The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced its theme for 2019, this year's speakers, experts and architecture critics will discuss "Flow - People, Data, Nature, Power" over buildings which are conceived as static in general. 

WAF will be held in Amsterdam on 4-6 December, 2019 with a number of renowned experts, designers, architecture critics and influential architects from all around. 

Celebrating its 12th edition this year, many world-renowned architects will take part in the WAF's judging panel, including Francine Houben, Lesley Lokko, James Timberlake, Christina Seilern, Peter Cook, Tom de Paor, Alison Brooks, Sanjay Puri, Aaron Betsky. 

HWKN's Skyler Tower. Image courtesy of HWKN

Every year, WAF sets its lectures and sessions around one topic addressing to the building industry and urbanism directly. This year's theme "Flow - People, Data, Nature, Power" will directly address to the buildings that are considered as static, but the topic will evaluate the uses for which they are designed, or to which they respond, are anything but.

These range from the airport dealing with millions of passengers every year, to less obvious examples including workplace buildings which accommodate endless flows of data, and national policies designed to manage flows of energy, people and trade.

WAF stated that at a broader level, cities are organised to manage flows of many kinds. The guests will discuss the topic around this question: How does this affect the way cities develop through time?

National policies are designed to manage flows of energy, people and trade - and to find some balance between the desirability of protecting nature, and the manipulating of it to avoid the worst effects of unwanted flow, for example flooding or coastal erosion.

Any sort of flow affects architecture and architects. This theme will generate a stimulating series of talks and discussions at WAF 2019, covering both the changing nature of various sorts of flow and how buildings and environments are being created to respond to them.

Zaha Hadid Architects' Morpheus Hotel in Macau. Image © Ivan Dupont

WAF also asked some of the WAF 2019 judges what the theme FLOW means to them. "This is an interesting topic, as flow has various meanings depending on the way we look at it. Architecture is all based on the experience that users gain from the building. Understanding the flow of experience one gets can actually affect the social behaviour and from this point, Architecture plays the main role," said Bassel Omara, Dorsch Gruppe.

"I understand ‘flow’ as meaning a natural design process, not forced by dogma but intuitively guided and driven by constraints which are viewed as opportunities," said David Leech, David Leech Architects.

"In order to understand and create architecture we must comprehend the complex processes lying in its core. The designing process itself is a ‘Flow’ in need of a smart control," said Bratislav Toskovic, Parviainen Architects.

"A building is animated by its flows. When we design we must understand the type of flows that are expected and anticipate new flows in a probably uncertain future," said Fernando Sordo Madaleno, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos.

SkyPod by PLP Architecture, courtesy of PLP Architecture

World Architecture Community is official Media Partner for this year's festival and offers to its Professional Members 10% discounted tickets over regular festival prices during WAF registration and their entries per project submission! All you have to do is to upgrade your World Architecture Community membership to Professional here or visit your WAC Settings page and send us ([email protected]) an email to get your promo code for your WAF registration!

Early-bird discount ends on Friday, 12 April to receive a €100 discount. The final entry deadline is Friday 3 May 2019. Start your registrations from here.

Top image: SkyPod by PLP Architecture, courtesy of PLP Architecture

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