Barcelona, Spain
World Architecture Festival: an unmissable goldmine of exhibits
Rob Gregory
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
In its third successive year, the 2010 World Architecture Festival (WAF) continues to expand, despite the current challenging economic climate. Attracting entries from more practices than ever before, the three-day event returns to Barcelona’s CCIB on 3 November. Conceived as a ‘must-see’ categorised exhibition for architects, developers, clients and other members of the building industry, WAF attracts hundreds of entries from around the world, all of which will be on show in the festival gallery. Category finalists will also present their work in a series of critiques that form the backbone of the event’s prestigious awards programme. The critique format gives the jury an opportunity to question the architects on the subtle nuances that may have influenced each specific outcome. While WAF is a global event, it is not only interested in identifying international trends, but also in presenting diversity and ingenuity in relation to specific contexts. As a result, 239 shortlisted schemes deliberately cover a wide range of scales and programmes, including those illustrated here. Once a winner from each category is selected, the architects are then required to pre-present to WAF’s World Building of the Year super-jury,
chaired this year by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. WAF also offers a series of seminars and events under the theme of ‘Transformations: Architecture as Alchemy’. It will present major new material from South Africa and Singapore, and includes seminars such as ‘Transforming Land and Site: Gardens by the Bay, Singapore’; ‘Transforming Space and Form’, demonstrating how digital technologies can push the boundaries of shape and space in architecture; and ‘Transforming Image and Meaning’, in which Sean Griffiths of FAT Architecture offers his perspective on how semantic codes can be manipulated to create original and meaningful architecture. A series of lectures continue this theme, including ‘Transforming Buildings: Transforming Culture’ by David Chipperfield Architects and Julian Harrap Architects, and a case study for rethinking the possibilities for urban expansion, Red Location cultural precinct in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, by architect Jo Noero. International schools
of architecture are also represented as part of the Aecom Student Competition, Urban SOS, with this year’s finalists including students from Columbia University and University College London.
The Architectural Review / October 2010 039
Clockwise, from top_ Four of the 239 shortlisted schemes for WAF’s World Building of the Year award, which covers a diverse range of categories: A Forest for a Moon Dazzler house in Costa Rica, by Benjamin Garcia Saxe;
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin arts and cultural centre in
Northern Ireland by O’Donnell + Tuomey; La Llotja Theatre and Conference Centre in Spain, by Mecanoo Architecten; and Yamaha Ginza office in Japan, by Nikken Sekkei
ANDRES GARCIA LACHNER; DENNIS GILBERT; CHRISTIAN RICHTERS; KEN’ICHI SUZUKI
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