The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has just unveiled the shortlist for its 2025 edition, and once again, the selection reads like a global map of architectural brilliance. From completed homes and cultural landmarks to future airports and telescope enclosures, the entries span a dizzying array of categories, with each project offering more than just innovation—they tell stories about people, place, and purpose.
This year marks a major milestone for WAF, as it heads to the United States for the first time. The event will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center from November 12 to 14. What sets WAF apart is its unique format: architects don’t just submit renderings—they pitch, present, and defend their work live on stage over the first two days of the festival. It’s design meets debate, form meets philosophy.
Over 780 submissions were received this year, from which more than 460 projects have made the cut. The sheer range is impressive: from creative reuse of derelict buildings to new schools, hotels, sports arenas, and cultural centers. Interiors, public landscapes, and ambitious unbuilt visions also have their own place in the spotlight.
Take Populus in Denver, Colorado—designed by the renowned American firm Studio Gang—as a standout example. The building’s biomorphic façade, inspired by tree bark patterns, does more than catch the eye. Its openings are shaped to filter natural light and regulate indoor temperature, making it as sustainable as it is sculptural. “It reminds me of sitting under the old cottonwood tree in my grandma’s backyard,” said Samantha Hayes, a design student in Portland, Oregon, who visited the hotel shortly after it opened. “The light, the texture—it just feels alive.”
Architects from the United States make up the largest share of the shortlist, followed closely by those from China, the UK, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore, the UAE, Turkey, and Japan. The jury panel consists of 164 experts from 37 countries, underscoring WAF’s global reach and diversity of perspectives.
Of the shortlisted projects, 235 are completed buildings, including everything from a film production studio in New York to pavilions designed for Expo 2025 in Osaka. Among future projects (157 in total) are concepts like a new international airport for Athens and a cutting-edge telescope enclosure in the high deserts of Chile.
Interior design also takes the stage, with 64 shortlisted projects including a rainforest-inspired hotel in Singapore and a noodle bar in Chongqing, China. The latter draws on the concept of memory—specifically the “madeleine moment” from Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. The design uses scent, sound, and warm lighting to trigger nostalgia and slow down time, giving diners a fleeting sense of stillness.
Twelve urban landscape projects also made the list, exploring the evolving relationship between architecture, nature, and public life. In London’s Canary Wharf, one project introduces “green pockets”—small-scale plant installations that break up the concrete monotony of the financial district. And in Bhabua, India, an eco-park blends human activity with wildlife preservation through carefully planned zoning.
WAF’s judging process focuses not just on the final look of a project but on the why behind it. Judges often challenge presenters to explain the real-world impact of their work. At a previous edition of the festival, one juror bluntly told a team: “Your drawings are perfect, but did you ever talk to the people who actually live in this neighborhood?”
This philosophy reflects a wider shift in architecture—a move away from detached aesthetics toward people-first design. Buildings aren’t just visual statements; they’re lived-in environments. A sleek, futuristic structure that can’t offer comfort or human connection ultimately misses the point.
One touching example comes from Norway, where the firm Snøhetta designed a forest cabin for a retired couple outside Oslo. Instead of opting for trendy glass-and-steel minimalism, the architects chose natural timber, soft lighting, and warm, earthy tones. “They told us they wanted to see the shadows of branches dancing on the walls,” the lead architect recalled in a talk. “That’s what made them feel safe.”
These small yet powerful design choices—whether it's a window that captures the afternoon sun just right, or a plaza that offers a moment of peace in a noisy city—are what truly define the best architecture today. They show that form and function must always serve something deeper: the human experience.
As this year’s shortlisted architects prepare to present their work in Miami, they’ll bring not just models and renders, but stories—of quiet joy, of rediscovered memories, of homes that don’t just shelter but heal. Because at its best, architecture isn’t just about shaping space. It’s about shaping lives.