penting yang relevan dengan isu-isu mutakhir.

Tema WAF 2025 adalah ‘Hearts and Minds’, yang akan dieksplorasi lebih lanjut melalui program acara langsung bersama panel pembicara internasional. Mereka akan membahas hubungan antara arsitektur dan desain sebagai hasil dari pemikiran rasional sekaligus daya tarik bagi indra dan emosi.

Pendaftaran untuk program WAF Awards kini telah dibuka. Penghargaan ini menjadi inti dari festival dan merupakan satu-satunya ajang penghargaan global di mana para arsitek mempresentasikan proyek mereka secara langsung di hadapan panel juri internasional serta peserta festival. Tahun ini, penghargaan terbuka untuk 45 kategori yang mencakup bangunan terbangun, interior, proyek masa depan, dan lanskap. Untuk pertama kalinya, WAF juga membuka kategori baru dalam bidang interior yang secara khusus merayakan desain ruang dalam kapal pesiar, kapal laut, dan rumah terapung.

Para pemenang kategori akan bersaing untuk meraih penghargaan tertinggi seperti World Building of the Year, Landscape of the Year, Future Project of the Year, dan Interior of the Year. Beberapa pemenang dari tahun-tahun sebelumnya antara lain Zaha Hadid Architects, Nikken Sekkei, BIG, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos, Snøhetta, Atelier tao+c, Heatherwick Studio, dan Foster + Partners.

Proyek-proyek yang masuk shortlist juga berpeluang meraih WAF Special Prizes, penghargaan khusus bagi proyek yang menonjol dalam aspek tertentu seperti penggunaan cahaya alami, batu alam, warna, serta WAFX Awards untuk proyek-proyek masa depan yang mengusung inovasi desain dalam menanggapi isu global.

Inisiatif ‘40 under 40’ dari WAF akan diluncurkan pada 2025, untuk mengapresiasi arsitek muda terbaik di Amerika Utara, bekerja sama dengan The Architect’s Newspaper.

Pendaftaran penghargaan dibuka hingga 16 Mei, namun peserta dapat menghindari biaya tambahan late rate dengan mengirimkan entri sebelum 25 April. Informasi lebih lanjut mengenai cara mendaftar dapat ditemukan di situs resmi WAF. Setelah sesi penjurian pada bulan Juni, daftar finalis untuk edisi 2025 akan diumumkan pada Juli.

Menjelang peluncuran resmi festival di Miami pada 5 Februari, Direktur Program WAF, Paul Finch, menyampaikan, “Kami sangat antusias membawa World Architecture Festival ke Miami. Kami berharap perubahan lokasi ini dapat menarik minat lebih besar dari kawasan Amerika Tengah dan Selatan, serta dari AS dan Kanada, sekaligus menjadi stimulus bagi peserta setia penghargaan WAF.”

Edisi WAF 2024 sebelumnya digelar di Marina Bay Sands, Singapura, setelah sebelumnya berlangsung di Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, dan Berlin.

Panel juri internasional untuk penghargaan WAF 2024 terdiri dari 175 pakar industri dari 32 negara, termasuk tokoh-tokoh seperti Kelley Cheng, Sanjay Puri, Mariana Simas, Sonali Rastogi, Mario Cucinella, Emre Arolat, Charu Kokate, Yael Reisner, Sir Peter Cook, dan Nigel Coates. Finalis terdiri dari arsitek kelas dunia seperti Renzo Piano Building Workshop, MVRDV, Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Zaha Hadid Architects, WOHA, dan Kohn Pederson Fox, serta berbagai praktik baru yang bersaing di panggung bersama nama-nama besar tersebut.

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut mengenai World Architecture Festival 2025 dan WAF Awards, silakan kunjungi: www.worldarchitecturefestival.com @worldarchfest

[Text provided by World Architecture Festival] The ‘Oscars of architecture’ will be held in Miami for its 17th edition, bringing the festival to the USA for the first time. Taking place at Miami Beach Convention Center, Florida from 12–14 November, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) will welcome the world’s leading architects and designers for three days of talks programmes, awards, exhibitions and fringe events, showcasing leading international practices, the best new projects, and most pressing live debates.

The theme for the 2025 edition of the festival is ‘Hearts and Minds’, and as part of the live events programme, an international panel of speakers will explore and debate the interplay of architecture and design as a product of the mind and as an appeal to the senses and emotions.

Entries for the WAF Awards programme are now open. The awards sit at the heart of the festival, the only global awards programme where architects present their projects live to a panel of international judges and delegates. Entries are being welcomed in 45 categories across completed buildings, interiors, future projects, and landscape. For the first time in the festival’s history, a new WAF Interiors category will celebrate the internal spaces of yachts, ships, and houseboats.

Category winners are then invited to go head-to-head for the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year, Landscape of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and Interior of the Year. Past category winners include Zaha Hadid Architects, Nikken Sekkei, BIG, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos, Snøhetta, Atelier tao+c, Heatherwick Studio, and Foster + Partners.

Shortlisted projects will also be considered for the WAF Special Prizes, awarded to projects that demonstrate excellence in particular areas such as best use of natural light, stone and colour, and WAFX awards, which celebrate future projects embracing cutting-edge design to address major world issues.

WAF’s ‘40 under 40’ initiative will be launched in 2025, recognising and celebrating the best young North American architects of their generation, in partnership with The Architect’s Newspaper.

Award entries are open until 16 May, but entrants can avoid the ‘late rate’ by submitting before 25 April. More information on how to enter can be found here. Following judging sessions in June, the shortlisted entries for the 2025 edition will be announced in July.

Ahead of the official launch event in Miami on 5th February, WAF programme director Paul Finch commented: “We are delighted to be bringing the World Architecture Festival to Miami. We hope that the locational change, which is intended to generate extra interest from Central and South America, as well as from the USA and Canada, will be a stimulus to our regular award entrants.”

The 2024 edition of WAF was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. This follows previous editions of the festival in Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Berlin.

The international judging panel for the 2024 awards consisted of 175 industry experts across 32 countries and included industry leaders such as Kelley Cheng, Sanjay Puri, Mariana Simas, Sonali Rastogi, Mario Cucinella, Emre Arolat, Charu Kokate, Yael Reisner, Sir Peter Cook, and Nigel Coates. Finalists ranged from major world architects, including Renzo Piano Building Workshop, MVRDV, Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Zaha Hadid Architects, WOHA, and Kohn Pederson Fox, with many emerging practices also on stage competing against the big names.

For more details on the 2025 World Architecture Festival and the WAF Awards, please visit: www.worldarchitecturefestival.com @worldarchfest