The final shortlist for the 2017 World Architecture Festival has been announced and 12 Australian projects have been shortlisted.
The festival is a three-day event for architects and interior design professionals to come together and celebrate, learn, exchange and be inspired.
Architecture projects from 68 different countries make up the shortlist, ranging from currently completed projects to innovative designs of the future. The shortlisted designs cover a number of different sectors, including health, housing, schools, religion, retail, cultural and infrastructure.
World Architecture Festival Programme Director Paul Finch boasted a hugely diverse geographic range in this year’s shortlist.
"The use of water has been striking and there is evidence of real interest in climate modifications using novel techniques,” he said.
“Colourful architecture makes a strong showing and many of the smaller projects we have shortlisted will punch above their weight."According to Dezeen, completed buildings will be in the running for the coveted World Building of the Year title, while conceptual projects will compete to be named Future Project of the Year.
Here are some of the shortlisted projects preparing to strut their stuff at the festival in November.
Ku.Be House Of Culture And Movement
Copenhagen, DenmarkCivic and Community - Completed BuildingsDesigned by Adept & MVRDV
Constructed in 2009 and completed in 2016, the 3,200 square metre Ku.Be House of Culture and Movement was designed for the municipality of Frederiksberg as a focal point for both the immediate community and also the wider area of Copenhagen; one that the people themselves could take ownership of and that would evolve its programme based on the specific wants and needs of its users. The project is a new typology, developed out of the response to a brief that solely asked for a building that would bring people together and improve the quality of life. In reply, MVRDV and ADEPT answered with one that blends theatre, sport and learning into a space where body and mind are activated to promote a more healthy life for everyone, regardless of age, ability or interest; creating links between people that wouldn’t otherwise connect with each other.
The community centre features exhibition spaces, performance hall, health centre, library, study areas, sports hall, yoga zone, café, kitchen, play zone, retail, offices, parking, playground and public park.
The Palestinian Museum
Birzeit, PalestineCulture – Completed BuildingsHeneghan Peng Architects
The landscape of the Palestine was designed to emanate the ‘worked’ quality of a city - every element of it has been touched and tells a story of intervention, production, culture, environment and commerce. Like a city, the terraced landscape has embedded within it its history. The approach to the Palestinian Museum is to draw on this history of the terraced landscape, embedding the museum into its immediate site and drawing from this site to tell a larger story of a diverse culture.
The Palestinian Museum is a flagship project of Taawon-Welfare Association, which is humanitarian organisation working to support communities in the West Bank and Gaza, and in the refugee camps and gatherings of Lebanon. It is located 25km north of Jerusalem on a hilltop site adjacent to Birzeit University and is the first Phase of a two-phase master plan for a museum ‘hub’. Phase one comprises a 3,500 square metre building set among 40,000 square metres of landscaped gardens. The purpose of Phase one was to establish global connections through exhibition, participation, out-reach, education and research. It is divided roughly into three equal parts; gallery, education/ research centre and administration.
Atlas Hotel Hoi An
Hoi An, VietnamHotel & Leisure, Completed buildingsVo Trong Nghia Architects
Located in Hoi An Old Town, the hotel provides 48 guest rooms including all kinds of resort services such as restaurant and café, healthcare centre with spa, foot massage, gym and swimming pool.
The building is positioned along the border of the site, thus creating an impressive building surrounded by greenery. By installing more than 100 cantilevering concrete planters, the greenery appears at all the façades balconies, along the narrow corridors and rooftop as well. The main material for the façade is the local sandstone.
The approach of Vo Trong is to integrate greenery into the design as a way to rejuvenate urban areas and to contribute to societal improvement. The linear layout is divided into several internal courtyards, which become part of a greater interconnected courtyard by lifting the building above the site. This spatial quality reflects the dynamism of the new Hoi An but also retains the charm of the Old Town.
Urban Rigger
Copenhagen, DenmarkHousing, Completed BuildingsBjarke Ingels Group
Before a time when Bjarke Ingels Group's (BIG) Urban Rigger existed, Denmark was experiencing an unprecedented amount of student applications, resulting in an unsustainable amount of students looking for somewhere to live while they studied. There were limited opportunities for the city to expand so the designers looked to water. Realising that Copenhagen's harbour was mainly underutilised and underdeveloped, BIG set to work.
Their design involved stacking nine shipping container units in a circle, creating 12 studio residences which framed a centralised winter garden that acted as a student common space. Because the new accommodation project floated on the water and could therefore be moved, it was seen as an innovative response to city expansion and sustainability.
Ginza Place
Tokyo, JapanMixed Use – Completed BuildingsKlein Dytham Architecture and Taisei Corporation
Located on one of the most iconic corners in the world, Ginza Place is an 11 storey building with a facade made from 5315 individual aluminium panels, reflecting the craftsmanship and quality which is synonymous with Ginza and Japan. The project massing takes its cues from the historic Wako building opposite with its clear horizontal banding. The banding allows balconies on the third and seventh floors to have unprecedented views of Ginza, Chuo Dori and Harumi Dori.
The architects said Ginza Place was a gateway to the rebirth of Ginza and has already become a new landmark for Tokyo and Japan ready for the build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The building is home to Nissan and Sony's new global flagship showrooms and five restaurants and cafes.
Port House
Antwerp, BelgiumOffice – Completed BuildingsZaha Hadid Architects
Due to Antwerp's ever-growing activity with Europe's container shipping, it was decided that a larger port authority headquarters was vital to keep up with the business. Rather than creating an entirely new structure, Zaha Hadid Architects, designed their port house to consist of old and new - a new crystalline development which was lifted above the existing structure of a former fire station. Together they formed a new landmark as the headquarters of the Antwerp Port Authority, overlooking both the city and the harbour.
The new extension is positioned asymmetrically over the central courtyard, allowing light to enter the heart of the building. Leaving the existing structure untouched, it is supported by two sculpted concrete pillars that house stairs and lifts as well as a series of carefully placed steel columns that land in the courtyard.
Oslo Airport Expansion
Oslo, NorwayTransport – Completed BuildingsNordic
The Oslo Airport expansion began in 1993 after the architects won the project's design competition in 1989. The task included masterplanning of airside and landside infrastructure in addition to the terminal building, control tower and train station. The new airport opened to the public in 1998, and was praised in the media as the most modern airport in Europe.
Approximately 40,000 square metres and 43.2 billion NOK later, Nordic has created something that followed the principles of clarity and legibility. The main terminal building is an open, flexible envelope formed from heroic glulam roof beams that take advantage of a historic local tradition of finely crafted timber engineering. Oslo airport covers an area of 13,5 km², and has two runways. The architects planned the terminal so that all functional areas can be easily expanded. The airside taxiway system is designed to minimise aircraft movements on the ground.