There are five days left before the start of the next World Architecture Festival WAF 2016. The leading architects of the world will gather in Berlin in order to personally present their projects and buildings to the jury members. Based on the results of the presentations, it is planned to select winners in 32 nominations: 17 in the category "Implementation", 13 - "Future project" and two more in the categories "Landscape" and "Small object", between which there will then be the main struggle for the titles of the best object, project, landscape, as well as interior, since within the framework of the WAF festival the INSIDE. World Festival of Interior ".
It is interesting that the current WAF has several things in common with the latest Zodchestvo festivals, which can be regarded as confirmation that Russian architectural exhibitions are not that drastically lagging behind global ones. Zodchestvo 2016 took place in the dilapidated workshops of the Trekhgornaya Manufactory, and WAF 2016 will occupy a huge hangar on the territory of the former industrial zone, and now - one of the most popular venues for cultural events in the German capital, Arena Berlin in Berlin's Treptow district. Modern architecture gladly assimilates post-industrial spaces, seeing in them not only a spectacular and moderately dramatic background for any architectural exposition, but also a symbolic confirmation of its own claims to the status of future monuments, which functional, rational and non-style now under construction can receive in a hundred years. objects so similar to their promo predecessors.
The main topic of the WAF-2016 discussion program was named “Affordable Housing” by its curator Paul Finch. A similar theme was also present at the Zodchestvo festival, although not this year, but last year, when new approaches to industrial housing construction became the main leitmotif of the Moscow Architecture Committee's exposition. The WAF takes a broader perspective, inviting architects and experts to reflect on their role in improving the lives of people around the world.
The community's attention will be focused on examples of architecture created and functioning in conditions of acute lack of resources, as well as on those projects in which it was possible to implement, albeit small, but conscious and felt socially responsible decisions.
In addition to public presentations of projects, lectures, discussions and master classes, several sightseeing tours around Berlin are planned with an inspection of architectural objects. In addition, an exhibition of the latest building materials and technologies will be shown in the Arena Berlin hall.
The organizers claim that a total of over 400 live performances of the best architects from 58 countries of the world will take place over three festival days at various WAF venues, including: Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, Studio Gang, Foster + Partners, Scott Brownrigg + Grimshaw, UNStudio, David Chipperfield, Alan Balfour, Uwe Bergman Kai and many others.
Russia will be represented by bureau SPEECH, Wowhaus, UNK project, Blank Architects, Arch group, Studio 44, Tsimailo, Lyashenko and Partners, A-Proekt.k and Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners.
In the meantime, the participants and guests of WAF 2016 are packing their bags, we have collected several comments from the participants of the current and past festivals about what exactly, in their opinion, the festival is interesting and important for the global architectural process in general and for Russian architecture in particular.
*** Peter Kudryavtsev, Citymakers bureau partner
“In the mid-2000s, as Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of ARX Magazine, I actively collaborated with Paul Finch, who at the time was editor-in-chief of The Architectural Review. We have had several joint projects, including the very successful international conference Tall Buildings in 2006. When in 2008 preparations began for the first World Architecture Festival, of which Paul was the ideologist, I was offered to participate in the jury and become a Russian representative - I took up the job with pleasure. I am confident then and now that WAF is the leading professional platform for architects. It allows you to get involved in the process, see the whole spectrum of international architecture, understand global trends and relate your projects to them. Competition is needed for a good architecture to emerge. For this it is not enough to compare Plotkin with Skuratov - you have to compare yourself with the best in the world. Both the selection system for entries and the method of judging at the WAF guarantee impartiality. Better and more objective, perhaps, only Pritzker, but their system is not applicable to the competition with thousands of participants from all over the world. Year after year, I see the evolution of the competition, the growth of the quality of the submitted projects, the growth of competition. In the third or fourth year, the stars of the first magnitude began to participate in the festival - Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and others. If earlier Russian projects were only shortlisted, then last year Nikita Yavein won in two nominations at once. I am sure that in the future Russian projects will win more and more often. We, of course, have a problem with the implementation, but in projects we must regularly win. And after another 2-3 years, equally powerful constructed facilities should appear”. ***
Vladimir Plotkin, main architecto
TPO "Reserve", participant WAF 2008, member of the jury WAF 2008, 2009
“The main impression from the WAF festivals in which I participated is my presence at the epicenter of world architectural life. The organizers were able to gather architects from all over the world, among whom there were absolute stars, and not as guests of honor, but as participants in the competition. Almost all projects that were shortlisted and became laureates in their nominations are very strong, high-status works that have since bypassed the pages of leading architectural magazines.
I really liked the format of live presentations and the objectivity of the judging system, which I was able to evaluate both from the side of the participant and from the side of the jury. Usually the jury in each nomination consists of four people from different countries, which guarantees impartiality and impartiality. The jury can ask questions about each project, at the end of literally half an hour all projects are discussed and a completely objective decision is made. Of course, some global trends are taken into account, but this works more when choosing an absolute winner. For example, at the first festivals, the topic of sustainable development was very relevant. And the first prize in 2009 went to the South African Cultural Center, built with traditional materials. Nevertheless, it was done professionally and was quite unusual. In a situation where a lot of "star architecture" is demonstrated at the competition, with its characteristic pathos and megabudgets, one would like to choose something neutral, but interesting. For many architectural teams, the festival becomes an excellent platform for promoting and entering the international level. It seems to me that it was with WAF 2008 that BIG's "stellar" period began. They showed their terraced house in Copenhagen and almost became the winners.
