Building and Construction

The 2023 WAF World Building of the Year has been revealed. China's Huizhen High School, by Approach Design Studio and Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group, was given the nod for its unusual student-focused design.

The recently completed PituRooms in Indonesia has to be one of the skinniest hotels in the world. Designed by Sahabat Selojene, it has a width of just 280 cm and provides an excellent example of overcoming a very challenging inner-city plot.

It has been a crazy year for Saudi Arabian architecture, but the country isn't done surprising us yet. Plans have now been revealed for an unusual hexagonal hotel that will be nestled into the rugged desert landscape.

The River Forest Lookout puts shipping container-based architecture on a pedestal – literally. It takes the form of a fire lookout tower-style design that consists of two containers raised 60 ft above the forest floor in rural Georgia.

It's a challenge to fit a viable house into a length of just 6 m, but with its Golden Hour, Baluchon has managed it while also finding space to add a few home comforts, including a custom kitchen and a loft bedroom with enough headroom to stand up.

Work has begun on a new high-rise by MVRDV. Named La Serre, it will be defined by a steel grid facade that will host hundreds of trees and plants, allowing every resident to enjoy a greenery filled balcony or terrace area.

Heatherwick Studio has completed a new district in Tokyo. Named Azabudai Hills, it showcases the firm's penchant for inserting lush greenery into its projects and is defined by complex dramatically curving latticed forms.

Building a wall by stacking randomly shaped boulders could almost be the definition of hard work – both physically and mentally. It's the sort of thing we might want robots to do, so it should come as no surprise that one has in fact just done it.

MVRDV and Space Encounters have revealed plans for a new high-rise development that will offer an impressive degree of sustainability. It will be mostly constructed from timber and is expected to harvest more solar energy than it requires.

New Zealand's Raglan Tiny Homes offers something a little different with its recently completed model, the Beach. Featuring a compact interior layout, the non-towable tiny house embraces indoor-outdoor living with a part-enclosed deck area.

BambuBuild, working with architecture firm Tran Ba Tiep, was commissioned to create a visually impressive and environmentally friendly centerpiece of a large restaurant. The team has risen to the occasion with an intricate bamboo dining hall.

Concrete may seem strong, but it can be surprisingly vulnerable to the elements. Now researchers at Drexel University have demonstrated a type of self-healing concrete embedded with “BioFibers” that use bacteria to patch up cracks as they form.