World Architecture Festival 2018 | Speaker line up

TIRPITZ, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group (Photography by Rasmus Hjortshoj) – discover who else is on the shortlist here

The World Architecture Festival (which kick-starts on the 30th November 2018 at its new venue Amsterdam) has confirmed it’s line up of speakers.

Dutch architect and founder of OMA, Rem Koolhaas will be giving the closing keynote address at the festival, following a stellar line-up including the likes of Sir David Adjaye, Jeanne Gang and Sir Peter Cook.

The programme will be taking advantage of its new venue, with various speakers outlining the city’s incredible transformation and how architecture has contributed to this. Dutch architects and designers confirmed to speak include the likes of Francine Houben (Founding Partner and Creative Director of Mecanoo); Kees Christiaanse (Founder of KCAP Architects and Planners) and Caroline Bos (Co-founder of UN Studio). They will also be joined by a list of established international architects including, Li Xiaodong, Chad Oppenheim (Principal of OppenheimArchitecture + Design) and John Wardle (Principal of John Wardle Architects).

Clockwise from top left: Jeanne Gang (Founding Principal, Studio Gang); Rem Koolhaas (Founder of Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)); Francine Houben (Founding Partner and Creative Director of Mecanoo); Li Xiadong (Professor of Architecture, Tsinghua University); Anni Sinnemäki (Deputy Mayor of Helsinki); Professor Sir Peter Cook (Director, CRAB Studio); Marieke van Doorninck (Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam) and Sir David Adjaye (Principal, Adjaye Associates).

Co-located with WAF – and taking place simultaneously – is the INSIDE World Festival of Interiors. INSIDE has also revealed four keynote speakers that will be headlining: India Mahdavi (principal of India Mahdavi architecture and design); Christina Seilern (Founder of Studio Seilern); Eva Jiřičná (Partner of AI – Design) and Maria Warner Wong (co-founder of WOW).

There’s also a long list of speakers from leading educational institutions, city planner and media companies which make up the WAF’s diverse speaking programme which, this year, responds to the Festival’s theme: ‘Identity.’ The festival will culminate with a live interview with Rem Koolhaas which will be conducted by the architectural historian and cultural theorist, Charles Jencks.

We’re delighted that Rem Koolhaas has joined our already stellar list of speakers for this year’s event. This is the first time we’ll be holding WAF in the Dutch capital, and just as the Dutch masters presided over a golden age of artistic endeavour and expression in the 17th century, Rem and his contemporaries have spearheaded architectural innovation that has been exported and embraced around the world. Attendees of WAF 2018 can look forward to speeches and talks from them and a wide selection of architects, designers, engineers, academics and urban planners as they articulate and interrogate challenges related to this year’s event theme – Identity”. Paul Finch, Programme Director of World Architecture Festival

Discover more about WAF here.


Looking for Something?