World Architecture Festival Announces Michael Sorkin as Head of ‘Super-Jury’

World Architecture Festival (WAF) has confirmed Michael Sorkin will head-up the ‘super-jury’ at this year’s WAF Awards,  to determine which building, from entries across the globe, will be crowned with the ultimate prize - ‘World Building of the Year 2011’.

Sorkin is principal of the Michael Sorkin Studio in New York City and one of the most influential architectural and urban designers practicing today, making him ideally placed to lead the super-jury. Recent projects include planning and design for a highly sustainable city of 300,000 near Wuhan in China, a 5000-unit community in Penang, Malaysia, master planning for the Zha Bei district in Shanghai and the design of a town of 40,000 on the Black Sea in Turkey.

Architects have just one week left to submit projects into the WAF Awards; all entries close on July 1.

Joining Sorkin on the super-jury will be: Ben van Berkel, Co-founder of UNStudio, Rotterdam; Jo Noero, Principal of Noero Wolff Architects, Cape Town; Odile Decq, Principal of ODBC, Paris; and Professor Kongjian Yu, Principal of Turenscape, Beijing, a double category winner in previous WAF awards.

The super-jury has the enviable task of deciding which project will lift a prestigious WAF Award on the final day of the World Architecture Festival, taking place at the Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB) from November 2nd – 4th, 2011.

Praising Michael’s appointment, Paul Finch, WAF Program Director, said: “Michael is a fantastically thoughtful architect and an excellent choice to lead the super-jury. The caliber of the five members of the super-jury is superb – their expertise will undoubtedly help identify those projects that are truly exceptional.”

Over 220 projects have already been submitted for this year’s WAF Awards – the only global architectural awards event where designers present their work live to an expert panel of judges and a live public audience.

The awards are divided into three main sections: Completed Buildings, Structural Design, and Future Projects (for designs in progress) and are held during World Architecture Festival. A series of keynote addresses, seminars, exhibitions and presentations run alongside the main awards program, and every shortlisted project will feature in a grand exhibition during the festival. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2011.