Press Kit | no. 661-88
Press release only in English
World Architecture Festival 2025 Shortlist Reveals Best International Architecture and Interiors
World Architecture Festival (WAF)
The 2025 WAF shortlist features over 460 projects, across categories ranging from: best Creative Re-Use, Housing, and Education, through to best Hotel, Sports and Culture. Selected from over 780 entries, this year’s shortlist celebrates the most groundbreaking architectural and design achievements across the globe.
View project image highlights from the 2025 WAF shortlist here.
The 2025 shortlist sees project entries from the world’s leading practices – including Bjarke Ingels Group, Foster + Partners, Studio Gang, Grimshaw, Nikken Sekkei, Mario Cucinella Architects, and Perkins&Will, go up against those by some of the world’s most exciting emerging studios. Within this year’s shortlist, practices from America are the most highly represented, with China, UK, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore, UAE, Turkey, and Japan also in the top ten.
The full WAF shortlist awards can be viewed here.
This year’s 235 shortlisted completed buildings include everything from a New York film studio to the 2025 World Expo pavilions. The 157 future projects shortlisted include a new airport for Athens and a giant telescope enclosure in Chile. The 64 shortlisted interiors range from a rainforest hotel in Singapore to a noodle bar in Chongqing, while the 12 shortlisted landscapes include a public plaza in the middle of London’s Canary Wharf and a wildlife eco park in Bhabua, India.
WAF features the globe's largest live-judged architecture awards, complemented by keynote talks, an exhibition, and various fringe events including architecture tours, networking opportunities, and workshops.
This year’s WAF Judging Panel, of 164 experts representing 37 countries, includes: Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Partner at MAD Architects, Annette Fisher Founder at FA Global, Richard Maimon Senior Principal at KieranTimberlake, Joyce Owens Principal at Architecture Joyce Owens LLC, and Franziska Meisel, Global Director Landscape at Henning Larsen.
Still to come, the winners of this year’s WAFX Awards, celebrating architecture that tackles major world issues, will be announced on Monday 14 July on WAF social media channels, with the Special Prizes announcements following on Monday 28 July.
All finalists on the shortlist will present their projects within their categories during the first two days of the festival. On the final day, category winners from across all 43 categories will go on to present to the Super Jury to compete for World Building, Landscape, Future Project, and Interior Project of the Year. The overall winners of this year’s Special Prizes, including WAFX, will also be announced live from the festival.
WAF programme director Paul Finch comments:
“We are delighted to be staging WAF in the USA for the first time and also thrilled that so many USA architects have entered the awards. We have also seen an increase in entries from Central and South America. The overall quality of the shortlist is as good as it has ever been, and we look forward to seeing over 460 presentations in Miami Beach this November.”
WAF will be in Miami for its 17th edition, following previous editions of the festival in Singapore, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Berlin.
Press can apply for an Official Press Pass to attend the World Architecture Festival here.
For more details on the 2025 World Architecture Festival and the WAF Awards, please visit: worldarchitecturefestival.com @worldarchfest #WAF25
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
World Architecture Festival will take place at Miami Beach Convention Center from 12 - 14 November 2025. Situated in the heart of South Beach and the iconic Art Deco District.
WAF is where the world architecture community meets to celebrate, learn, exchange, and be inspired.
Every year, WAF hosts the world's biggest live-judged architecture awards programme. It celebrates design achievements through presentations by architects to high-profile delegates and international judging panels.
The 2025 World Architecture Festival (WAF) comprises:
- A celebration of the world’s best architecture, landscape, and interior projects
- Events programme and keynote talks
- Live judging of finalists’ projects
- Gallery of all award entries
- Exhibition area
- Networking and social events, including partner fringe events
- Gala dinner announcing the overall winners
- A tour programme of local architectural landmarks in Miami
WAF is organised by Emap, publishers of The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal.
About Founder Partner GROHE
GROHE is the leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, committed to providing innovative water products. For many decades, GROHE has been dedicated to the brand values of technology, quality, design, and sustainability that illustrate GROHE’s commitment to creating exceptional experiences and to delivering “Pure Freude an Wasser” (Pure Enjoyment of Water). Focused on customer needs, GROHE creates intelligent, life-enhancing, and sustainable product solutions that are firmly anchored in the German seal of quality, including its luxury sub-brand, GROHE SPA.
Since 2014, GROHE has been a part of the LIXIL brand portfolio, a manufacturer of pioneering water and housing products.
