The World Architecture festival is an annual convention where achievements of the global architectural community are lauded. Architects from various countries gather to debate, learn and enlighten themselves on the subject.
In 2012, The World Architecture Festival in Singapore brought together more than 1,500 architects from all over the world to participate, compete and share their cultural and work experiences with their peers. The awards given by the WAF was quoted as "The Oscars of The Architectural World" by The Straits Times.
The WAF awards gave away laurels for 37 categories out of which one was - "World Building of The Year".
The "World Building of the Year" was awarded to the Cooled Conservatories Building in Singapore. The chief designing firm of the building was Wilkinson Eyre. The magnificent building is situated in Marina Bay and is the first of Singapore government's attempts to turn the city into a "city in a garden", reported Gizmag.
Director of the World Architecture Festival, Paul Finch asserted that the building was a team effort and the awards should go to all the partnering architecture firms. Therefore, along with Wilkinson Eyre, Atelier One, Atelier Ten and Grant Associates were also awarded the prestigious honor.
"Choosing a winner was a tough decision, but the winner is a scheme of the highest quality. The jury was insistent that the project should be recognized in the round and that all the design team should have recognition" Finch said at the WAF.
The project is a part of the three waterfront gardens namely, Bay east, Bay Central and Bay South. The Cooled Conservatory building is located in the heart of the Bay south Garden with a mesmerizing, climate based attraction. The conservatories cover a total area of more than 20,000 square meters, reported Gizmag.
The conservatory has two sectors, the dry conservatory- which is the 'flower dome' and the moist conservatory 'the cloud forest'. The Flower dome is spread across an area of 1.28 hectares while The Cloud Forest is around 0.73 hectare. Both the sectors observe and conserve the horticultural changes triggered by the climate, reported Telegraph.
This year, the awards were divided into three main categories: Future Projects, Landscape Architecture and Completed Buildings. The Cooled Conservatories bagged the "World Building of the Year Award" in the Completed Buildings category, reported designboom.
The next WAF will be held from 2 to 4 Oct., 2013 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
