16 Nov 2017
Winners announced: Discover the victors on day two of the World Architecture Festival
BY Kim Megson
The next batch of category winners have been announced on the second day (November 16) of the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards in Berlin, with hotel and leisure, bar and restaurant and future cultural buildings all recognised.
Vietnamese practice Cong Sinh Architects won the Hotel & Leisure category for Vegetable Trellis in Ho Chi Minh City, a mixed-use space bringing a cafe, restaurant, hotel, park and public educational space to a building next to an auto service station.
Meals are served using the vegetables that are planted around the project. Visitors have the chance to plant on site and are encouraged to do so at home in a bid to promote practical solutions to food security issues in Vietnam.
In a statement, the jury said: “The project is recognised for its strong potential for social impact. The design approach was modest, yet thoroughly adaptable and sensitive, and could be transformed in a variety of contexts. [It proves that] green cities can be edible.”
In the Culture – Future Project category, Swedish studio Sweco Architects were awarded for Kulturkrogen – A Basket Full of Culture: a planned cafe, theatre and greenhouse hybrid in Gothenburg.
The jury said: “This optimistic projects celebrates cultural diversity and social interaction. It responds sensitively to both the community and the site through the provision of an informal and accessible community space.”
Two other projects were highly commended: Zeitz MOCAA by Heatherwick Studio and Lambeth Palace Library by Wright & Wright Architects.
The INSIDE World of Interior Awards also took place today, with a trio of leisure projects celebrated.
In the Civic, Culture and Transport category, Perkins + Will were awarded for their interior design of the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, UK. The jury praised the “vital statement” of the design, which “supports and strengthens” the exhibited 16th century Tudor navy warship Mary Rose.
In the Hotel category, Thai practice Hypothesis were recognised for their IR-ON Hotel in a former steel factory in Bangkok, which was praised for being “expressive of its cultural context, inventive in its reuse of materials and open to its community” despite a very low budget.
Chinese studio Office AIO triumphed in the Bars & Restaurants category for their 34sq m (365sq ft) Big Small Coffee + Guest Room in Beijing.
The jury said: “In this extremely small project, the designers have been able to create a very poetic sense of space. They showed a clear and sensible treatment of location, materials and smart architectural details creating a unique space for everyone.”
The winners of each of WAF's 35 competition categories and INSIDE's nine categories have now been decided. The triumphant practices will pitch their projects again on 17 November to a super jury, with the overall winners for World Building of the Year and World Interior of the Year revealed tomorrow evening.
Close Window