The projects, three of which are complete, are located throughout the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. The finalist projects are: The Isle of Arran Marine Discovery Centre in West Scotland; the Over/Under Kiosks installed in New York’s Seaport District; 537 Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills, Australia; St Andrews Beach Villa in Australia; and New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
WAF is a unique architecture event that brings together keynote talks from leading international figures addressing challenges facing the industry along with presentations from the finalists and live judging. The theme of this year’s festival is “Flow: People, Data, Nature, Power,” exploring how environments are designed to respond to various states of flow. The awards will be held in Amsterdam from December 4 to 9, 2019, with over 148 judges representing 68 countries.
Below are the five projects designed by Woods Bagot that have been shortlisted for the 2019 WAF Festival.
Isle of Arran Marine Discovery Centre in Lamlash Bay, Scotland
Future Project: Education
Commissioned by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust, this project champions community marine conservation in one of the first Scottish Marine Protected Areas. The sustainable two-story building will create a striking focal point in the Bay and a direct link to the coast and marine activities. The tiered structure conforms to the landscape, ascending from the ground floor up to the central timber-clad pavilion and to a rooftop viewing deck. Floor-to-ceiling glazing will offer the educational and research spaces, as well as the café and activity areas, and panoramic views across the water.
Over/Under Kiosks in New York
Completed Buildings: Small Project of the Year
The pair of 150-square-foot kiosks serve as both an installation and concession stalls for the Riverdeck in New York’s Seaport District. Composed of aluminum cylinders, the complimentary curves appear to fit together like puzzle pieces. One half, “Over,” provides shade while “Under” slopes downward to create a bench where patrons can sit and enjoy views of the Brooklyn Bridge and East River. From inside, the effect is a bespoke lighting installation varying in hues, shapes, and depths due to the angled curvature cut into the tubes’ ends.
537 Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills, Australia
Completed Buildings: Mixed Use
Located within a microsite measuring 7-by-30 meters on a prominent corner in inner-city Sydney, this seven-story building is a prototype for compact and high-quality urban living. Integrating interior design as part of the architectural vision allowed the plan to maximize the internal space of the 12 highly curated one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, while the project’s external form, materiality and programming engage the neighborhood and become part of its renewal.
St Andrews Beach Villa in St. Andrews Beach, Australia
Completed Buildings: Villa
Nestled among sand dunes facing the wild waters of Bass Strait, this residence sits on the edge of a delicate national park ecosystem. Evolving from a modest shack, over 20 years of incremental tunings and additions led the villa to settle into its natural context in a dialogue between nature and built form. With discreet sensitivity to environmental nuances, the design embraces the gradual weathering of materials, with Jarrah hardwood timber and non-ferrous metals aging in sympathy with the windblown tea-tree and grass vegetation. Scaled in relation to the sand formations, the main south-west-facing metal and glass façade makes the overwhelming natural experience palpable from every point in the interior across its vast 30-meter volume.
New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand with Warren and Mahoney and Moller Architects
Future Projects: Civic
Woods Bagot is working in collaboration with Warren and Mahoney and Moller Architects to create a 32,500-square-meter site that will become a key part of the Auckland financial district by integrating heritage, pedestrian movement and transport infrastructure in an innovative solution that “stacks” the traditional functions of a convention centre vertically.