Twenty Projects Shortlisted for 2022 World Architecture Festival’s WAFX Award
Muscowpetung Powwow Arbour by Oxbow Architecture Inc. & Richard Kroeke Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation, Saskatchewan, Canada
SEEPARK (South Essex Estuary Park) by Alexandra Steed URBAN Essex, UK Image credit: Alexandra Steed URBAN
Holloway Prison by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris London, UK Image credit: Secchi Smith, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Conceptual Planning and Urban Design in the Coastal Area of Dong Fang City, China by Nanjing Urban Planning & Design Institute of S.E.U Co., Ltd Dongfang, China
Downsview Framework Plan by Henning Larsen (Urban Design); KPMB Architects (Architecture); SLA Architects (Landscape); Urban Strategies (Planning) Toronto, Canada
Graduation Hall Sol Plaatje University by Savage+Dodd Architects Johannesburg, South Africa
The Forest City Project by BAD - Built by Associative Data + Guallart Architects Libreville, Gabon
North East Link by Warren and Mahoney BKK Architects and Taylor Cullity Lethlean Melbourne, Australia Image credit: Warren and Mahoney, BKK Architects and Taylor Cullity Lethlean
Twenty exemplary future projects which address major architectural issues facing society and the planet have been shortlisted for this year’s World Architecture Festival WAFX Awards.
The 2022 WAFX shortlist celebrates international proposals which embrace cutting-edge design approaches to address major world issues ranging from tackling the climate emergency to building community resilience.
Projects for the WAFX Award are selected from the Future Projects category of the WAF Awards Programme for their innovative thinking, problem solving and design vision.
This year’s shortlist includes two projects by young international design and architectural practice Built by Associative Data (BAD). This includes Tower of Life, an iconic tower proposed for Dakar, Senegal, symbolising Africa’s future role leading a global design agenda that champions ecology, bio-computation, material engineering, decentralised economy and sustainable development.
The shortlist also features a cultural venue co-designed with an indigenous prairie community in Canada by Oxbow Architecture to celebrate community and strengthen cultural traditions, and a nature and people first masterplan for a brownfield site in Toronto by a coalition of practices, including Henning Larsen Architects, KPMB, and SLA Architects.
A number of shortlisted projects show the power of architecture to marry physical and digital worlds in the future. These range from the mega YTL Arena Complex by Grimshaw in Bristol, UK, to a Graduation Hall for Sol Plaatje University by Savage+Dodd Architects in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“Big challenges require big commitment and fresh thinking. These future projects show that architects across the world are responding to complex problems in imaginative ways — with the bonus of some design delight,” said Programme director, Paul Finch.
WAF returns this year as an in-person event, from 30 November – 2 December in Lisbon. Live interviews with the architects behind the 20 WAFX shortlisted projects will take place at WAF, and the overall WAFX winner will be announced live during the festival, alongside other accolades including World Building of the Year, Landscape of the Year, Future Project of the Year and Interior of the Year.
This is the first time WAF has been hosted in the Portuguese capital, following previous editions in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Singapore and Berlin. The theme for the 2022 edition of the festival is ‘Together’, and an international panel of speakers will explore and debate how architecture is responding to the renewal of collective life post-pandemic, and in the light of commitments to combatting climate change.
For more details on the 2022 World Architecture Festival visit www.worldarchitecturefestival.
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