7 New Architectural Projects That Are Making Our Cities Shine
May 26, 2017
No city is static—and a changing skyline is one of the most telling indications of urban dynamism. In the spirit of all things onwards-and-upwards, we’re celebrating seven of the year’s most creative, innovative, and just plain good-lookin’ architectural projects around the globe. From museums and railway stations to gardens—and even office spaces—they’re transforming our cities one structure at a time.
1. NAPOLI AFRAGOLA RAILWAY STATION, ITALY: Though the boundary-breaking starchitect Zaha Hadid sadly passed away unexpectedly in 2016, her firm's ongoing global projects are still in the midst of transforming our cities for the better. One highlight is this long-awaited high-speed rail station in Naples, Italy, set to make its debut in June (fingers crossed). Passengers will soon be able to hop aboard a lightning-quick train to Rome (or linger in the soaring, sunlight-filled station and shopping arcade while they wait).
Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
2. SEOUL SKYGARDEN, SOUTH KOREA: There's nothing we love more than some good old-fashioned urban upcycling, which is why we're considering booking tickets to Seoul to check out this month's launch of the Seoul Skygarden. Described as a Korean take on New York's hugely popular High Line, the architectural project consists of a former elevated highway transformed into a sprawling public park, complete with over 250 species of plants. As its architectural firm MVRDV says, the project "hopes to build on the city's ambition to be greener, more attractive and more user-friendly." Can't argue with that.
Image courtesy of MVRDV.
3. LEGO HOUSE, DENMARK: Billund, Denmark is the lucky recipient of the LEGO House, a new Bjarke Ingels Group project that's exactly what its name suggests. Set to open its doors in late September, the sprawling LEGO House will be a multi-level destination for kids and LEGO lovers of all ages, complete with creative play areas, a masterpiece gallery, and rooftop hangouts. Best of all, the building looks like a pile of 21 super-sized LEGO Bricks. Talk about form meeting function.
Image courtesy of LEGO.
4. ZEITZ MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA: Just like the Tate Modern in London, the soon-to-debut Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town chose a rather nontraditional setting for its HQ. That is, a repurposed grain silo complex right on the city's waterfront. Heatherwick Studio is behind the ambitious architectural project, which will transform the 1921 landmark into a sprawling 102,000 square-foot museum dedicated to African and African Diaspora artworks.
Image courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.
5. LOUVRE ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: It's not every day that the world gets a new Louvre—especially since this project, originally slated for 2012, is a good five years behind schedule. But with luck, 2017 will be the year that the Louvre Abu Dhabi finally opens its doors. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the ultra-modern exterior, complete with gleaming white façade, looks almost like a starship come to land on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island. But look closer, and you'll see that details like the geometric openings on its roof evoke traditional Middle Eastern construction.
Image courtesy of TDIC, Architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel.
6. APPLE PARK, CALIFORNIA, USA: Leave it to Silicon Valley to commission one of 2017's most avant-garde architectural projects. Apple is iconic for its sleek design sensibility, so it's hardly a surprise that its new Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California have some seriously impressive aesthetics. The 175-acre campus, designed by Foster + Partners to house 12,000 workers, is envisioned as a "center for creativity and collaboration." That mission is reflected (no pun intended) in its ring-shaped building, which is clad in gigantic panels of curved glass and looks out onto surrounding parklands.
Image courtesy of Apple.
7. 56 LEONARD, NEW YORK CITY, USA: New York's vertiginous skyline is gaining one more lofty entry this year, in the form of 56 Leonard. Groundbreaking firm Herzog + de Meuron is behind this eyebrow-raising skyscraper, which Curbed describes as a "Jenga-like glass tower." And that's not the residential building's only playful flourish: Its entrance will also feature an integrated Anish Kapoor sculpture that bears more than a passing resemblance to Chicago's Cloud Gate.
Image courtesy of Alexcio Group.
1. NAPOLI AFRAGOLA RAILWAY STATION, ITALY: Though the boundary-breaking starchitect Zaha Hadid sadly passed away unexpectedly in 2016, her firm's ongoing global projects are still in the midst of transforming our cities for the better. One highlight is this long-awaited high-speed rail station in Naples, Italy, set to make its debut in June (fingers crossed). Passengers will soon be able to hop aboard a lightning-quick train to Rome (or linger in the soaring, sunlight-filled station and shopping arcade while they wait).
Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.
2. SEOUL SKYGARDEN, SOUTH KOREA: There's nothing we love more than some good old-fashioned urban upcycling, which is why we're considering booking tickets to Seoul to check out this month's launch of the Seoul Skygarden. Described as a Korean take on New York's hugely popular High Line, the architectural project consists of a former elevated highway transformed into a sprawling public park, complete with over 250 species of plants. As its architectural firm MVRDV says, the project "hopes to build on the city's ambition to be greener, more attractive and more user-friendly." Can't argue with that.
Image courtesy of MVRDV.
3. LEGO HOUSE, DENMARK: Billund, Denmark is the lucky recipient of the LEGO House, a new Bjarke Ingels Group project that's exactly what its name suggests. Set to open its doors in late September, the sprawling LEGO House will be a multi-level destination for kids and LEGO lovers of all ages, complete with creative play areas, a masterpiece gallery, and rooftop hangouts. Best of all, the building looks like a pile of 21 super-sized LEGO Bricks. Talk about form meeting function.
Image courtesy of LEGO.
4. ZEITZ MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA: Just like the Tate Modern in London, the soon-to-debut Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town chose a rather nontraditional setting for its HQ. That is, a repurposed grain silo complex right on the city's waterfront. Heatherwick Studio is behind the ambitious architectural project, which will transform the 1921 landmark into a sprawling 102,000 square-foot museum dedicated to African and African Diaspora artworks.
Image courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.
5. LOUVRE ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: It's not every day that the world gets a new Louvre—especially since this project, originally slated for 2012, is a good five years behind schedule. But with luck, 2017 will be the year that the Louvre Abu Dhabi finally opens its doors. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the ultra-modern exterior, complete with gleaming white façade, looks almost like a starship come to land on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island. But look closer, and you'll see that details like the geometric openings on its roof evoke traditional Middle Eastern construction.
Image courtesy of TDIC, Architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel.
6. APPLE PARK, CALIFORNIA, USA: Leave it to Silicon Valley to commission one of 2017's most avant-garde architectural projects. Apple is iconic for its sleek design sensibility, so it's hardly a surprise that its new Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California have some seriously impressive aesthetics. The 175-acre campus, designed by Foster + Partners to house 12,000 workers, is envisioned as a "center for creativity and collaboration." That mission is reflected (no pun intended) in its ring-shaped building, which is clad in gigantic panels of curved glass and looks out onto surrounding parklands.
Image courtesy of Apple.
7. 56 LEONARD, NEW YORK CITY, USA: New York's vertiginous skyline is gaining one more lofty entry this year, in the form of 56 Leonard. Groundbreaking firm Herzog + de Meuron is behind this eyebrow-raising skyscraper, which Curbed describes as a "Jenga-like glass tower." And that's not the residential building's only playful flourish: Its entrance will also feature an integrated Anish Kapoor sculpture that bears more than a passing resemblance to Chicago's Cloud Gate.
Image courtesy of Alexcio Group.
