Nic Granleese, Eszter Riga, Celeste Bolte and Ben G Morgan from BowerBird report on the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam, held from 4 – 6 December 2019.
The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has been a fixture of the global design and architecture calendar for over 10 years. The event includes speakers from across the globe, as well as presentations to juries of the WAF Awards each year. It is an opportunity for architects to meet, learn, and to teach. In 2019, the team behind BowerBird.io attended the festival in Amsterdam as Media Partners, uncovering stories of architecture from international and Australian architects.
We had previously attended the World Architecture Festival in Singapore, so we knew it was an exciting event that acts as an annual gathering place for architects. What we had underestimated was the sheer scale of the interaction. WAF (as it is affectionately known) is close to the hearts of many architecture practices, and the annual awards program is highly regarded internationally.
BowerBird – which is a platform for architects to connect directly with journalists – has a unique perspective. Our aim is to get more great architecture out to the community, and the general public through great publications (like the one you’re reading now!). With our media partnership in 2019, we were keen to try something a little different.
Riffing off the WAF19 theme ‘Flow’, we decided to see how easily stories of architecture could flow digitally around the world. So we devised what seemed like a simple plan: we would interview shortlisted entrants to the WAF Awards on camera, send them to our team in South America to edit, then post from Australia while Europe slept – it was a bit of an experiment, but a fun one. Little did we know that we would end up uncovering the stories of over 70 projects from across the globe.
It was an exhausting three days of back-to-back interviews, all filmed using an iPhone 11 Pro, a tripod, and a wireless lapel mic. The videos were recorded, uploaded to Google Drive, edited using Adobe Rush in Argentina, then uploaded to Vimeo and Instagram in Australia, ready for the next day.
Outstanding Australian Architects
Having been founded in Australia, BowerBird knows the strength of Australian architecture and design, but it was clear that on the WAF stage, it is genuinely world-class. Below is a selection of interviews, all from Australian practices.
Australian projects took out nine awards in total, including TERROIR’s Castle Cove House, which was the winner in the ‘Completed Buildings – House’ category, and iredale pedersen hook architects with Advanced Timber Concepts Studio for their Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre.
Of the Castle Cove House by TERROIR, the judges stated: “What initially seems to be a simple integration of house into landscape is so much more. With the diversity and complexity of space there is a visual shattering of boundaries between inside and out. The use of well-tested ‘architectural instruments and tools’ define and punctuate the concept. A rigorous process of thought and organically responsive design enriches the functionality with the poetic. The moments of joy just keep coming.”
We were lucky enough to interview Adrian Iredale and Finn Pedersen of IPH about their winning project.
Seven other projects were Highly Commended across their various categories:
- Civic and Community – Completed Buildings: Johnson Pilton Walker with the Office of the New South Wales Government Architect – Anzac Memorial Centenary Project, Sydney, Australia
- Display – Completed Buildings: MUIR+OPENWORK – Doubleground, Melbourne, Australia
- House Completed Buildings: CplusC Architectural Workshop – Welcome to the Jungle House, Sydney, Australia
- Mixed Use – Completed Buildings: Koichi Takada Architects – Arc, Sydney, Australia
- Transport – Completed Buildings: COX Architecture – Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal, Melbourne, Australia
- Transport – Completed Buildings: Grimshaw – Mernda Rail Extension, Melbourne, Australia
We’re really excited to see how we can further develop the concept in future years, and at other events, to document the stories of global architecture, and provide an ongoing, rich resource for publications and the general public. This is just the beginning.
More about the World Architecture Festival (WAF)