Here’s a list of ten of the coolest buildings I’ve seen in my architectural travels:
1. McCormick Tribune Campus Center by Rem Koolhaas
Chicago, United States
This building is just fantastic, the way it weaves the campus together and integrates the train line… I’ll have to elaborate in another post!
2. Cable Railway by Zaha Hadid
Innsbruck, Austria
This series of alpine funicular stations by Zaha Hadid are just spectacular, each has it’s own unique and engaging form perfectly crafted from curvilinear glass panels. Amazing!
3. Kolumba Museum by Peter Zumpthor
Koln, Germany
This museum sits lightly on ancient ruins and the gallery spaces above are just spectacular. The materiality and quality of light have to be seen to be believed.
4. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry
Bilbao, Spain
This may be an obvious choice but walking down into the entry ‘canyon’ is an exhilarating and emotional experience. Some of Gehry’s works can feel like bits of twisted steel, but this one is a masterpiece.
5. School of the Arts by WOHA
Singapore, Singapore
This strength of this arts school building is in the purity of it’s parti diagram: a secure strata for schoolkids above, stacked on a series of public performing arts spaces below. The building is draped in verdant greenery and designed for shade and natural ventilation- perfect for it’s tropical locale.
6. La Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi
Barcelona, Spain
I’ve been back to La Sagrada Familia 3 times. The first time I was stunned by the ornate carvings and formal expressionism of the exterior. The second time the spectacular interiors had just been opened to the public and the incredible space nearly brought me to tears. On my third visit, I was overwhelmed by the incomprehensible masses of tourists! Nonetheless, this is one of the most incredible buildings ever conceived and I can’t wait to visit once it’s (finally) completed!
7. Garden of the Fine Arts by Tadao Ando
Kyoto, Japan
Ando has so many stunning buildings but this one is my favourite by far. Located in a quiet area of Kyoto along the river, this open-air museum consists of dramatic forms and shapes all crafted in Ando’s signature perfectly smooth concrete. The artwork on display is digital ceramic print reproductions of some of the world’s best art and supposed to last for hundreds of years, quite a different take on a museum collection.
8. Chandigarh Capitol Complex & City Plan by Le Corbusier
Chandigarh, India
If you’re a Corbusier fan, Chandigarh is a must see. Every detail of the city from the spectacular Capitol Complex to many of the everyday buildings, furniture and even manhole covers were designed by Le Corbusier himself or Pierre Jeanneret. Absolutely fascinating to explore, if you can deal with a bit of India’s infamous bureaucracy.
9. City of Arts & Sciences by Santiago Calatrava
Valencia, Spain
The only thing more spectacular than a building by Calatrava is a complex with more than 5 of them (if you count the nearby train station). I spent an entire day just looking at all the details, forms and vantage points.
10. Hotel Therme Vals by Peter Zumpthor
Vals, Switzerland
Therme Vals is a well known architectural masterpiece, but how many masterpieces do you get to literally immerse yourself in for days? A stay in the hotel here with a day in the various spa pools and it’s like stepping into the alternate reality of Zumpthor’s mind. Archi mecca.
What are your favourite buildings?
Images by Jonathan Choe
