The World’s Best Architecture of 2025

Renowned International Festival Hits Miami

Story and photography courtesy of World Architecture Festival

In November of 2025, Miami hosted the World Architecture Festival (WAF), welcoming the world’s leading architects and designers to the Miami Beach Convention Center for three days of talks, programs, awards, exhibitions, tours, and other events. WAF is where the world architecture community meets to celebrate, learn, exchange, and be inspired. The 2025 festival showcased leading international practices, the best new projects, and the most pressing live debates.

Key speakers and judges at the inaugural edition included Dawn Gunter of Gensler, Bernardo Fort Brescia of Arquitectonica, and Viviana Muscettola of Zaha Hadid Architects. The shortlist for awards also featured a few Florida-based projects, including the Van der Vlugt Residence in Key Largo, Island Oasis in Sanibel, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower Expansion at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. In total, the three-day festival featured over 460 live pitches from the 2025 finalists, presented to over 160 international judges.

Patios House by Studio MK27 was highly commended by judges in the Interiors category at the World Architecture Festival 2025 in Miami. Photo by Pedro Kok

Category winners from Day One and Day Two competed against each other on the final day of the festival, on November 14, for the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and World Interior of the Year. All of the overall winners were announced at a grand finale Gala Dinner, along with a host of Special Prizes, including the Sustainability Prize, supported by ROCKWOOL.

Day One saw shortlisted projects from around the world compete across twenty-two award categories within Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Interiors. Award winners included WOW Architects, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Batlleiroig, and Perkins&Will.

Judges of this year’s Completed Buildings categories said, “The play and control of daylight, of sound, and of the tactility of materials are all exemplary,” while those judging the Future Projects praised the entrants’ ambition, integration of landscaping, sustainability goals, and “respectful acknowledgement of a city’s history while embracing its contemporary design and music culture.”

World Interior of the Year
FRACTAL CHAPEL by INNOCAD. Photo by Paul Ott

The Interiors category awarded the top Hotels commendation to Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree by WOW Architects | Warner Wong Design in Singapore. Meanwhile, ADND SILO by ADND LLP in Mumbai and the Acciona Campus by Perkins&Will in Madrid took the top spots in the small and large Workplace categories, respectively.

The second round of award winners was announced following Day Two of the world’s largest international live-judged architectural event, with shortlisted projects from around the world competing for twenty-one additional categories within Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Interiors. Award winners include OMA, Sordo Madaleno, Studio Arthur Casas, and NIKKEN SEKKEI.

WAFX Winner
Regenerative Tree by NIKKEN SEKKEI.
Photo by NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD.

Judges of Day Two’s Future Projects categories commented, “This conceptual project addresses a sensitive issue of inequality through a smart and creative strategy,” and “the project’s ambition is impressive, and the architect’s empathetic understanding of place and culture comes through in multiple ways.” The Interiors entries were lauded for excellent use of mixing modern technology with traditional construction techniques, as well as “transcending the boundaries of art and science.”

Day Three of the festival culminated in the Gala Dinner, where the ultimate accolades of World Building of the Year supported by GROHE, World Interior of the Year, Future Project of the Year, and Landscape of the Year were announced. A host of Special Prizes, including the American Beauty Prize supported by the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, were also announced at the closing event to celebrate the eighteenth edition of the festival.

The Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre of Las Chumberas by Fernando Menis in La Laguna, Spain, was declared the World Building of the Year. The project catalyses urban renewal in its neglected outskirts neighborhood, rising as a landmark in a fragmented built landscape. The site includes a church, a community center, and a public square, providing a vital gathering space for the locals.

Fernando Menis, founder of Fernando Menis Architecture, said, “Winning is a great gift, not only for me but also for the church neighbourhood, which will now be recognized beyond Tenerife. Over the last three days in Miami, I have had the opportunity to travel to a new place, connect with friends, and be part of the global architecture community.”

Landscape of the Year
Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor by Turenscape.
Photo by Turenscape.

“The judges particularly admired the intensity of the architecture and the way light has been used to shape the quality and character of the interiors, enhancing the tactile nature of the surfaces,” commented Paul Finch, WAF program director. “The building manages to masterfully accommodate symbolic and everyday needs of the community of which the architect is a part. The project has become a fine addition to the architecture of Tenerife.”

World Interior of the Year went to FRACTAL CHAPEL by INNOCAD architecture in Graz, Austria. Located at a state hospital in Graz and hosted by the Protestant Church, the chapel serves as a serene retreat for patients, staff, and visitors. The design is grounded in current neuroscience and environmental psychology research, integrating biophilic elements and fractal patterns to create a peaceful, emotionally resonant space. These elements work together to promote well-being, reduce stress, and foster calm in the demanding hospital environment.

Blending traditional craftsmanship with modern innovation, the Gelephu International Airport by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is Bhutan’s second international gateway and the Future Project of the Year winner at WAF 2025. Strategically located near the Bhutan-India border and the Paitha River and set to open in 2029, the airport will celebrate Bhutanese culture by showcasing regional crafts, and is designed to instill mindfulness in travelers through natural lighting, a grand triple-height entry, skylights, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Indoor and outdoor lounges offer spaces for yoga, gong baths, and meditation, reflecting Bhutan’s commitment to well-being and happiness.

African Flow by Urbanitree was a highlight of the Completed Buildings entries at WAF 2025.
Photo by Adrià Goula.

Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor by Turenscape in Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, China, took home the title of Landscape of the Year. It revitalizes a 102-hectare floodplain, transforming it into a vibrant ecological and recreational space. Utilizing sponge city principles, the project enhances flood resilience, restores native habitats, and offers year-round public access. Rather than resisting seasonal floods, the design embraces water as a dynamic force, integrating it into the landscape to support biodiversity and urban resilience.

Populus by Studio Gang was highly commended in the Completed Buildings category.
Photo by Jason O’Rear.

Other Special Prizes awarded at the gala included the American Beauty Prize, Best Use of Color, Best Use of Natural Light, Best Use of Stone, Best Use of Timber, Small Project of the Year, Student Charette Prize, Sustainability Prize, the GROHE Water Prize, the 40 Under 40 North America list, and the WAFX Prize supported by Dyson, which recognizes future projects that best use design and architecture to tackle major world issues, including health, climate change, technology, ethics and values. The WAFX winner was Regenerative Tree, a next-generation skyscraper by NIKKEN SEKKEI.

Each World Architecture Festival showcases new innovations and celebrates new designs. But more than that, it’s a chance for the leaders of design to come together to exchange ideas, discuss global issues, and work together to build a more beautiful, harmonious world.

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For more details on the 2025 World Architecture Festival and future events, visit WorldArchitectureFestival.com and follow @worldarchfest.