The best that global architecture has to offer will be on show this week at World Architecture Festival, a unique event celebrating the world's finest work from the world's greatest architects. The festival starts today (Wednesday 22nd October) and runs until Friday 24th October at the CCIB International Conference Centre in Barcelona.

World Architecture Festival is set to become one of the most significant dates in the global architectural calendar.

At the heart of the Festival is the World Architecture Festival Awards (WAF Awards), the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, which celebrates the work, concerns and aspirations of the international architectural community. It is the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, which looks beyond borders to celebrate the finest work from the world’s greatest architects.

Over 2,000 delegates attending the Festival from 66 countries, have access to something previously reserved for a select few - the opportunity to hear and see a shortlist of 224 architects from 42 countries present their schemes to a panel of expert judges.

A star studded super jury of distinguished architects and renowned industry figures from around the world has been lined up to judge the WAF Awards. Each of the 17 category winners announced during the Festival will compete against each other to win the ultimate best in show prize, the World Building of the Year. The winner will be announced at the end of the Festival by Lord (Norman) Foster at a glittering Awards ceremony on Friday 24th October.

Throughout the Festival delegates will be able to view all 722 Award entries from 63 countries in the Awards Entry Gallery and listen to the shortlisted candidates explain the challenges they faced in creating their vision.

Some of the world’s leading architectural figures, including Stefan Behnisch and Robert Stern, will provide their invaluable insight on critical areas in the dynamic and increasingly fast-changing world of global architecture.

Alongside the Awards presentations, the Festival programme is made up of six seminars each day, ending with a keynote address from prominent architectural figures. In many sessions the debate will be thrown open to the floor for discussion with audience not only of architects, but students, critics, policy makers and their influencers, providing a unique and comprehensive insight into many of the critical issues affecting the industry.

Paul Finch, Editor of The Architectural Review and Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival, commented: “The inaugural World Architecture Festival has captured the interest and enthusiasm of the architectural community worldwide, with buildings of exceptional quality and diversity submitted by practices from over 60 countries. The jury will judge each building on its merits, irrespective of scale, location or prestige, and this presents a very real opportunity for less well known practices.”

Delegates will also be able to visit a thematic exhibition and seminar on ‘Height – Between Possibility and Responsibility’. The exhibition examines the relationship between architecture and the factors which influence the creation of tall structures. It takes 12 tower designs from around the world, designed to take into account a series of differing context: climate, cost, energy, and social conditions.

In search of the ‘starchitects’ of the future, six architectural schools from around the globe will be competing at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) student charrette, where they will have just 36 hours to redesign a brownfield site in Barcelona. The two day charrette is themed around the use of water to revitalise a forgotten site in the city and takes place from 22nd to 23rd October. Each school will be briefed to redevelop a large redundant industrial complex in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Andreu, which was formerly the Fabra i Coats factory.

The site, selected by Oriol Clos, Barcelona City’s head of urbanism, will challenge the undergraduates to address challenges such as; the relationships between old and new, appropriate use of site planning to provide both cultural and community buildings, and the generation of new design ideas to transform the site into a public urban space. Students will have 10 minutes to present their ideas to a judging panel, which includes British Professor David Dunster of Liverpool University and Barcelona architect David Mackay, on Thursday 23rd October. Visitors at the Festival can watch the judging on Thursday afternoon. The winner will be announced at the Festival Awards Ceremony on Friday evening.

During the three days, architects from many different countries will be able to network and do business. Visitors keen to see the architectural heritage that Barcelona has to offer can take advantage of the architectural city tours who will be guided around the city by a local expert from the Collegi d' Arquitectes de Catalunya.

Architects love good products, which is why the Festival also includes a product showcase, with star products specially chosen by architects themselves.

Email: Rachel.knowles@fdtamesis.com