The World Architecture Festival (WAF), one of the most prestigious events dedicated to architecture and construction, is back. Representatives of the arch community gathered in Lisbon and spent three days (from November 29 to December 1) selecting the best buildings and projects of the year. The best building of the year was named — a skyscraper in Sydney, built according to a Danish project, the idea of which is to move away from the stamps of high—rise construction.
During the festival, the best projects of the future were announced daily — separately, separately — already implemented. An «event within an event» was also held — the International Festival of Interiors Inside.
Winners of the first two days of the festival
The best (according to the WAF version) implemented projects of 2022
Energy and processing: The Belgian urban farm Agrotopia (Agrotopia) — Van Bergen Kolpa architects + META architectuurbureau (Netherlands) is being built as part of Europe’s largest research project on food production in an urban environment.
This is a greenhouse on the roof, heated in cold weather by excess urban heat (it is supplied by a local incinerator), and in hot weather it helps to achieve pleasant coolness in the premises. There is both a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water purification devices for reuse.
Culture: Sara Culture Centre — White Arkitekter AB (Sweden)
A public cultural center in the circumpolar Swedish city of Shellefteo. Wooden construction is traditional for the Swedish north, but in order to build one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world (20 floors, 80 meters), the most modern technologies were required. Elevator shafts and supporting structures are multilayer glued wooden panels (CLT — English Cross-Laminated Timber). The use of CLT made it possible to completely abandon concrete in load-bearing structures, which significantly accelerated the construction. The main volume of the building is ready—made 3D modules made of cross-layered wood.
