The First World Architecture Festival

When the World Architecture Festival (WAF) debuted in Barcelona in 2008, it marked a turning point in the global architectural community.

Founded by Paul Finch and Jeremy Melvin, WAF became the world’s largest annual architectural event, blending a live awards competition with exhibitions, seminars, and student design challenges.

The festival’s defining feature was its live-judged awards programme, a unique concept that set it apart from traditional architecture prizes. Shortlisted architects presented their projects in front of an audience and an international jury, engaging directly in discussion and critique — an open, democratic approach that embodied the festival’s spirit of exchange.

From an impressive pool of entries, international juries shortlisted projects across 96 building types, grouped into 16 categories, ranging from residential and cultural buildings to transport and educational facilities. The 2008 panel was chaired by Norman Foster and included architectural luminaries such as Zaha Hadid, Stefan Behnisch, and Robert Stern.

The Università Luigi Bocconi in Milan, designed by Grafton Architects, was honored with the coveted World Building of the Year title. Its bold, sculptural form — a “floating canopy” of suspended offices above a carved-out subterranean base, symbolized openness and civic engagement.

The festival also championed the next generation of architects. Teams of architecture students from ten of the world’s leading schools, each guided by a renowned architect, participated in an intensive two-day live design competition.

Other award highlights included BIG’s Mountain Dwellings in Copenhagen, which won best residential building for its ingenious fusion of housing and parking and Foster + Partners’ Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard in Washington, D.C., an elegantly enclosed public space joining historic architecture with contemporary design.

The 2008 World Architecture Festival had set the tone for what has since become a 17-year tradition, uniting the world’s architects in the pursuit of design that both inspires and endures.

Get ready to be inspired at the 2025 World Architecture Festival (WAF), taking place from 12–14 November at the stunning Miami Beach Convention Center, in the vibrant heart of South Beach’s Art Deco District. This year’s theme, “Hearts and Minds,” invites visionaries from around the globe to explore how the spaces we create can stir emotions as powerfully as they solve practical needs. Expect bold ideas, sensory experiences, and thought-provoking discussions that celebrate the beauty, intelligence, and humanity of architecture.