World Architecture Festival launches manifesto addressing industry's biggest challenges
by Kim Megson | 22 Feb 2017
The World Architecture Festival wants to address the biggest challenges facing the profession at its 2017 event in Berlin / WAF
– Paul Finch, WAF programme director
The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is marking its tenth anniversary by publishing a manifesto that identifies the key challenges architects face in the next decade.
The ten areas covered in the document are:
• Climate, energy and carbon
• Water; Ageing and Health
• Re-use
• Smart city technology
• Building technology
• Cultural identity
• Ethics and values
• Power and justice
• Virtual worlds
The intention is to generate research funding, which will be distributed to universities and architectural practices investigating these areas. Their findings will be exhibited at the 2017 festival taking place in Berlin from 15-17 November.
"In a period of profound change across the world, architects will play an important part in creating building, cities, public places and landscapes that respond to the challenges we have identified,” said WAF programme director Paul Finch. “There are immense amounts of research being undertaken across the profession, which we hope we can draw attention to, and which we intend to support through publication, exhibition and funding initiatives.
“These are big-picture initiatives which concern architects both individually and collectively, and we want WAF to play a part in promoting initiatives which are aimed at making life better.”
Buildings and future projects that approach the manifesto topics will be given priority by the judges selecting the shortlists for WAF’s annual awards programme, and special awards will be presented to architects who have made extraordinary strides in these areas.
Robert Konieczny, the principal of Polish architecture studio KWK Promes, won WAF's 2016 Building of the Year award for The National Museum and Dialogue Centre Przelomy.
World Architecture Festival architecture design Paul Finch17 Nov 2016
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World Architecture Festival invites entries for 2016 awards
The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is marking its tenth anniversary by publishing a manifesto that identifies the key challenges architects face in the next decade. The ten areas covered in the document are: • Climate, energy and carbon • Water; Ageing and Health • Re-use • Smart city technology • Building technology • Cultural identity • Ethics and values • Power and justice • Virtual worlds The intention is to
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