The World Architecture Festival 2026 shortlist has been announced, bringing together 416 architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and future projects from around the world.
Selected from more than 630 entries, the WAF 2026 shortlist spans creative re-use, housing, hotels, education, healthcare, sports and cultural buildings. The finalists will present their projects live to an international judging panel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 18 to 20 November 2026.
The announcement offers a broad view of contemporary architecture and design, combining completed buildings with interiors, landscape projects and proposals that respond to changing environmental and social priorities.
Which architects are shortlisted for WAF 2026?
Among the practices represented in the World Architecture Festival shortlist are Foster + Partners, Snøhetta, Herzog & de Meuron, Coldefy, Grimshaw, Sanjay Puri Architects, Perkins&Will and Woods Bagot, alongside a new generation of emerging studios.
Practices from the United States have the highest representation, with China, India, the UK and Australia also among the most strongly represented countries. The mix of established names and smaller firms remains a central part of the festival’s identity, bringing major international studios into conversation with practices entering the awards for the first time.
Completed buildings, interiors and landscape projects
The completed building shortlist includes 205 projects, ranging from an immersive tropical clubhouse in Vietnam and a landmark fish market in Sydney to a 1.2-acre oceanfront park in Florida.
The 48 shortlisted interior design projects include an off-grid wildlife sanctuary and guest lodge in South Africa and a rooftop bar in Bangkok.
Landscape architecture is represented by 12 shortlisted schemes. These include a bamboo landmark in the Philippines and a Vietnamese clubhouse conceived as a living organism. Together, the shortlisted projects reflect the breadth of international architecture in 2026, moving between public buildings, hospitality, housing, commercial spaces and environmentally focused design.
What future projects are included in the WAF 2026 shortlist?
The festival also showcases architecture that has yet to be built. This year’s 151 shortlisted future projects include a climate-responsive house in Mumbai and a proposed children’s hospital in Texas. The selection offers a glimpse of how architects are responding to rising temperatures, healthcare needs, urban growth and changing expectations around public and private space.
These future architecture projects will be judged alongside completed buildings, with finalists presenting the thinking, design process and intended impact behind each scheme.
How are the World Architecture Festival awards judged?
World Architecture Festival hosts what it describes as the world’s largest live-judged architecture awards programme.
Rather than assessing projects solely through submitted material, the WAF finalists present their work in person. During the festival, projects will be judged across 43 award categories before category winners compete for the overall World Building, Landscape, Future Project and Interior Project of the Year titles.
A judging panel of 164 experts from 37 countries will assess the shortlisted projects. This year’s judges include Peter Cook, founder of Peter Cook Studio Crablab, Kai-Uwe Bergmann of BIG, Olga Bolshanina of Herzog & de Meuron and architect Cazú Zegers.
Alongside the live awards programme, WAF will host keynote talks, an exhibition, workshops, architecture tours and networking events.
Commenting on this year’s shortlist, WAF programme director Paul Finch said: “WAF continues to thrive with more than 630 entries to the Awards programme this year, despite global challenges. As ever, the combination of major practices and smaller firms, perhaps entering WAF for the first time, is refreshing, and the shortlisting judges were impressed by the design standards of the selected entries. We have also shortlisted designs for a host of special prizes, which will make for a stimulating set of presentations to our international judges in Fort Lauderdale this November.”
When and where is World Architecture Festival 2026?
World Architecture Festival 2026 takes place from 18 to 20 November 2026 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Now in its 19th edition, the international architecture festival returns to the United States following previous events in Miami, Singapore, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Berlin.
