With the 2017 World Architecture Festival less than two weeks away, the event has shared the program of Fringe events scheduled for attending architects to enjoy. Taking place in Arena Berlin in the German Capital from November 15-17, WAF 2017 will also provide opportunities for architect-led tours and parties throughout the city.
Following the Festival’s theme of ‘Performance,’ events will center on the performative quality of different architectural typologies and themes including housing, public spaces, festivals, cultural institutions and new technologies.
Highlights of the Fringe program include:
Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards - Event partner Arcaid has announced the 20 finalists for its Architectural Photography Awards 2017, an annual celebration of the best architectural photography. Each of the images on the shortlist will be displayed at the Sto stand in WAF’s Festival Hall, with visitors able to vote for their favourite before the overall winner is announced at the WAF Gala Dinner.
Architect Tours - Delegates can discover Berlin’s diverse architectural identity with guided tours led by local experts, Niche. The tour programme runs from Tuesday 13 – Saturday 18 November. Highlights include a tour of the city’s iconic building sites, the physical manifestation of the architectural arms race between the East and West of the city, visits to some of Berlin’s most interesting repurposed cultural spaces and famous art galleries.
AR Emerging Architecture Awards – The prestigious £10,000 prize recognises and supports talented young architects and designers at a key stage in their career, promoting their work to a worldwide audience. This year the Architectural Review will present the winner of the award at WAF. Previous winners have included Shigeru Ban, Sou Fujimoto, Thomas Heatherwick, Neri & Hu and Li Xiaodong.
Architecture Drawing Prize – Curated by Make Architects, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the World Architecture Festival, the World Architecture prize was created to recognise the continuing importance of hand drawings, as well as embracing the creative use of digital media. The digital hybrid drawing Memento Mori by Jerome Xin Hao Ng was selected as the overall winner of this year’s completion. His entry will be shown alongside the winners of the hand-drawn and digital categories as well as the 38 shortlisted entries in the festival hall.
Iranian Architecture Prize – This year WAF will give unique recognition to the best completed building by an Iranian practice from the last three years. The nine shortlisted projects range from a restaurant in the capital Tehran to a private residence nestled in a hillside facing the facing the Alborz mountain range. A special jury will meet in Berlin onFriday 17 November, where the shortlisted Iranian practices will be able to present their buildings live at the festival in Berlin. The prize for the best completed building by an Iranian practice will be presented at the Gala Awards Dinner on the Friday evening.
Merck Crystal Pavilion Prize – Merck, in association with World Architecture Festival and the Architectural Review, has this year launched a competition open to architecture students across the world to come up with innovative and sustainable designs for a pavilion entirely made out of glass. The winner will be announced at the WAF Gala Dinner and the winning design will be put into production next year.
The WAF10 & Shortlist Party Berlin - To celebrate the finalists and its tenth edition,WAF will host a lavish anniversary party on Wednesday 15th November at the stylish Soho House Berlin, located in a Grade II-listed Mitte Landmark.
The finale Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday 17th November, where the overall winners of the World Building, Interior, WAFX, Future Project and Landscape of the Year will be announced.
It’s not too late to sign up for the event. Learn more about the Festival and purchase delegate passes here. Use the discount code ARCHDAILY17 to receive 20% off!
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