Archetech Issue 26 2016 | Page 32

Messner Mountain Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects World Architecture Festival announces 2016 Awards shortlist Archetech - Page 32 Messner Mountain Museum, by Zaha Hadid Architects, and China Pavilion for Milan Expo 2015, by Studio Link-Arc, both shortlisted in the Completed Buildings: Culture category of WAF 2016. A ‘Happiness Centre’ in Bhutan, a futuristic London tube station, a miniature library in the Philippines and a former Stalinist expo centre turned urban farm are among the projects that have today been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) awards 2016 – the world’s biggest architectural awards programme. WAF organisers saw a significant uplift in entries submitted from across Europe in 2016 as the festival relocates to Berlin. Now in its ninth year, WAF has received a record number of award entries for November’s annual event. The largest rise in year-on-year entries came from the UK and Germany. UK-based architects have the highest number of projects on the shortlist, followed by their peers from the robust economies of Turkey and Australia respectively. The truly international shortlist extends to include architects from 42 different nations with projects based across 58 countries. All types and sizes of architectural projects are represented on the 343-strong shortlist, with entries ranging from private homes, shops and schools to large commercial developments and ambitious landscape projects.