The Top 10 Most-Anticipated Buildings of 2018
From Zaha Hadid's soaring 1000 Museum to BIG's super-sustainable Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant, this year promises diverse, exciting new architecture.
Interior of the Amazon Spheres by NBBJ. Courtesy Jordan Stead/Amazon
While 2017 delivered landmark structures of all sizes—from the towering Elbphilharmonie by Herzog & de Meuron to the comparatively petite Dar Al Muharraq cultural center by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen—we’re just as excited about 2018. This year will certainly have its fair share of monumental cultural centers (such as #9 in our slideshow, the National Qatar Museum by Jean Nouvel Architects) but also thoughtful exercises in landscape architecture and urbanism (#8, The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates) and new takes on the corporate headquarter (#2, Amazon Spheres by NBBJ). Scroll through our full list below!
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Glenstone Museum by Thomas Phifer and Partners
The Thomas Phifer–designed museum promises not to disturb the Glenstone Foundation’s 230 acres of green pasture in Potomac, Maryland. The new 170,000-square-foot building, a collection of pavilions that expands on a small 2006 gallery by the late architect Charles Gwathmey, will offer plenty of exhibition spaces and offices for foundation staff, in addition to a visitor cafe lined with cedar and timber. At the center of the campus is a dramatic water garden. All the pavilions will be lit with natural light, which enters the galleries through well-placed oculi.Courtesy Iwan BaanGlenstone Museum by Thomas Phifer and Partners
The Thomas Phifer–designed museum promises not to disturb the Glenstone Foundation’s 230 acres of green pasture in Potomac, Maryland. The new 170,000-square-foot building, a collection of pavilions that expands on a small 2006 gallery by the late architect Charles Gwathmey, will offer plenty of exhibition spaces and offices for foundation staff, in addition to a visitor cafe lined with cedar and timber. At the center of the campus is a dramatic water garden. All the pavilions will be lit with natural light, which enters the galleries through well-placed oculi.Courtesy Iwan Baan -
Amazon Spheres by NBBJ
The focal point of Amazon’s new downtown Seattle headquarters, which encompasses 3.3 million square feet on three city blocks, are three giant glass spheres. Inside the multi-story spherical workplace are tens of thousands of plants and trees from around the world, giving employees a dense exposure to nature to help relieve stress and stimulate creativity. Moreover, it seeks to turn the company’s Seattle headquarters into “a neighborhood rather than a campus,” according to a statement made by NBBJ, the architects behind the spheres. The building opened earlier this week.Courtesy Jordan Stead/AmazonAmazon Spheres by NBBJ
The focal point of Amazon’s new downtown Seattle headquarters, which encompasses 3.3 million square feet on three city blocks, are three giant glass spheres. Inside the multi-story spherical workplace are tens of thousands of plants and trees from around the world, giving employees a dense exposure to nature to help relieve stress and stimulate creativity. Moreover, it seeks to turn the company’s Seattle headquarters into “a neighborhood rather than a campus,” according to a statement made by NBBJ, the architects behind the spheres. The building opened earlier this week.Courtesy Jordan Stead/Amazon -
1000 Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects
Set to open in December, this luxurious high-rise condominium is sure to become a Miami icon. The floor plates are mostly column-free, with the structure relegated to the exuberant, curved exoskeleton. The base of the 62-story tower will feature restaurants, event spaces, and parking. It will be crowned by an aquatic and leisure center. In between are 83 residential units of various sizes, including a duplex penthouse.Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects1000 Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects
Set to open in December, this luxurious high-rise condominium is sure to become a Miami icon. The floor plates are mostly column-free, with the structure relegated to the exuberant, curved exoskeleton. The base of the 62-story tower will feature restaurants, event spaces, and parking. It will be crowned by an aquatic and leisure center. In between are 83 residential units of various sizes, including a duplex penthouse.Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects -
V&A Dundee by Kengo Kuma and Associates
At long last, the three-story V&A Dundee Museum in Scotland will finally open this year. At the center of a massive waterfront transformation, the prow-like building has curved concrete walls which hold 2,500 precast stone panels, each weighing as much as 6,600 pounds. The building will also have 600-foot boreholes that will serve as geothermal sinks designed to cut back on the museum’s energy costs.Courtesy Ross Fraser McLeanV&A Dundee by Kengo Kuma and Associates
At long last, the three-story V&A Dundee Museum in Scotland will finally open this year. At the center of a massive waterfront transformation, the prow-like building has curved concrete walls which hold 2,500 precast stone panels, each weighing as much as 6,600 pounds. The building will also have 600-foot boreholes that will serve as geothermal sinks designed to cut back on the museum’s energy costs.Courtesy Ross Fraser McLean -
The Hunters Point Community Library by Steven Holl Architects
