World Architecture Festival has announced the first phase of its 2021 category winners, following  weeks of intense judging in which hundreds of architectural practices from around the world  presented their shortlisted projects. The first set of category winners features leading global  architecture practices including: B.I.G, Stiff + Trevillion, BVN, Zaha Hadid Architects and many more. 

Completed Buildings 

The ‘Health – Completed Buildings’ category was won by Link Arkitektur and 3XN with Nickl & Partner  and Kristine Jensens Tegnestue for the North Wing of the Rigshospitalet in Denmark. Judges commented that the project ‘carefully considered the daily working situations of staff throughout the  hospital environment’ and felt that ‘this building changes perceptions of how hospitals can be  experienced by patients and visitors – how the city of Copenhagen will use it – with clear wayfinding  and a heightened connection to the outside world and natural light which exemplifies excellence in  health care’.

The winner of the ‘Higher Education and Research – Completed Buildings’ award was RTA + Irving  Smith for Scion Innovation Hub in New Zealand, a Crown Research Institute that specialises in  technology development for the forestry industry. Judges celebrated the project for key factors including ‘simplicity in design’, ‘use of minimum materials’ and the ‘ability to be disassembled and  re-assembled’. 

The winners of the ‘Mixed-Use – Completed Buildings’ category was The Post Building in London by UK-based practice, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. Judges praised the ‘bold reuse of a city-centre industrial structure, that integrates social housing for key workers’ families with distinctive new  workspaces and hill of rooftop gardens.’ 

Atelier tao+c was the winner of the ‘New & Old – Completed Building’ category for Capsule hostel  and bookstore in village Qinglongwu, China. Described by the judges as a ‘beautifully detailed  building that preserves the spirit of a family farm with an entirely new use’, the architects used rammed earth walls as a container to insert a library, threaded through two stacks of capsule hostel  rooms.

Meanwhile, Grimshaw won the ‘Office – Completed Building’ category, scooping the award for  OLDERFLEET – one of Melbourne’s exclusive PCA Premium Grade commercial buildings. Judges  praised its balance and connectivity of old and new in a challenging setting, ‘neatly renovating the  front street late 19th Century eclectic buildings, while realizing a striking tower behind’.

International practice B.I.G won the ‘Production, Energy & Recycling – Completed Buildings’ award  for Coppenhill/ Amager Bakke in Denmark – a new breed of waste-to-energy plant topped with a ski  slope, hiking trail and climbing wall. The project was described by judges as ‘a new iconic landmark  for the city of Copenhagen. The highest and the most beautiful artificial mountain of Denmark’. 

Additionally, Tezuka Architects triumphed in the ‘Religion – Completed Buildings’ category with  Niijima Chapel in Japan. Judges were impressed by ‘the poetic quality of the space’ and  complimented the ‘simplicity and sophistication of the structural design’.

Shanghai Urban Architecture Design Co Ltd won the ‘Shopping – Completed Buildings’ award for  New Alley – Old Story. The building features a ‘strong urban design response with a clear sense of  context and character that builds on the history and traditions of old Nanchang’. Judges felt that ‘the  key to the success of this development was the rich texture and palette of crafted materials, gained  through the rebuilding of original buildings and the development of a new streetscape that maintains  an appropriate urban scale and context’.

The ‘Sport – Completed Buildings’ category winner was Cox Architecture with the Ken Rosewall  Arena Redevelopment, Australia. The project ‘creates a new typology of a naturally ventilated but  enclosed tennis arena’. Judges highlighted that ‘the intervention is minimal but transformational  through lightweight engineering and sustainability considerations’. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill won the ‘Transport’ category with its Moynihan Train Hall in New York.  Judges praised the ‘highly sustainable performance and the subtle adaptive reuse of this landmark  building’ as well as ‘the team’s contextual approach linking into the culture of NYC’.  

Future Projects 

The ‘Civic – Future Projects’ category revealed two joint winners following a lengthy deliberation  among the jury, as judges felt both projects ‘demonstrated how architecture can facilitate civic  engagement’. 

The first is ‘Revitalising Rural Communities’ by Verform, which proposed to extend and adapt a  women’s health and community building in rural Egypt. Judges felt the project was ‘an exemplar in  sensitive participatory design from which a very accomplished building emerged with a visible  celebration of the work (and status) of women in a rural environment’ and added that ‘projects like  this represent a sustainable future’.

Judges felt the second category winner, HCMA’s Aquatic Community Centre in Canada, was a  ‘highly sophisticated building whose apparent simplicity belies the subtlety of thinking behind the  design’. Judge praised ‘the detailing of the elevations and the transparency of the main facades that  establish a clear relationship between the indoors and outdoors’. Two winners were also selected for the ‘Culture – Future Projects’ category, including STUDIO V  Architecture with Silo City in the USA, and CCDI GROUP (Shenzhen) with No.2 Grinding Wheel  Factory Cultural Creative Park in China.

