Architects shorlisted to win World Building of the Year 2008

224 projects from 43 countries have been shortlisted for the inaugural World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards, the global architectural awards programme which compares and contrasts buildings completed within the past 18 months.

An expert panel of judges selected the shortlist from 722 entries from 63 countries worldwide. The UK, USA, Australia and Mexico submitted the highest number of entries to the Awards, whilst emerging markets such as China, Russia and India have strong representation on the shortlist.

Buildings by internationally renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid Architects, Skidmore Owings Merrill, Kohn Pederson Fox, Nikken Sekkei, Denton Corker Marshall and Foster & Partners as well as smaller practices are represented among the shortlisted projects submitted in 17 different categories.

Due to the incredible volume of entries in the Home category, a further category has been created by splitting the projects into Housing and Private Homes.

A public toilet in Texas (designed by Miro Rivera Architects), a fire station in Mexico City (bgp arquitectura), a doctor’s surgery designed with help from the elders of a Nova Scotia tribe (Piskwepaq Design Inc), a women’s health centre in Burkina Faso (FAREstudio) and a Christian church in Beijing (WSP) are among the shortlisted projects competing with cutting edge airports, museums and Olympic stadia.

Wembley Stadium (designed by Foster & Partners), O2 Arena (HOK Sport), Manchester Civil Justice Service Centre (Denton Corker Marshall) and the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea (John McAslan & Partners) are among the UK projects shortlisted.

All shortlisted architects will present their work live to juries and audiences during the World Architecture Festival, over three days, from 22 - 24 October 2008 at the Centre Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB). On the final day the winners of each category will compete to win the top award, the World Building of the Year 2008, the industry’s ultimate accolade.

Headed by Lord (Norman) Foster, the international judging panels will comprise architects, allied professionals, clients and critics.