WAFX 2023 Prize. Shenzen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub by Grimshaw Architects – © Grimshaw Architects.

Architecture – The World Architecture Festival has revealed the shortlist of future projects competing for the prestigious Future Project of the Year award that will be announced in Singapore on December 1. Some finalist projects have already won the WAFX 2023 Prize dedicated to proposals which embrace design vision and innovation to address major world opportunities and challenges, ranging from pushing the use of smart technology and building reuse to addressing the issue of an ageing population and tackling the climate emergency. We have selected ten standing-out winning projects.

The Sandstorm Absorbent Skyscraper project by Kalbod Studio

Photo by Kalbod Studio.

In Dubai, Tehran-based Kalbod Studio has designed 25 dust-collecting skyscrapers with two functionally accurate cavities able to capture sandstorms’ harmful dust particles and neutralise them. In addition to improving weather conditions, the project will play a vital role in reducing wider energy consumption while becoming a research base to study the storms and provide better functioning solutions for the future.

Rethinking Oil Rigs – Offshore Data Centres by Arup

© Arup.

In response to the decline of the oil economy and the prominence of data in contemporary society, Arup rethinks oil rigs as sustainable offshore data centres of the future. “As Architects, we need to rethink these obsolete structures, giving them a new function in the fast-expanding circular economy.” Telecom fibre cables running along the bottom of the North Sea with decommissioned oil rigs above provide a favourable opportunity to repurpose them as future sites for connecting Data Centre networks, fed by renewable and sustainable energy sources such as wind-powered plants, tidal waves and sea motion-based energy farms. 

The Anthony Timberlands Center by Grafton Architects + modus studio

© Picture Plane.

Grafton Architects and modus studio have designed the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation in Arkansas, US. Collaborative efforts with partners in the state’s prominent forest industries and outreach programs address critical issues including housing inequality. Responding to the local climate, “we propose a Canopy of Light and Air – a cascading roof with glulam rain-water gutters – covering the open-air yard, the Fabrication Shop and connecting all the layered teaching spaces of this new facility, upper critique spaces form educational and social vantage points.”

Dubai Healthcare City by Kalbod Studio

Photo by Kalbod Studio.

Kalbod Studio has developed a multi-functional floating healthcare complex in Dubai, fusing cutting-edge technology and sustainable design. Access to this island will be underwater. The pedestrian-oriented transportation system features monorail and electric cars. The project’s program has three main zones: education and research in the middle and medical and residential. Also, the design of suspended paths and terraces between different parts and buildings has made it possible to walk on this island at different levels.

Kinmen County Central Library and Art Museum by JJP Architects

© JJP Architects.

Kinmen County is a proud Taiwanese island with its own distinctive architectural and cultural identity nested in a Chinese bay. Designed by JJP Architects, the Kinmen County Central Library and Art Museum features four distinct volumes. The internal circulation and program arrangement seeks to take advantage of the library and museum combination to weave together a seamless experience. Externally, the entire complex is shrouded with a veil of terra cotta panels, whose expressions resemble books shelves, with the orientation of each panel carefully studied to enhance daylighting while controlling glare.

Shenzhen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub by Grimshaw Architects

© Grimshaw Architects.

The mangrove inspired the Shenzhen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub by Grimshaw Architects. This tree has special significance for the city of Shenzhen and is one of the planet’s most effective carbon absorbers. The project connects mainline high-speed, intercity and urban railways with international and domestic air travel, creating a new iconic gateway for China’s Greater Bay Area. The natural form of the tree’s diverse root ecosystem, which thrives where waterways converge, inspired the journey passengers will take, both above and below ground, landside and airside, while its bio-diversity will be in harmony with the hub’s exciting mix of uses.

HydroSKIN by the University of Stuttgart 

© Sven Cichiwicz, University of Stuttgart, Christina Eisenbarth.

Nowadays, façades are predominantly designed to protect the interior. What if the immense area of building envelopes would contribute to more urban sustainability and climate resilience? With the HydroSKIN project, students of the University of Stuttgart developed a revolutionary façade concept for rainwater harvesting and evaporative cooling, using a lightweight textile skin to absorb wind-driven rainwater, providing natural microclimate regulation with a minimal amount of embedded mass, energy, and CO2 emissions.

Pangasinan Barangay Centers by Buensalido Architects

© Buensalido Architects.

The Pangasinan Centers by Buensalido Architects are a future civic project for the Fourth District, Pangasinan, in the Philippines, which incorporates solid panels painted with designs by local artists, to help localise each centre for each barangay or village.

Sinterbecken by Metaform

© Jessie Lang Metaform VIZE rendering.

Metaform has designed Sinterbecken, an infrastructure project designed to create a new public square in the middle of a former industrial site in the south of Luxembourg, preserving and upcycling former sinter ponds to celebrate the region’s industrial history while also serving the community’s future needs.

ChongZhou Bamboo Weaving Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall

© China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Corp. Ltd.

The project by China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute in China’s Sichuan Province utilises locally abundant bamboo and wood as the primary structural and decorative materials, offering a platform to showcase local craftsmanship and low-carbon, sustainable construction.

• All images: courtesy of the World Architecture Festival and the architecture studios.