L'architecture est un art, et comme toute forme d'art, elle évolue au fil des ans. Certains styles et périodes architecturaux sont des produits naturels et directs de l'époque au cours de laquelle ils ont vu le jour. L'école du Bauhaus, par exemple, a vu le jour en 1919 et a été façonnée en partie par la fin récente de la Première Guerre mondiale et la montée de l'industrialisation. Caractérisé par l'accent mis sur les arts appliqués et le mélange des formes d'art, le Bauhaus visait à faire les choses différemment et à défier efficacement le statu quo par le biais de l'art pendant une période de malaise politique.
Pendant ce temps, d'autres vagues de mouvements artistiques ont peut-être ouvert la voie et façonné la société en conséquence. Un exemple ici pourrait être l'exposition universelle de New York en 1939. Une exposition de plusieurs jours qui visait à imaginer l'avenir de l'art et de l'architecture, on pourrait affirmer que la foire elle-même a influencé ce qui allait arriver en présentant des possibilités quelque peu réalistes et en les laissant tiens bon.
Indépendamment de ce qui peut influencer des périodes particulières de l'architecture, chaque bâtiment, résidence ou construction est autant un produit de son époque qu'il est le produit de décisions uniques et de choix stylistiques qui ont été faits spécifiquement pour ce travail. C'est cette convergence de tendances globales et de choix créatifs projet par projet moins prévisibles qui rend l'exploration de jalons architecturaux historiques si fascinante à explorer, en particulier dans le contexte de nos propres vies.
Stacker a compilé une liste des moments et des jalons architecturaux les plus remarquables des 100 dernières années. Nous avons examiné des articles de presse, des revues d'art et des ressources historiques supplémentaires pour identifier une étape importante de la construction ou de l'architecture pour chaque année de 1920 à 2019. Lisez la suite pour en savoir plus sur l'évolution de l'architecture internationale au cours du siècle dernier.
1 / 100 Situé à côté de la tombe des soldats inconnus au cimetière national d'Arlington en Virginie, l'amphithéâtre commémoratif est un lieu de rencontre pour les services et cérémonies commémoratifs, y compris les cérémonies annuelles du jour du souvenir et de la journée des anciens combattants. La cérémonie d'inauguration de l'amphithéâtre commémoratif d'Arlington a eu lieu le 1er mars 1915 et, en octobre de la même année, le président Woodrow Wilson a posé la première pierre de la structure, qui contenait, entre autres, une Bible, des copies de la déclaration d'indépendance et la Constitution, un drapeau américain et une photographie dédicacée de Wilson. Conçu par Thomas Hastings, l'amphithéâtre à colonnades a été construit avec du marbre de la carrière Vermont Danby, qui est l'une des plus grandes carrières de marbre souterraines au monde.
2 / 100 En 1917, l'architecte allemand Erich Mendelsohn a été chargé par l'astrophysicien Erwin Finlay Freundlich de concevoir une structure qui servirait de centre de recherche et de laboratoire tout en capturant l'étendue des concepts einsteiniens, y compris la théorie de la relativité. La construction qui en a résulté - la petite mais excentrique tour Einstein - consistait en une tour d'observation centrale entourée de laboratoires en plate-forme. Bien que la structure devienne un exemple emblématique de l'architecture expressionniste allemande, l'exécution par Mendelsohn de sa conception audacieuse n'était pas sans complications. Alors que le jeune architecte avait prévu de construire la tour Einstein en utilisant du béton armé sculpté, des problèmes structurels combinés à des pénuries de béton après la Première Guerre mondiale ont forcé Mendelsohn à remplacer à contrecœur et à la hâte son matériau principal par de la brique recouverte de stuc. Incapable de modifier ses conceptions originales pour répondre au changement de matériau, le célèbre travail de Mendelsohn nécessiterait finalement de fréquentes réparations au fil des ans.
