WAF 2025 Shortlist: 460+ Projects Shaping Global Architecture

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2025 marks a bold return this time to Miami Beach, hosting the event in the U.S. for the first time ever. As the global stage for architectural excellence, WAF draws attention to the people, processes, and ideas driving the future of the built environment. This year’s theme, “Hearts & Minds,” explores how emotion and intellect intersect in design, challenging architects to build functionally and meaningfully.

Contents

Selected Projects from the World Architecture Festival 2025 Shortlist
1. Populus
2. Seoul Robot & AI Museum
3. Fenix I
4. Courtyard 35 – Hutong Cloudscape
5. Chicken Hero Pavilion
6. Netherlands Pavilion – Expo 2025 Osaka
7. Gelephu International Airport
8. Hindu Heritage Experience Centre (The JKP Museum)
9. The Park
10. Arena León
11. LANTERN
12. Wuhan Snow World
13. Sauska Tokaj
14. Habitat Qinhuangdao
15. Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden China

The WAF 2025 is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious international architecture festivals. It features a live‑judged awards programme in which every shortlisted project is presented in person to a jury of experts across 45 competitive categories, ranging from completed buildings and interiors to future projects and landscape design.

This year’s shortlist represents over 460 outstanding projects, selected from more than 780 global entries. It includes 235 completed buildings, 157 future projects, 64 interiors, and 12 landscape designs. Notable names like Bjarke Ingels Group, Foster + Partners, Studio Gang, Grimshaw, and Nikken Sekkei appear alongside emerging studios. US‑based practices make up the largest share of entries, with strong representation from China, the UK, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore, the UAE, Turkey, and Japan.

Shortlisted finalists will present their work live in critique rooms before a panel of 164 international judges representing 37 countries. Winners in each category will go on to vie for overall titles such as World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, Interior of the Year, and Landscape of the Year, with additional Special Prizes awarded for excellence in areas such as natural light, sustainability, colour, and more.

Selected Projects from the World Architecture Festival 2025 Shortlist

1. Populus

Architect: Studio Gang
Location: Denver, United States
Category: Hotel and Leisure

2. Seoul Robot & AI Museum

Architects: Melike Altınışık Architects (MAA) with WITHWORKS
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Category: Cultural / Museum

3. Fenix I

Architects: Mei architects and planners (original warehouse by C. N.)
Location: Rijnhaven, Katendrecht district, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Category: Adaptive Reuse / Residential

4. Courtyard 35 – Hutong Cloudscape

Architects: WAY Studio
Location: Beijing, China
Category: Renovation / Mixed-Use

5. Chicken Hero Pavilion

Architects: RAD+ar (Research Artistic Design + architecture)
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia (Urban Forest)
Category: Pavilion / Community & Sustainability

6. Netherlands Pavilion – Expo 2025 Osaka

Architects: RAU Architects (design) with consortium AND BV (construction)
Location: Osaka, Japan (Expo site)
Category: Expo Pavilion

7. Gelephu International Airport

Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), with Arup, Cistri, NACO
Location: Gelephu, Bhutan (near Indian border)
Category: Infrastructure / Airport

8. Hindu Heritage Experience Centre (The JKP Museum)

Architects: Arup Associates (structural/digital), Leighton Asia (construction)
Location: Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Category: Cultural / Spiritual Centre & Museum