Located along the East River, the library is poised to become a new landmark for Queens, New York’s largest borough. Set within a public park, the reinforced concrete slab features “glazed cuts” in both its principal facades. The voids subtracted from the western facade will offer visitors impressive views of Manhattan. A reading garden will be planted on the east side.Courtesy Steven Holl ArchitectsThe Hunters Point Community Library by Steven Holl Architects
Located along the East River, the library is poised to become a new landmark for Queens, New York’s largest borough. Set within a public park, the reinforced concrete slab features “glazed cuts” in both its principal facades. The voids subtracted from the western facade will offer visitors impressive views of Manhattan. A reading garden will be planted on the east side.Courtesy Steven Holl Architects -
Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant by BIG
Copenhagen's innovative new power plant will surely set a new standard for sustainable urban architecture when it opens in September. The plant treats 400,000 tons of waste annually and supplies 50,000 households with electricity and 120,000 households with heat. In addition, the building includes a 1,640-foot-long ski slope open to the public.Courtesy BIGAmager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant by BIG
Copenhagen's innovative new power plant will surely set a new standard for sustainable urban architecture when it opens in September. The plant treats 400,000 tons of waste annually and supplies 50,000 households with electricity and 120,000 households with heat. In addition, the building includes a 1,640-foot-long ski slope open to the public.Courtesy BIG -
The National Memorial For Peace and Justice by MASS Design Group
Conceived by The Equal Justice Initiative and MASS Design Group, the memorial—the first in America dedicated to victims of lynching—sits on six acres of land in Montgomery, Alabama. The names of 4,000 lynching victims will be engraved into large concrete columns, each column representing a county in the United States where the atrocities took place.Courtesy MASS Design GroupThe National Memorial For Peace and Justice by MASS Design Group
Conceived by The Equal Justice Initiative and MASS Design Group, the memorial—the first in America dedicated to victims of lynching—sits on six acres of land in Montgomery, Alabama. The names of 4,000 lynching victims will be engraved into large concrete columns, each column representing a county in the United States where the atrocities took place.Courtesy MASS Design Group -
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
This intricate, ongoing $380-million project builds off Dan Kiley's 91-acre landscape surrounding the St. Louis Arch. Among the numerous additions and upgrades are a tiered riverfront walkway, bike paths, an expanded underground museum, and improved pedestrian connections linking the memorial to downtown. Additionally, 900 London trees have been planted in rows, a feature that restores some of Kiley's original design intent.Courtesy Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
This intricate, ongoing $380-million project builds off Dan Kiley's 91-acre landscape surrounding the St. Louis Arch. Among the numerous additions and upgrades are a tiered riverfront walkway, bike paths, an expanded underground museum, and improved pedestrian connections linking the memorial to downtown. Additionally, 900 London trees have been planted in rows, a feature that restores some of Kiley's original design intent.Courtesy Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. -
National Qatar Museum by Jean Nouvel Architects
French architect Jean Nouvel, fresh off the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, looks to complete his second cultural project in the Persian Gulf in December. The museum will be the only major arts institution dedicated to Qatari heritage, a history that, according to the NQM’s website, “hasn’t had time to leave a mental imprint.” The somewhat erratic building comprises interlocking disks, each one clad in glass-reinforced concrete.Courtesy Jean Nouvel ArchitectsNational Qatar Museum by Jean Nouvel Architects
French architect Jean Nouvel, fresh off the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, looks to complete his second cultural project in the Persian Gulf in December. The museum will be the only major arts institution dedicated to Qatari heritage, a history that, according to the NQM’s website, “hasn’t had time to leave a mental imprint.” The somewhat erratic building comprises interlocking disks, each one clad in glass-reinforced concrete.Courtesy Jean Nouvel Architects -
Menil Drawing Institute by Johnston Marklee
This thoughtfully scaled project will open on the Menil Collection’s Houston campus later in the year. The institute is unique in that it will be devoted exclusively to the study and preservation of modern drawings. The building design responds to these fragile contents—it features a white steel-plate roof with wide overhangs to keep out 90 percent of natural light. Beautiful tree-filled courtyards, two of which serve as entrances to the facility, anchor the institute.Courtesy Johnston MarkleeMenil Drawing Institute by Johnston Marklee
This thoughtfully scaled project will open on the Menil Collection’s Houston campus later in the year. The institute is unique in that it will be devoted exclusively to the study and preservation of modern drawings. The building design responds to these fragile contents—it features a white steel-plate roof with wide overhangs to keep out 90 percent of natural light. Beautiful tree-filled courtyards, two of which serve as entrances to the facility, anchor the institute.Courtesy Johnston Marklee
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Categories: Architecture
