The World Architecture Festival (WAF) and World Festival of Interiors (INSIDE) Awards, the world’s biggest and most prestigious architectural and interior design awards programme, have announced the 2021 shortlist, which celebrate the best designs by today’s foremost design practices. The shortlisted projects have been selected from over 700 entries from countries ranging from China and Japan to Mexico and Ecuador.
Two Benoy projects were recognized amongst the shortlist for WAF and INSIDE Awards.
Benoy’s innovative headquarters office tower design is shortlisted for the WAF ‘Competition Entries — Future Project’ category, and the David Jones Flagship Store in Sydney, Australia is shortlisted for the INSIDE ‘Retail Interior Design’ category.
Terence Seah, Head of Hong Kong, Singapore and Shenzhen, commented,
“We are honored that our projects have been nominated as 2021 finalists out of the nearly 800 entries for the WAF and INSIDE Awards. Benoy’s two forward-looking and futureproof designs provide a unique sense of place and vitality to their communities, while shaping how residents and visitors alike see and interact with modern urban spaces.
At a time when many department stores are facing closures across the world, Benoy’s re-envisioning of the David Jones’ Elizabeth Street Flagship Store marks the start of another great chapter in its 180-year old heritage, drawing on the building’s rich design history, with its gradations of grandeur and beauty.
In applying ‘conceptual layering’, enhancing internal circulation, and curating luxurious spatial experiences, we integrated commercial problem solving into the creative design process to anticipate the evolving behaviors of today’s end-users. The rejuvenated David Jones remains a leader amongst its peers in the modern era, continuing to delight and inspire as one of the world’s leading sartorial destinations.”
Gregory Kovacs, Design Director at Benoy, added,
“These two remarkable projects are leading examples of pushing the envelope in sustainable design — socially, environmentally and commercially. For the headquarters office tower design, we envisioned a dynamic tower that seamlessly blends work, social activity, and creativity into a cohesive user experience, sheathed by an interactive façade that builds on the company’s identity and broadcasts dynamic content to the city, engaging with the local community. Through this immersive, attractive environment built for collaboration, we envision a modern beacon of community at the heart of a megacity.”
Whether realizing a new dynamic tower powered by technology and community, or breathing new life into a hundred-year old heritage building, we not only create commercially sustainable developments but create spaces that bring people together, for communities, through environmental design and‘smart’ urban development.”
About WAF & INSIDE Awards
The WAF and INSIDE Awards are two of the world’s most prestigious architectural and interior design awards. The festival and competition attract over 2,200 architects and clients from around the world each year.
As a finalist in the competition, Benoy will present the projects live during the World Architecture Festival in Lisbon in 1 – 3 December 2021 to an internationally renowned jury, vying for the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, Interior of the Year and Landscape of the Year.
