World Building of the Year

The big winner at the tenth iteration of WAF is a modest project, the Post-earthquake reconstruction and demonstration project of Guangming Village designed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before being crowned World Building of the Year 2017, the building had won in the New and Old category on the first day of the three-day festival. Built in response to the 2014 Ludian earthquake, the house for an old couple aims to reinvent rammed-earth construction so it can withstand earthquakes and be implemented on a much larger scale. To date, the house has survived one earthquake that hit about six months ago.

WAF's Paul Finch commented that "this building is a demonstration that architecture is just as relevant in the poorest of communities as it is in the richest," while the jury "applauded the re-use of traditional material and construction methods but with the addition of new technology - combining ancient wisdom with modern know-how."

Earlier in the day the winners in the Completed Buildings category presented their projects to the Super Jury made up of Christoph Ingenhoven (Ingenhoven Architects), Ian Ritchie (Ian Ritchie Architects), James Timberlake (Kieran Timberlake), Ellen van Loon (OMA) and Mun Summ Wong (WOHA). In addition to the World Building of the Year, they awarded a Director's Special Award to Superlofts Houthaven in Amsterdam by Marc Koehler Architects. The co-housing concept that aims to create a global network of local building co-operatives was deemed "a game changer - a replicable and transferable model which could extend in terms of scale" by the Super Jury.

The Future Project of the Year 2017, which celebrates the best of the world’s architecture that is yet to be completed, is the Sydney Fish Markets project by Allen Jack+Cottier and NH Architects. WAF’s Future Project Super Jury, comprising Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham Architecture), Isay Weinfeld (IW. Arquitectura) and Monica von Schmalensee (White Arkitekter), selected the project for "the great transformation it offers to the area" and commended it for "its vision beyond the brief."

Landscape of the Year 2017 was awarded to Peasants and their Land: The Recovered Archaeological Landscape of Chengtoushan, Lixian County, China by Turenscape, which has won numerous times at WAF. The landscape project is based around a 6,500 year-old archaeological site which has been protected by the local government. The judges were impressed by the "productive engagement between visitors and farmers who are able to maintain their traditional livelihoods."

The Small Project of the Year was awarded to Eriksson Furunes + Leandro V. Locsin Partners + Jago Boase for Streetlight Tagpuro, the relocation of NGO Streetlight’s office, orphanage and study center in the wake of super-typhoon Haiyan. The judges called it "a genuine good news story, whereby a community engagement process led to an authentic and high quality result."

The Best Use of Colour Prize was given to Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects for the Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel in Australia, a project with a "sensitive, elegant and well balanced" use of color, per the judges.

This year WAF gave a special recognition to the best completed building by an Iranian practice from the last three years. New Wave Architecture won the Iran Special Prize for the Pars Hospital in Tehran. The hospital, which topped a shortlist of eight Iranian projects, was praised by judges as "a design that understands and confidently solves the puzzle of a large hospital and reaches a resolution of public spaces, links and views that makes a delightfully colored and light place of repair and recovery."

Lastly, WAF attendees voted on their favorite shortlisted photographs as part of Arcaid's Architectural Photographer of the Year Award. The winner selected was Terrence Zhang for his for his striking image of the Swimming Pool at the New Campus of Tianjin University in China, designed by architects Atelier Li Xinggang.