The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has released the shortlist for its 2025 edition, spotlighting standout architectural works and design ideas from across the globe.
This announcement comes in the lead-up to WAF’s first-ever event in the United States, scheduled to take place from November 12 to 14, 2025, at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Finalists will present their entries across multiple categories during the first two days of the festival. This year, over 460 projects were selected from more than 780 entries submitted. The shortlist encompasses a diverse range of categories, including Creative Re-Use, Housing, Education, Hotel, Sports, and Culture.
Prominent architecture firms such as Bjarke Ingels Group, Foster + Partners, Studio Gang, Grimshaw, Nikken Sekkei, Mario Cucinella Architects, and Perkins\&Will are among the shortlisted, alongside several up-and-coming studios.
Firms based in the United States account for the largest share of shortlisted entries, followed by those from China, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Japan. In total, the judging panel—comprising 164 experts from 37 countries—reviewed a diverse range of submissions.
This year’s shortlist includes 235 completed buildings, such as a film studio in New York and multiple pavilions designed for Expo 2025. The 157 future projects range from a proposed airport in Athens to a telescope enclosure in Chile. For the interior category, 64 designs made the list, including a rainforest-themed hotel in Singapore and a noodle bar in Chongqing.
Twelve urban landscape projects were also shortlisted, including a redesigned public plaza in London’s Canary Wharf and a wildlife eco-park in Bhabua, India.
As the architecture world turns its focus to Miami this November, the WAF 2025 shortlist promises a celebration of creativity, innovation, and global perspectives in design.
