A record number of award entries tested the World Architecture Festival’s (WAF) definition of “shortlist” this year. The nine-year-old show recently revealed that a whopping 343 prestige projects from over 50 countries will advance to its next round of judging in Berlin this November.

The group varies in scale, style, and function, from a miniature library in the Philippines to a mountaintop museum designed by the late Zaha Hadid. But each one aspires ultimately to compete for two accolades: the World Building and Future Project of the Year awards. Once the winners have been chosen in 32 sub-categories, the finalists will be judged for these top honors.

The difference between the two is that submissions for the World Building award must be finished, while Future Project contenders do not. Last year, when the WAF was held in Singapore, World Building went to hometown hopeful Interlace, an ambitious residential development by OMA and Buro Ole Scheeren. Bjarke Ingels Group took home Future Project for the Vancouver House, a contorted urban high-rise in British Columbia.

The WAF will announce this year’s winners at its three-day event, taking place at the Arena Berlin from November 16-18.

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