World Architecture Festival 2009

WAF is the only annual international architectural event to reward excellence in a fully interactive, inclusive live format. Through its unique entry and judging process and its cutting edge seminar and exhibition content, it is simultaneously a celebration of great architecture and an inspirational intellectual challenge to a major world profession. Put simply, it is architectural excellence, live.
The Thematic Exhibition
Less Does More
Last year’s theme was Height featuring tall buildings from around the world. This year, Less Does More will examine how creative design, imagination and innovative thinking can reduce the amount of energy, material, time and finance is needed to create buildings and cities. Architecture equals thought-informed building: a series of case studies, from small products to urban districts, will explore how cutting-edge thinking can be implemented to achieve maximum value with minimum cost. The exhibition will be complemented by a trade exhibition featuring products and technologies related to the theme; and it will be the basis for a series of linked seminars during the three-day WAF event which all visitors have access to throughout.
The thematic exhibition will relate to the following areas:
1. Materials
How fresh thinking can be applied to existing and new products and materials to achieve greater efficiency.
* Optimising use of existing materials (for example via advanced CAD)
* Recycling construction materials, building products, and waste
* Reducing requirement through sophisticated structural design
* Exploiting innovation
2. Energy
How buildings, both existing and new, can use less energy, generate less carbon, and help to generate energy.
* Energy transfer (eg advanced heat exchange)
* Conservation/insulation
* On site, nearby and micro-generation (eg solar, wind, CHP)
* City-wide strategies (eg MASDAR in Abu Dhabi, Toronto)
3. Use
How more intensive and effective use can be made of new and existing buildings, though understanding patterns of behaviour, planning and workplace strategies.
* Intensification (doing more with same amount of land/building)
* Adaptation (giving new life to the existing)
* Multiple/mixed use (bring new uses to the existing)
* Area strategies (planned across a wider area)
4. Construction
How construction products and processes can help designers achieve maximum effect by saving time and/or money.
* Technology (eg construction methods, robotics)
* Organisation (information management, remote working)
* Skills (mass labour v skilled workforce)
* Prefabrication (latest examples of products and systems)
5. Design Organisation
How architectural and design production is complementing globalised client demand and construction logistics bullet points.
* Design software
* Building information management systems
* Satellite office communication

http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com