The world’s newest architectural landmarks include a birdhouse-covered hotel suite suspended in Sweden’s Harads forest; the $230 million transformation of a naval bunker into an arts complex in Sydney, Australia; and a futuristic sports stadium in Zhejiang Province, China, designed to mimic the nearby mountainous terrain, according to Architectural Digest (AD).
These designs are three of the 20 “Works of Wonder” selected by the magazine’s team of global editors, featured in the March issue.
“The WOW List is a moment of global recognition for projects that are reshaping our world – whether through their ingenuity, sustainable innovations or sheer imagination,” Amy Astley, global editorial director of AD, said via email.
Each year AD selects impressive new structures with cultural impact, with the last year’s list featuring Frank Gehry’s multidisciplinary arts center Luma Arles in France and Open Architecture’s otherworldly concert hall Chapel of Sound in China.
This year’s list includes top new destinations for fashion, retail and dining, including Christian Dior’s renovated gallery-atelier in Paris and Maison Owl restaurant in Ube, Japan. There is no shortage of spaces dedicated to art, from the new Edvard Munch museum in Oslo to the MAP Museum of Art & Photography in Bengaluru, India.
One standout project is artist Michael Heizer’s mile-long conceptual installation called “City,” according to Marina Hemonet, AD’s head of editorial content in France. The enigmatic site took half a century to build in the Nevada desert and is “breathtaking,” she said.
Hemonet also pointed to Budapest’s Hungarian House of Music, a performance venue with a lotus root-like roof that features 145 openings to allow light and trees to be integrated into the space, as another favorite.
Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the “fully translucent façade merges the exterior with the interior,” she described, calling it “a project in total harmony with nature.”
In Gujarat, India, Rajeev Kathpalia’s Smritivan Earthquake Memorial and Museum also combines architecture and environment on a sprawling 470-acre site. A tribute to the victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the building features water reservoirs bearing their names.
The memorial is “a union of architecture and landscape, (and) ecology and biodiversity,” according to Komal Sharma, head of editorial content for AD India. “It’s such a good and rare case study of something built over so many years and in such beautiful alignment with nature.”
Altogether, the 20 projects represent much more than just design innovation, explains Katia Conteras, AD’s head of editorial content in Mexico and Latin America. They illustrate how architecture can be used as “a powerful tool to create community, preserve cultural diversity, celebrate art and promote care for our natural heritage”.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
