Following the recent unveiling of the World Architecture Festival (WAF) shortlist, its sister event, the Inside World Festival of Interiors, has revealed its own 2019 shortlist. The awards celebrates the best, boldest, and most innovative interior designs from around the world.
Much like the WAF, the Inside World Festival of Interiors is global in scope, with the 543 shortlisted projects hailing from 70 different countries. From these, one overall winner will eventually be chosen during the three-day WAF event held in Amsterdam in December.
"Inside has been a growing part of the overall World Architecture Festival program since 2012 and continues to grow in terms of quantity and quality," says WAF program director Paul Finch. "We are delighted with the intriguing designs and geographical spread of this year's entries and look forward to the live judging in Amsterdam."
High-end Danish restaurant noma is one of the standout projects. BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) turned a former military warehouse once used to store mines for the Royal Danish Navy into a "culinary village." It contains 11 buildings, with dining areas decorated in different themes, including a barbecue area styled like a large walk-in hut, and a brick lounge that's intended to make guests feel like they're sitting cosily in an oversized fireplace.
China's Meow Restaurant, by E Studio, is notable for its sheer novelty. As its name suggests, the restaurant allows feline fans to dine among their (hopefully very well toilet trained) favorite animals in a multi-level environment that embraces cats' love of climbing and exploring.
Koichi Takada Architects designed a museum gift shop that's worthy of Jean Nouvel's stunning National Museum of Qatar. Featuring intricate curved timber walls and ceilings that draw inspiration from the Qatari desert landscape, its graceful appearance belies the 40,000 3D-modeled parts that were required to create it.
Head to the gallery to see a selection of highlights from the 2019 Inside World Festival of Interiors shortlist, including a pet-centric Chinese house, a Singapore library with an "Alice in Wonderland" themed section, and a villa by Woods Bagot that mixes old and new.