The first award winners of the 2025 World Architecture Festival (WAF) have been announced following the opening day of the world’s largest international live-judged architectural event.
Hosted at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Florida, this three-day festival features over 460 live pitches from finalists worldwide, evaluated by an esteemed panel of more than 160 international judges.
Day One showcased intense competition with shortlisted projects vying in 22 award categories spanning Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Interiors.
The event serves as a global platform celebrating architectural innovation, social impact, and design excellence across scales and contexts.
Notable award winners revealed today include renowned firms WOW Architects, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Batlleiroig, and Perkins&Will, reflecting the diversity and creativity of the entries.
WOW Architects earned recognition for their work on the Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree hotel interiors in Singapore, demonstrating excellence in immersive environmental design.
Perkins&Will were awarded for their large workplace project, the Acciona Campus in Madrid, Spain, highlighting advancements in sustainable corporate architecture.
Batlleiroig took home accolades for their office project, the T3 Diagonal Mar Offices in Barcelona, Spain. BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group won in the Future Projects category for the Gelephu International Airport development in Bhutan, demonstrating visionary infrastructure design with a focus on community and environmental integration.
The range of categories reflects the breadth of architectural challenges and achievements represented at WAF.
This year’s festival shortlist saw entries from over 235 completed buildings, 157 future projects, and 64 interior designs globally.
Besides the headliners, many projects from emerging and established practices competed, emphasising sustainability, innovative materials, adaptive reuse, and culturally responsive design.
The 2025 WAF continues over the next two days, with the remaining shortlisted projects will present their work live to judges and delegates.
Following the announcement of category winners, a final selection will compete for the prestigious titles of World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and World Interior of the Year.