World Architecture Festival 2023 shortlist revealed. Bamboo Dome for G20 Bali Summit by Biroe Architecture © Biroe Architecture. All photos: courtesy of the WAF unless indicated otherwise.

Architecture – The World Architecture Festival 2023 shortlist includes completed and future projects across 44 categories ranging from residential to education, health and landscape architecture. From November 29 to December 1, the architects and designers behind each shortlisted project will convene at the final event in Singapore to compete for category prizes and then battle against each other for the World Building of the Year prize. We have selected 13 standing-out completed projects. [Check the complete shortlist here.]

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Oman Across Ages Museum by COX Architecture

©Sami Khamis Sanjor Al Qawal, Senior Photographer.

Near the ancient city of Nizwa, Australian studio COX Architecture has inaugurated the Oman Across Ages Museum and cultural landmark that transports visitors through the nation’s 800 million-year history through immersive, high-tech experiences. The building emerges from the ground with a series of angular, geometric volumes that dialogue with the peaks of the surrounding mountains.

Quzhou Stadium by MAD Architects

Photo by CreatAR Images, Courtesy of ©MAD Architects.

MAD Architects has completed the crater-like 30,000-seat Quzhou Stadium in China. Conceived as a piece of land art, the crater-like building is partly sunk into the ground and appears as a continuation of the surrounding landscape. The architecture is crowned by an overhanging structure hovering gently above the landscape like a halo. Read more.

Turrell Pavilion by Studio MK27

©Fernando Guerra.

In the Maldives, Sao Paulo-based Studio MK27 has completed a permeable pavilion hosting American light artist James Turrell’s latest works. Structured exclusively by its timber façade, this sanctuary manifests as an environment to explore light and space. During the day, the natural light permeates the interior, while at night, a soft light emanates outwards.

Santa Maria Goretti Church by Mario Cucinella Architects

©Duccio Malagamba.

Mario Cucinella Architects has completed the Santa Maria Goretti Church standing at the edge of the hilltop town of Mormanno in Calabria, southern Italy. Concrete curving white walls surround the four-leaf clover-shaped main auditorium, reinterpreting the design of local Baroque churches. The church is entered through a cross-shaped incision lit up at night and becomes a beacon for the building.

Ombú by Foster + Partners

Courtesy of Foster+Partners.

Ombú is a transformative office building by Foster + Partners for the Spanish infrastructure and energy company ACCIONA. This project breathes new life into a historic industrial building in Madrid, creating a sustainable exemplar of building reuse and revitalising the surrounding area. The studio inserted inside the space a lightweight structure made from sustainably sourced timber from local forests. Such a solution allows spatial flexibility while integrating lighting, ventilation and other services. The project also includes a unique mix of private and public land with green landscaping.

Center for Computing & Data Sciences by KPMB Architects

©Tom Arban.

Canadian firm KPMB Architects Center complete the 19-storey Center for Computing & Data Sciences, Boston’s largest, sustainable, operationally fossil fuel-free building. Triple-glazed windows optimise heat management in winter and summer while allowing natural light to flow in. Eight outdoor terraces double as green roofs retaining rainwater, providing access to the outdoors, and connecting people to nature, also thanks to zero carbon-emitting materials.

The Mosque of Light by Dabbagh Architects

©Gerry O’Leary.

Sumaya Dabbagh, founder of Dabbagh Architects, created a calligraphy-covered contemporary mosque in Dubai. The building is one of the first mosques in the UAE to be designed by a woman architect. The studio interpreted the spaces of the mosque in relation to Islamic liturgical rites – from ablution to undressing to reading the Koran – gently leading the observant from the chaos of the city to the meditative practice of prayer. The surface of the building is entirely perforated with triangular geometries and sacred scriptures that diffuse natural light into the worship areas.

The Elizabeth Line by Grimshaw Architects

Courtesy of Grimshaw Architects.

Running 100km east to west across the city through 42km of new tunnels, the Elizabeth Line is the most significant contribution to London’s transportation in over 20 years. Grimshaw Architects developed platforms, passenger tunnels, escalators, and station concourses, including details such as signage, furniture, fittings, finishes and technology. From curved cladding to the technology of the wayfinding totems, applying this line-wide design approach creates a consistent journey from above ground to below and, ultimately, a new travel identity for London’s underground railway infrastructure.

Toagosei Hydrogen Station by Osamu Morishita

©Katsumasa Tanaka.

Osamu Morishita Architect and Associates created a translucent cloud-like canopy that floats in the air as a metaphor for expressing hydrogen for the Toagosei Hydrogen station in Tokushima, Japan. EFTE-wrapped cube-shaped units recall a tree of floating balloons. The composition anticipates a system that covers the available space while being mindful of environmental harmony. The structure gives spectators the impression of a mystery cloud floating in the air.

Casa Ward by Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect

©Dan Glasser.

Built using the ruins of an existing farmhouse destroyed by earthquakes, Casa Ward by Paris-based studio Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architect aligns along a hill to face the Sibbiline mountains in central Italy. The building is staggered like an extended telescope, with alternating courtyards and openings that give dynamic views, shifting inside out and diagonally to the horizon.

Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion by Chat Architects

©W Workspace.

Bangkok-based studio Chat Architects has completed the Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion, a unique bamboo architecture on stilts that operates as a seafood dining platform for visitors in Vanathum, Thailand. When not in use, the pavilion doubles as a fishing platform for fishermen. The project connects local communities and tourists with a focus on Nature and meditation.

Iron Creek Bay Farm Stay by Misho+Associates

©Peter Whyte.

With the Iron Creek Bay Farm Stay in Tasmania,  Australian firm Misho+Associates has breathed new life into an existing farm ready to take the next step in agricultural development and provide a high-quality example of mixed uses co-existing on the same parcel of land. The proposal is about creating a farm stay accommodation linked with a farm store/ farm restaurant to develop agricultural synergies that operate on the farm and to adaptive reuse all the existing farm buildings into repurposed use.

Bamboo Dome for G20 Bali Summit by Biroe Architecture

©Biroe Architecture.

The G20 Bamboo Dome was purposely made based on the idea of the President of Indonesia to host all the heads of state for lunch with a view of the sea. Biroe Architecture involves 40 bamboo artisans to build the pavilion on the beach side of the Apurva Kempinski Hotel in Bali, Indonesia. “Just like the valuable nature of bamboo, the structure is a reminder that we as societies of this world, in villages as well as in metropolitan cities, are all one part of the world citizenship for a better earth.”

• All photos are courtesy of the World Architecture Festival unless indicated otherwise.