As the founder sponsor of the World Architecture Festival, GROHE is proud to support this world-recognized event for the 18th consecutive year. The brand's broad portfolio ranges from elaborate faucet collections, customizable showers and intricate ceramics to complementary accessories.
GROHE is looking forward to welcoming architects and the design community to its booth with the launch of its sub-brand, GROHE SPA, in the Americas. This year's GROHE SPA installation will bring the sub-brand's founding concept of "Health Through Water" to life with a water-inspired installation of luxurious well-being. www.grohe.com
For more information
Media contact
- Caro Communications
- Tejal Dave-Biyani and Jade Verbick
- waf@carocommunications.com
- +44 020 7713 9388
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Wuhan Snow World by CLOU architects
Wuhan, China
Very High-resolution image : 28.45 x 15.95 @ 300dpi ~ 16 MB
Ritual Space by GEOMIM
Mugla, Turkey
High-resolution image : 13.33 x 10.0 @ 300dpi ~ 1 MB
MOREPRK Skyline by AAN ARCHITECTS
Shanghai, China
High-resolution image : 16.67 x 11.12 @ 300dpi ~ 5.8 MB
Sauska Tokaj by BORD Architectural Studio
Rátka, Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region, Hungary
High-resolution image : 16.06 x 16.47 @ 300dpi ~ 9.2 MB
Populus by Studio Gang
Denver, Colorado, United States
Very High-resolution image : 24.46 x 19.69 @ 300dpi ~ 6.7 MB
Fenix by MAD
Rotterdam, Netherlands
High-resolution image : 13.65 x 10.72 @ 300dpi ~ 6.1 MB
Dongmingshan Senyu Hotel by GLA Architects
Hangzhou, China
Medium-resolution image : 10.0 x 7.49 @ 300dpi ~ 5.1 MB
One Zaabeel by NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Very High-resolution image : 27.31 x 18.19 @ 300dpi ~ 8.5 MB
NYPD 40th Precinct by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
New York City, New York, United States
Medium-resolution image : 10.0 x 6.67 @ 300dpi ~ 3.1 MB
Embracing Flood – Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor by Turenscape
Shangrao City, China
Very High-resolution image : 17.57 x 9.89 @ 300dpi ~ 13 MB
Osaka, Japan
Medium-resolution image : 10.0 x 6.42 @ 300dpi ~ 5.1 MB
High-resolution image : 11.81 x 8.86 @ 300dpi ~ 4.5 MB
Habitat Qinhuangdao by Safdie Architects
Qinhuangdao, China
Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 12.13 @ 300dpi ~ 15 MB
Vilnius, Lithuania
High-resolution image : 14.9 x 9.93 @ 300dpi ~ 7.9 MB
Naxxar House by AP Valletta
Naxxar, Malta
Very High-resolution image : 21.76 x 16.66 @ 300dpi ~ 17 MB
Fondation de Chine by Coldefy
Paris, France
High-resolution image : 15.75 x 10.5 @ 300dpi ~ 6.9 MB
Van der Vlugt Residence by STRANG Design
Key Largo, Florida, United States
High-resolution image : 13.65 x 9.11 @ 300dpi ~ 3.8 MB
Desert Rock by Oppenheim Architecture
Red Sea Development, Saudi Arabia
Medium-resolution image : 10.0 x 7.49 @ 300dpi ~ 5 MB
Angra House by Studio Arthur Casas
Angra dos Reis, Brazil
Medium-resolution image : 7.32 x 5.49 @ 300dpi ~ 3.1 MB
Central Station by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners
Sydney, Australia
Medium-resolution image : 6.4 x 4.27 @ 300dpi ~ 650 KB
High-resolution image : 13.65 x 9.11 @ 300dpi ~ 2.1 MB
High-resolution image : 9.33 x 13.33 @ 300dpi ~ 8.5 MB
High-resolution image : 15.5 x 7.97 @ 300dpi ~ 5.6 MB
High-resolution image : 16.67 x 12.5 @ 300dpi ~ 11 MB
High-resolution image : 13.0 x 13.0 @ 300dpi ~ 17 MB
High-resolution image : 12.8 x 8.0 @ 300dpi ~ 3.7 MB
Medium-resolution image : 5.33 x 6.67 @ 300dpi ~ 2.8 MB
Very High-resolution image : 24.0 x 15.0 @ 300dpi ~ 17 MB
High-resolution image : 15.0 x 10.0 @ 300dpi ~ 6.3 MB
Very High-resolution image : 25.6 x 14.4 @ 300dpi ~ 35 MB
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