Since 2009, we [TPO "Reserve"] have not participated in the WAF, but only because now I have a good idea of the format and level of competition in the competition. Therefore, we need to wait for a really strong completed project, which could be displayed with confidence. But I sincerely advise all colleagues, if not to participate, then at least visit the WAF or follow its results."
Magdalena Chihony, managing partner, chief architect of Blank architects bureau, participant WAF 2013, WAF 2014, WAF 2015, WAF 201
“We are taking part in the fourth World Architecture Festival and each time we are shortlisted for our nomination. We hope that this year we will win in our category. Of course, now we know the methodology and basic techniques, but there is no single “recipe for success”. Everything is important here: how the jury reacts, what was the main focus in the presentation of the project. This is a great school for self-presentation.
The first time we participated in the festival, when it was held in Barcelona, then we went to Singapore twice. It was very interesting. There were a lot of Australian, American and Asian bureaus. Geographic remoteness has made it possible to go beyond the European cultural space. The fact that we live and work in Europe, what we see, read and do, largely determines the result of our work. The WAF in Singapore gave us the opportunity to open up and take an open-minded look at what is happening in the rest of the world. In addition, there are always a lot of young architects at festivals, those that the industry will talk about tomorrow. It is interesting to compare their presentations with those of the "stars of architecture". The schedule for presentations is very tight, but if you prioritize and plan the entire day, you will glean a lot of important information. The festival was very useful for us as architects in terms of personal growth and self-education.
Last year I especially liked the meetings with the start-up bureaus, each of whom told their own “success story”. We [Blank architects bureau] want to grow, we have our own goals, our vision for the future, we want to go international, we participate in international competitions - and we are interested in how other companies have achieved success. For me, as a leader of an architectural bureau, it is very important to take this into account when developing a further development strategy."
Alena Zaitseva, Lead Architect at Wowhaus, participant of WAF 2015 with a project for the reconstruction of the Revolution Square, participant of WAF 2016 with City Farm at VDNK
“The festival made a strong impression on me. I went to Singapore expecting to see such Asian chic - a large hall with a golden chandelier and carpets, and everything happened in a very simple setting, reminiscent of a hangar. Everything was subordinated to the main goal - to conduct public presentations of competition projects. For this purpose, 10 pavilions were built in the hall, in which presentations in a blitz format were going on non-stop. Visitors to the festival freely moved from one "yurt" to another, listening to the speakers, and when the presentations of architectural stars took place, there were no crowds in the pavilions. The strict regulations made it difficult to get acquainted with the projects themselves. And the exhibition on small tablets was not very helpful in this. Everything is very technical, fast, it looks like passing exams at an institute.
Prepare for your presentations seriously. In 10 minutes you have to tell the most important thing about your project in English, and then there is another 10 minutes to answer the jury's questions. And with this, as I saw, many have problems. Someone reads from a piece of paper, someone speaks with a strong accent. It is quite difficult to understand the essence of the project without special training, and this is of fundamental importance. It seems to me that for WAF, the beauty of the picture is less important than the conceptual component: the semantic, ideological content of the project, the contribution to the social environment. This is, in fact, bld about rovo.
Nikita Yavein, head of the architectural bureau"
Studio 44 ", participant of WAF 2013, WAF 2014, WAF 2015, WAF 2016, winner of WAF 2015 in the section "Buildings" (category "School") with the complex of the Academy of Dance under the direction of Boris Eifman and in the section "Future project" (category "Master Plan") with the project for the development of the historical center of Kaliningra
“For me, the value of participating in WAF is the opportunity to learn: how to submit your projects, how to react to some trends, what works and what doesn't. I've seen the BIG bureau put on a whole theatrical performance from their presentation, and MVRDV, for example, does the same. It is interesting. This does not need to be imitated, but it is useful to see it and know these techniques. It is interesting to test yourself, to correlate the level of your projects with world leaders. It is interesting to try to predict the choice of the jury. This is not always successful, which also adds to the intrigue of the competition. All projects submitted by us for the competition were shortlisted, and two projects even won in their categories. So, in general, the level corresponds. But misfires are still possible … Various experts are invited to evaluate projects, as well as winners of past festivals, thanks to which the competition is held fairly objectively. You present your project and see how they discuss it. Everything is open. You see how the jury reacts, you understand everything. And you even feel how they argue, one smiles, the other keeps the political line … The location of the festival influences the situation and priorities of the jury members. When the festival was held in Singapore, a lot of attention was paid to Asian projects. Political motives cannot be disregarded either. For the first time, presenting the Olympic station in Sochi, I heard the lines: "Putin", "Olympics", "you can't give", "let's look for something else." But this did not stop them from awarding two Russian projects at once a year ago. Let's see what will happen now in Berlin, how actively modern German architecture will be promoted and how ours will be assessed”.
