The Top 10 Buildings of 2017

From a jewel-like cancer care center designed by Steven Holl to a playful temple for LEGO designed by Bjarke Ingels, we’re looking back on some of the year’s best buildings.

Best Buildings 2017
Bloomberg London by Foster + Partners Courtesy Nigel Young/Foster+Partners

As 2017 draws to a close, we’re looking back at this year’s biggest and best stories: from new buildings to controversies, interiors, products, and beyond. Enjoy the list below, but be sure to find our other “Top 10” lists here as they come online running up to December 31, 2017.


Most of us will be glad to bid adieu to 2017, a year whose roller-coaster news cycle was dominated by schismatic politics, social unrest, and environmental catastrophes. But good news also emerged from the tumult, from a feminist resurgence to the collective awe prompted by a solar eclipse. We at Metropolis also saw optimism in the year’s architecture. From a jewel-like free cancer care center designed by Steven Holl, to a playful temple for LEGO designed by Bjarke Ingels, to Francis Kéré’s community-focused Serpentine Pavilion, to numerous new cathedrals for the visual and performing arts, we look back on (in no particular order) some of the year’s finest buildings.

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