World Architecture Festival 2025 Highlights

The World Architecture Festival wrapped up in Miami with a gala at the Miami Beach Convention Center, handing out top awards across architecture, interiors, future projects, and landscapes. Over 460 projects competed, and the winners show a push toward designs that mix community needs with smart tectonics. Luster Magazine called the theme “Hearts and Minds,” pointing to projects that repair social gaps.

World Building of the Year: Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre

Fernando Menis’s Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre in La Laguna, Spain, took the top building prize. Built in four phases over 16 years on donations, it includes a church, community center, and public square in a rundown neighborhood. Rough concrete walls mixed with volcanic stones echo Tenerife’s terrain, handle acoustics like an opera house, and let in light through narrow cracks and a cross-shaped overhead opening. Archinect quotes judges praising how light shapes the tactile interiors for reflection and daily use. Time Out notes the super jury included Harvard’s Victoria Wiley.

World Interior of the Year: FRACTAL CHAPEL

INNOCAD Architecture’s FRACTAL CHAPEL in Austria won best interior. This 350-square-foot hospital space uses fractal patterns from neuroscience research with the University of Oregon to calm visitors. Wood dominates, with a double-height volume, full glass facade, and 26-foot sculpted walnut-root altar. Archinect details how patterns and light play off each other for emotional relief.

Future Project of the Year: Gelephu International Airport

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group’s Gelephu International Airport in Bhutan grabbed future project honors. Set to open in 2029 as Bhutan’s second international hub, it starts with 123 daily flights and eyes 5.5 million passengers by 2065. Timber grids carved in Bhutanese style control humidity and natural light, with spots for yoga and gong baths. Time Out highlights the focus on passenger flow and local craft.

Landscape of the Year: Embracing Flood

Turenscape’s Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor in China’s Jiangxi Province won landscape. It turns flood risks into green infrastructure. Miami Living Magazine lists it alongside the supreme awards from the gala.

Other Category Winners

American Beauty Prize: Isla Intersections Supportive Housing by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (Los Angeles)
Best Use of Colour: Alibaba Xixi Tech Campus Landscape by ASPECT Studios (Hangzhou, China)
Best Use of Natural Light: Redhill Early Learning Center by Hubo Studio (Johannesburg)
Best Use of Stone: Dialogue with Nature – Commune Store by Atelier Global Limited (Fujian, China)
Best Use of Timber: Quinta De Adorigo Winery by Atelier Sergio Rebelo (Portugal)
Small Project of the Year: Holy Redeemer Church (again)
Sustainability Prize: 1265 Borregas by MGA and SERA Architects (Sunnyvale, CA)
GROHE Water Prize: ‘waterspaces’ by Rizoma del agua (Mexico City)
WAFX Prize: Regenerative Tree by Nikken Sekkei

All from Archinect’s full roundup and Miami Living.