WAF, the worldÂ's largest festival for architecture, returns to Singapore
The World Architecture Festival (WAF), the world's largest festival and live awards for the global architecture community, returned to Singapore from 2 – 4 October 2013 for its 6th edition and welcomed some 2,100 delegates from 68 countries. Making a welcome return for 2013, and co-located with WAF, was INSIDE the festival and awards programme that celebrates the very best in interior design from around the world.Â
90 expert speakers address the theme of ‘value and values'
The theme for WAF this year was ‘value and values', which formed the subject of a series of talks throughout the Festival. The presentations, from over 90 expert speakers, examined what architecture and other forms of design provide in terms of social, economic and environmental value, as well as exploring the values that underpin the way designers think about the world. Speakers this year included Will Alsop, one of the UK's most prominent architects, Stefan Behnisch, world-renowned advocate and educator of sustainable building design and visionary architect and MacArthur Fellow, Jeanne Gang.
The WAF Awards, the largest architectural awards programme in the world, was again the focal point of the Festival with entrants ranging from renowned global architectural firms, to small local practices. 278 projects were shortlisted for a WAF award this year with a panel of some 70 international judges comprising architects, allied professionals, clients and critics reviewing the shortlist and giving their professional judgement.
INSIDE makes a welcome return
Co-located with WAF 2013 was INSIDE: World Festival of Interiors, celebrating the finest interiors from around the globe and welcoming the interior design community as well as clients and press. Over 3 days, INSIDE shone a spotlight on the people, projects and developments that are changing the face of global interiors. 57 projects were shortlisted from 113 entries, with over 40 inspirational speakers and judges taking part in the process.Â
Giles Cummings, Divisional Director i2i Events Group, comments, “WAF and INSIDE 2013 were a huge success with more Festival attendees than any other year to date. The global press coverage received signalled the media's positive response to both events and the fantastic feedback from delegates and sponsors alike was testament to the value that the industry places on these key events in the industry calendar.â€'
WAF 2014 takes place from 1 – 3 October 2014
