The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has just revealed the winners of 10 WAFX prizes, with the overall prize awarded to Studio Gang for their College Powerhouse Project in Wisconsin, USA.
The prizes are awarded to future projects that identify key ecological and societal challenges which architects are actively seeking to address over the next 10 years. These challenges span diverse topic areas including climate change, energy saving and carbon emissions, water wastage and shortage, ageing populations and health issues, reusable materials, smart cities, building technology, cultural identity, ethics and power and justice.
Image courtesy of Studio Gang.
The prize winners will be given the opportunity to present their projects live at the World Architecture Festival on 28th and 29th November, with the overall winner receiving a prize at the Festival’s star-studded Gala Dinner on the 30th November, the culmination of the three-day event at the RAI convention centre in Amsterdam.
This year the WAFX judges were impressed by the ‘diversity of innovative approaches’ by architects and designers across the globe, which varied from innovative solar panel fields in the Netherlands to urban green corridors in Bangkok, eco farms in rural Vietnam and river parks in Colombia.
Studio Gang was awarded the prestigious WAFX Prize for their design of the Beloit College Powerhouse, a former coal-burning power plant which was redesigned into a student wellness and recreation centre. Still under construction, the building is set to feature a 929 square metre fitness centre, a 1579 square metre recreational gym, an 8-lane competition pool as well as spaces for conversation, collaboration, and study.
Paul Finch, Programme Director of World Architecture Festival said that they were amazed by the standard of entries across this year’s future project categories and the prize winners in addressing some of humanities greatest concerns.
“Rather than being purely ‘pie in the sky’ conceptual work, each is firmly grounded in reality, presenting practical solutions to issues around the world,” he said.
“Studio Gang’s masterful Beloit College Powerhouse Project triumphed over a very strong field and we look forward to hearing more from them and the other prize winners when the Festival convenes in November.”
The WAFX 2018 Prize Winners are:
WAFX – Re-Use + Overall Winner
Beloit College Powerhouse
Studio Gang
WAFX – Climate, Energy and Carbon
Highway Solarpanel Field
70F Architecture
WAFX – Ageing and Health
The Alder Center
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
WAFX – Food
Cuchi Organic Eco Farm
IF (Integrated Field)
WAFX – Building and Technology
W350Project
Nikken Sekkei
WAFX – Power and Justice
Tower Inten_city
Savage Dodd Architects with UrbanWorks
WAFX – Water
Medellin River Parks / Botanical Park Master Plan
Sebastian Monsalve + Juan David Hoyos
WAFX – Ethics and Value
Sheltainer – Where Humanity Meets Hope
Sheltainer
WAFX – Smart Cities
10 KM
Shma Company Limited
WAFX – Cultural Identity
Ataturk Culture Center
Tabanlioglu Architects
