The World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2024 has named the Darlington Public School in Australia, designed by fjcstudio, the World Building of the Year. 

The first practice in WAF history to win the award twice was fjcstudio, which had previously won Building of the Year in 2013. 

As hundreds of delegates from around the globe gathered at a grand finale Gala Dinner at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the ultimate awards of World Building of the Year, World Interior of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and Landscape of the Year were announced. 

At the closing ceremony to commemorate the festival's seventeenth edition, a number of Special Prizes were also given out, including Best Use of Color and Small Project of the Year. The announcement comes after WAF's last day, where winners of prizes in all 42 categories fought for the top honors.

Situated on the outskirts of Sydney, the community school has a deep connection to Aboriginal people, which is reflected in its design. 

The renovated school now blends in perfectly with the surrounding area, providing views of the inner courtyard from the main entrance, encouraging children to feel private and part of a community, and offering publicly accessible amenities like the library, community hall, and covered outdoor learning area.

The architects created an inclusive learning environment by working with the school community and educational consultants to inform the brief. 

By conserving and showcasing Aboriginal artwork throughout the school, the redesign celebrates the rich indigenous culture and helps to tell the nation's stories to coming generations. To teach students about indigenous culture and cuisine, a community garden featuring native plants has also been established.

In order to minimize time, expense, and disruption, the school kept running while construction was underway. With passive design features like sawtooth roofs angled toward the sun, high-level glazing for indirect daylight, and protective curved screens for filtered daylight, the building also embraces sustainability.  

"It’s very humbling given the modest scale ofthe building – it's a little school project, so to have won against all the other big projects at WAF is atestament to the client and the community engagement that helped drive the design process," said Alessandro Rossi, Associate at fjcstudio.

"The real winners are the children who will spend time in the building - a place of enrichment for many years to come," Rossi added.

On behalf of the jury Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival commented on: "the  very high quality of several of this year’s finalists,  not least the National Star Observatory in Cyprus, but the jury’s unanimous decision was reached relatively easily. 

"The architect of the winning project explored and extended the formal  programme  of the client, to include the views and experience of the local community and a variety of users. This generated a reading of thehistory of place, culture and time," Finch added.

"The result of the project is poetic, a building in which topography and landscape, inside and outside, form and materials, flow seamlessly in an unexpectedly delightful way. It is also an inspirational proposition  about the acknowledgement and reconciliation of historic difference – a pointer to brighter, better futures for all," Finch concluded. 

The  Super Jury for World Building of the Year chaired by Sonali Rastogi, comprised Emre  Arolat, Mario Cucinella and Ian Ritchie. 

Site plan

Ground floor plan

Elevation

On November 6–8, 2024, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore hosted the World Architecture Festival and Inside World Festival of Interiors. The global architecture community gathers at WAF to celebrate, educate, network, and get inspired. 

The largest live-judged architecture awards program in the world is held annually by WAF. Through presentations by architects to eminent delegates and global judging panels, it honors design accomplishments.

All images © Brett Boardman. 

All drawings © fjcstudio.

> via WAF 

fjcstudio school WAF World Building Of The Year Award