Design & More International won the ‘Competition Entries – Future Projects’ category for the JANNATMASJID in the UK. The design aspires for visitors to both literally and metaphorically rise above theirsurroundings, and leave behind nearby motorways and dwellings. The building also draws in bothworshippers and other members of the community, making it a shared space for congregation,  discussion, discourse and social activity. 

MLKK Studio was victorious in the ‘Education – Future Projects’ category, winning the award for its Music Campus Myanmar. Judges praised the team for ‘showing extraordinary ambition and  commitment for actively seeking out the challenge to contribute to a community project in a  developing country’. Judges felt that the project, which is under construction, was ‘much more than  a building but a catalyst for change in a rural community – teaching the local community simple  building techniques with which to construct the music centre, giving them valuable skills to use  elsewhere’. 

The ‘Leisure-led Development – Future Projects’ category was won by Atelier Sergio Rebelo for the  Winery in Denmark. The winner was chosen as a scheme occupying a difficult site but resolved with  careful analysis, a consideration of historic context and contemporary functionality, and the  demonstration of a suitable level of creativity. Judged commented that the architects had

‘demonstrated an adept use of local materials, using the vertiginous convex and concave hillside to  accommodate a range of complicated functions’.

The winner of the ‘Residential – Future Projects’ award was Studio Razavi for Maison d’Italie, while  the ‘Office – Future Projects’ award went to SHoP Architects + BVN Architecture, with SE’s Eckersley  O’Callaghan for the Atlassian Headquarters in the USA. The winning project was described as  ‘liberating in its approach’ – with its focus on wellbeing and the way in which it innovatively enables  three-dimensional internal changes for current and future uses.

INSIDE - World Festival of Interiors

INSIDE World Festival of Interiors has also announced the best interior designs of 2021 across the  categories of ‘Bars & Restaurants’, ‘Residential – Single Dwelling’, ‘Temporary/Meanwhile Uses’, and  ‘Workplace – Small’. The annual awards encompass the best interior designs from around the globe. 

The ‘Bar & Restaurants’ winner was Stiff + Trevillion for Kerb Foods in Covent Garden, London. This  project reoccupies a vacant historic building with a row of market stalls, and a two-storey atrium with  restaurant and coffee outlets. Judges noted the re-use of the heritage building, which ‘continues the  role of food in the city’s social and physical fabric, while working hard to be sustainable with all waste  food being converted to biofuel in an anaerobic digester’.

OHLAB was the winner of the ‘Residential – Single Dwelling’ category with the project Casa Palerm located in the centre of Mallorca in Spain. The layout, parallel to the slope of the terrain, allows all the  rooms to enjoy views of the countryside and the Tramontana mountains towards the north while taking advantage of the south sun.

Smart Design Studio won the ‘Workplace – Small’ category with its own self-build studio project in  Australia. Judges were impressed by the project’s ability ‘to re-purpose 80% of the original industrial  building but at the same time entirely transform its character, redefining the building’s relationship with the context from the inside out and vice versa’.

In the ‘Temporary/Meanwhile Uses’ category, the winning project was Re-ply by BVN in New York.  The project was centred upon the repurposing of waste material as a multi-layered enterprise  encompassing social, business and environmental benefits. Judges felt that this project was ‘truly  part of the zeitgeist of 2020, leveraging a set of events into a series of impactful opportunities’.

Landscape

The ‘Landscape – Urban Context’ category sees six winners go through to compete for the  ‘Landscape of the Year’ accolade. These winners are:

• Revitalizing Kazan's Prime Waterfront in Russia, by Turenscape – Used by tens of thousands  of people daily, the project has now become a model of urban renewal, sustainable  development, and social equity in Russia;

• Impression of Railway in Taiwan, by S.D. Atelier Design & Planning – A renovation of the  formerly closed railway facilities into an urban recreational area with diverse features of  ecology and culture;

• Al Hosn Masterplan, DCT Abu Dhabi by the Department of Culture and Tourism – DCT ABU  DHABI – The aim of the transformation masterplan is to reinstate the Fort as the cultural heart  of the city with a new cultural park-scape, including the conservation of the site surrounding  the historical buildings;

• Xuhui Runway Park in China by Sasaki – Once the main runway of Longhua Airport, the site  has transformed into a side-by-side public street and linear park, providing a valuable open space corridor which serves the district’s high-density developments and offers a much  needed recreational space for adjacent neighbourhoods; 

• Niederhafen River Promenade in Germany by Zaha Hadid Architects – The flood protection  barrier incorporates the city’s riverside promenade, providing panoramic views of the Elbe  and its historic port; and

• Al Fay Park in the UAE by SLA Architects – a new 27,500 m2 urban biodiversity public park,  driven by inclusive nature rather than iconicbuildings. 

The remaining category winners will be revealed ahead of this year’s virtual World Architecture  Festival. Category winners will go head-to-head to claim the ultimate accolades for World Building,  Interior, Future Project and Landscape of the Year. 

Running alongside WAF is its sister event INSIDE which will showcase 2021’s most ground-breaking  interiors projects; from leading practices and designers across the globe.

For more details on the WAF and INSIDE Awards and to book tickets to the virtual festival please  visit: