The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced that ‘Performance’ will be the theme for its tenth edition, which is to be held at the Arena Berlin in Germany from 15-17 November 2017.
The notion of performance in architecture will be central to this year’s architectural tour programme, including a visit to Hans Scharoun’s Berlin Philharmonie, which inspired the concept of listening to music in the round when it opened in 1963.
Other destinations on the tour programme include Radialsystem V, by Gerhard Spangenberg, the former pumping station now repurposed for use as a venue for contemporary dance and music events, and Frank Gehry’s Pierre Boulez Concert Hall.
“This year we will examine the multiple aspects of performance that architecture has to embrace: aesthetic, technical, economic and psychological,” says WAF Programme Director, Paul Finch.
“We will be discussing buildings designed for performance – for example theatres and concert halls – but also the role that buildings play in the life and spectacle of the city itself.”
The WAF Awards, the ‘Oscars of architecture’, sit at the heart of the Festival and celebrate global architectural excellence across completed buildings, future projects and landscape projects. Entries are being welcomed in 30 categories.
Entrants for the WAF Awards programme can take advantage of an Early Bird rate until 27th April. The final deadline for entries this year is 18 May. Practices submitting three or more projects will be able to enjoy a 15% discount on entry fees.
Past winners include Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, Snøhetta, Isay Weinfeld and Foster + Partners as well as ones to watch Vo Trong Nghia, Farshad Mehdizadeh and Gustavo Penna.
