The WAFX 2021 awards prizes to 12 future projects addressing today’s major global challenges

The World Architecture Festival has announced 12 project initiatives that aim to address "some of the world’s most pressing challenges." The 2021 WAFX Awards celebrate project proposals from across the world tackling today’s global issues, ranging from pandemic control and the climate emergency, to social equity, cultural identity, aging populations, and food supply.

The Festival shares, "the WAFX Award winners are all selected from entries to the Future Projects category in the WAF Awards Programme, for their ambition and scope. This year’s category winners include a fast installation modular hospital for epidemic prevention, a floating eco-campus off Manhattan island, a grand prototype smart transportation city from Bjarke Ingles and Toyota, a zero-carbon office development in central London, the world's first high-rise data center in Shanghai, and a new eco-tourism typology at Cagbalete Island, Philippines."

The WAFX 2021 Category Prize Winners are:

• Ageing winner: ‘Taikang Community Gui Garden’ by Sunlay 
• Climate, Energy & Carbon winner: ‘Paradise, London’ by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
• Construction Technology winner: ‘Museum for Architecture + Residences’ by Sou Fujimoto Architects
• Cultural Identity winner: ‘Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi’ by Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi 

• Digital Technology winner: ‘Shenzhen Qianhai Telecommunication Centre’ by Schneider+Schumacher International GmbH
• Ethics & Values winner: ‘#WeThePlanet Campus’ by 3deluxe 
• Food winner: ‘Cagbalete Sand Clusters’ by Carlo Calma Consultancy Inc.
• Health winner: ‘The Deformable Modularized COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention Hospital, Shanghai’ by School of Architecture & Design, China University of Mining and Technology

• Smart Cities winner: ‘Toyota Woven City’ by B.I.G. Architecture D.P.C.
• Social Equity winner: ‘A Resilient Duplex for Fort Severn First Nation’ by Two Row Architect and KPMB Architects
• Water winner: ‘Horizon Manila’ by William Ti, Jr.

The shortlist of the WAF Future Projects Award supported by ABB, also announced today, will also be under discussion at WAF Futures, at a session on 12 July with WAF Director Paul Finch, WAF Curator Jeremy Melvin, and members of the guest studio panel. Representatives of over 180 finalist projects from 40 countries will go on to compete live in front of a judging panel at WAF in December to decide the winner of each of the Future Project categories, ranging from Office, Residential, Education and Health to Culture, Leisure and Experimental. The overall best future project will also be judged and announced at the Lisbon event. Competing practices include Eric Parry Architects, SHoP, WilkinsonEyre, Bates Smart and AHMM.

For more details on the 2021 World Architecture Festival and sister event Inside Festival of Interiors please visit www.worldarchitecturefestival.com and www.insidefestival.com.