The official entry deadline for the World Architecture Festival Awards 2017 has been extended to June 9, 2017. Architects and designers still have time to send their entries to this year's World Architecture Festival Awards program. The World Architecture Festival Awards 2017 and INSIDE World Festival of Interiors are judged by the most prestigious architectural elite in the live crits. 

World Architecture Festival is the only global architecture event which hosts several keynote talks from the industry’s most influential figures from all over the world. World Architecture Festival and INSIDE World Festival of Interiors are taking place at the same venue at Arena, Berlin simultaneously between 15-17 November, 2017. 

World Architecture Community is the media partner for World Architecture Festival and will be following up the most fresh news, jury crits, awards and hotly-anticipated sessions on the spot during the event.

World Architecture Community Professional Members receive an exclusive 10% discount over regular festival passes during registration by entering their special promo code. All you have to do is to upgrade your World Architecture Community membership to Professional by visiting your Settings and send us ([email protected]) an email to get your promo code for your WAF registration!

2016 winner under Hotels & Leisure - Completed Buildings category - Aim Architecture, Fushengyu Hotspring Resort, Mianyang, China, courtesy of WAF

The festival's international juries give a live critic to the architects' presentations and judge over 450 award finalists throughout the three-day event with global networking, a 500 project strong gallery and an international product exhibition. 

"Performance" is the theme of this year's World Architecture Festival. Celebrating its tenth edition this year, the notion of performance in architecture will be central to this year’s architectural tour programme, including a visit to Hans Scharoun’s Berlin Philharmonie, which inspired the concept of listening to music in the round when it opened in 1963. 

"This year we will examine the multiple aspects of performance that architecture has to embrace: aesthetic, technical, economic and psychological," said WAF Programme Director Paul Finch. 

"We will be discussing buildings designed for performance – for example theatres and concert halls – but also the role that buildings play in the life and spectacle of the city itself."

2016 winner under Completed Buildings category - OHLAB / Oliver Hernaiz Architecture Lab, House MM, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, courtesy of WAF

Other destinations on the tour programme include Radialsystem V, by Gerhard Spangenberg, the former pumping station now repurposed for use as a venue for contemporary dance and music events, and Frank Gehry’s Pierre Boulez Concert Hall.

Architects and designers can submit their projects, completed within the last 18 months, to one of 31 categories to be judged by the architectural elite who are proud owners of a WAF award and prove that your practice is among the best in the industry.

World Building of the Year 2016 - Robert Konieczny/KWK Promes’ National Museum in Poland, courtesy of WAF

If architects and designers don't have a completed project within this period, they can submit their entries under 13 Future Projects categories - to send your entries, start your application here.

World Architecture Festival and WAF's sister festival INSIDE World Festival of Interiors have separate conference and awards program - and both program honour the best architecture and interior projects across the world by creating an international exposure and global connections for architects and clients.

World Interior of the Year 2016 at INSIDE Festival - Black Cant System By An Design in China, courtesy of WAF

Shortlisted projects are presented by the architects with live presentations to the judging panel of the WAF. All the winners from 31 categories and 9 categories from INSIDE festival are announced as live in the end of each event-day. The festival also honours the best buildings under some coveted titles including World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, Landscape of the Year and World Interior of the Year. 

These categories are judged by a super jury of the WAF and this year's super jury Chaired by Robert Ivy - Chief Executive Officer American Institute of Architects (AIA), includes Christoph Ingenhoven - Founder of Ingenhoven Architects, MVRDV's Nathalie de Vries and Ian Ritchie - Founder of Ian Ritchie Architects.

This year, WAF also introduces "the WAF manifesto" to mark its 10th anniversary. To celebrate it, WAF will accept all entrants into the special WAF 10 Prize focused on the WAF 10 Manifesto. The Manifesto will be focusing on key challenges which architects will need to address over the next ten years.

World Landscape of the Year 2016 - Isthmus’ Kopupaka Reserve In Auckland, courtesy of WAF

The aim of the WAF manifesto initiative is to generate a research funding which will contribute towards work in universities and architectural practices investigating aspects of specified subjects and the resulting work will be exhibited at the World Architecture Festival annual event.

These topics include: Climate, energy and carbon, Water, Ageing and Health, Re-use, Smart city technology, Building technology, Cultural identity, Ethics and values, Power and justice, and Virtual worlds.

"In a period of profound change across the world, architects will play an important part in creating building, cities, public places and landscapes that respond to the challenges we have identified. There are immense amounts of research being undertaken across the profession which we hope we can draw attention to, and which we intend to support through publication, exhibition and funding initiatives," stated WAF Programme Director Paul Finch.

"These are big-picture initiatives which concern architects both individually and collectively, and we want WAF to play a part in promoting initiatives which are aimed at making life better," Finch added.

Top image: Fernando Menis’ CKK Jordanki Concert Hall in Poland - was shortlisted in the Completed Buildings: Culture category at WAF 2016. Image courtesy of WAF.

> via World Architecture Festival