World Architecture Festival 2014

The seventh edition of the most important festival in the field, the World Architecture Festival, took place this year from October 1-3 in Singapore, gathering more than 2,000 participants. In addition to seminars, workshops, exhibitions and conferences attended by big names such as Richard Rogers and Moshe Safdie, the festival is renowned for the international architecture competition it hosts.

During the first two days, prizes were awarded for sections corresponding to an architectural program. The winners of these sections had the right to enter their projects for the final competition and present them in front of a "super jury", this year consisting of Richard Rogers, Rocco Yim, Julie Eizenberg, Enric Ruiz Geli and Peter Rich.

The highlight of the festival was the World Building of the Year awards for The Chapel by A21studio Group and Future Project of the Year for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria by 5468796 Architecture + number TEN architectural group.

The Chapel, designed by A21studio, was conceived as a local community space, located in a new urban area on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Intended for residents, especially young people, it was designed to host conferences, exhibitions or to be used as a meeting space.

The Future Project of the Year award-winning project is an extension and renovation of the existing complex, which consists of a historic building and a series of modernist pavilions. The new structure rises above the pavilions amid the tree trunks. Its sculptural form encloses a series of exhibition spaces behind an innovative system of wooden elements cantilevering out from a structural mesh. This surface acts as a sunshade protecting the artworks while providing diffused lighting to the interior spaces.

The Small Project of the Year award went to The Pinch by the University of Hong Kong's Department of Architecture, and the World Landscape of the Year award went to the National Arboretum Cambera by landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean and Tokin Zulaikha Greer. Two new categories were introduced this year, the Innovative Use of Colour on Exteriors Prize and the Wood Excellence Prize, won by DSDHA for their design for a jewelry workshop in the Bermondsey Conservation Area in London and Cook Robotham Architects for the University of Economics in Prater, Vienna.