For its sixth edition, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) will be held at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands this year as structures across the globe compete for the prestigious awards. Having bagged four WAF prizes in 2012, our Little Red Dot has over 40 buildings nominated in 29 categories this time around. Here, the festival’s programming director, Paul Finch, tells Gwen Pew his thoughts about five of them.
1 Oct 2013:
Singapore Sports Hub (Kallang), by AECOM
‘Sports architecture and development have increasingly been used to regenerate urban areas, using major sporting events as core magnets, but providing a welcome range of uses for the wider community.’
The Star (Buona Vista), by AEDAS
‘Performing arts have been a subject of increased interest in Singapore in recent years. The architecture of this dramatic building tries to incorporate ideas of movement and action into a local landmark.’
Bethel Assembly of God Church (Aljuneid), by LAUD Architects
‘There was an increase in the number of religious buildings entered for the awards this year. This striking example combines modernity of design with traditional beliefs and rituals.’
Sky Habitat (Bishan), by DCA Architects
‘Singapore has become a focus for new residential architectural thinking, where towers are connected rather than separated, and where landscape ideas are incorporated seamlessly into man-made structures.’
Diamond House (Orchard), by formwerkz architects
‘The architects’ interest in the manipulation of geometry to produce unexpected spaces and volumes is well represented in this immaculate piece of design and construction.’
GWEN PEW 