3 / 100 Böttcherstraße, ou "Cooper's Street", est une rue de 100 mètres de long située à Brême, en Allemagne, qui relie la place du marché et la rivière Weser. Böttcherstraße est connue pour son architecture éclectique, dont la plupart se caractérise par un style brique expressionniste. Aujourd'hui, l'étroite ruelle abrite plusieurs cafés, musées et boutiques qui en font une destination touristique populaire, mais au début du 21e siècle, le quartier était dans un état lamentable. Ce n'est qu'après l'apparition du négociant en café (et inventeur du café décaféiné) Ludwig Roselius que les choses se sont améliorées. En 1902, Roselius achète sa première maison dans la rue et continue d'acheter le reste des maisons le long de la ruelle jusqu'en 1922, date à laquelle il commence officiellement à démolir et à reconstruire la rue en un centre artistique et culturel.
4 / 100 Construite par l'architecte Auguste Perret - qui était particulièrement minimaliste en matière de décoration, privilégiant plutôt les considérations structurelles - l'église Norte Dame du Raincy a été le premier édifice religieux en France à être construit en ciment. Bien que le matériau ait été considéré comme quelque peu non conventionnel et potentiellement sacrilège pour un lieu de culte, il a également été reconnu comme une option pratique dans les années qui ont suivi la Première Guerre mondiale grâce à son faible coût.
5 / 100 Truus Schröder était une pharmacienne et mondaine néerlandaise qui, peu de temps après avoir perdu son mari, a décidé de collaborer avec le designer Gerrit Rietveld à la construction d'une maison non conventionnelle pour elle et ses trois enfants. Les deux ont commencé à travailler ensemble en 1923 sur ce qui allait devenir l'une des incarnations les plus emblématiques du mouvement artistique de Stijl, qui se caractérise par l'utilisation de couleurs primaires, un plan d'étage ouvert et un flou des frontières entre les espaces intérieurs et extérieurs. . Aujourd'hui, la maison, située à Utrecht, est un site du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO.
6 / 100 Lorsque l'Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (ou Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs modernes et industriels) s'est tenue à Paris en 1925, elle a ouvert un nouveau chapitre de l'art et du design, en France et au-delà. Le terme « Art déco » a été inventé pour représenter le nouveau style présenté à l'exposition ; celui qui était caractérisé par des formes et des lignes simples mais riches et parfois des matériaux extravagants ou flashy (par exemple, le chrome ou le cristal). Le nouveau style allait façonner les œuvres de nombreux architectes importants, dont L. Murray Dixon, qui a largement façonné l'esthétique Art déco de Miami Beach, et Erich Mendelsohn, considéré comme un pionnier de cette école de design.
[Photo :La fontaine Lalique à l'Exposition internationale des arts industriels et décoratifs modernes à Paris en 1925.]
7 / 100 Bien que l'architecte espagnol soit né à Tarragone, l'architecture non conventionnelle d'Antoni Gaudí est davantage associée à Barcelone. Connu pour son approche unique du design, Gaudí a juxtaposé des lignes fantaisistes et organiques avec des formes géométriques et des couleurs infusées grâce à l'utilisation de carreaux multicolores. Les célèbres œuvres et structures de l'architecte, de la Casa Vicens au Park Güell, ont ouvert la voie à un mouvement artistique et architectural appelé modernisme catalan - mieux connu sous le nom d'Art nouveau - qui privilégie l'asymétrie et l'inspiration de la nature. Fervent catholique, Gaudí était surnommé "l'architecte de Dieu". Le 7 juin 1926, alors que Gaudí se rendait aux aveux, l'architecte fut heurté par un tramway, un accident qui se solda par sa mort quelques jours plus tard à l'hôpital de la Santa Creu. L'une des œuvres les plus célèbres de Gaudí, l'emblématique basilique catholique romaine Sagrada Família, a été laissée inachevée à la mort du célèbre architecte et reste en construction à ce jour. Le projet devrait être achevé d'ici 2026.
8 / 100 Anciennement connu sous le nom de Majestic Yosemite Hotel, l'Ahwahnee a été construit à l'origine dans le but d'attirer des clients riches et célèbres, un objectif qu'il a très certainement atteint avec des visiteurs tels que la reine Elizabeth II, Walt Disney et Barack Obama. L'hôtel est un exemple clair d'un style architectural appelé National Park Service rustic, ou "Parkitecture", qui se caractérise par l'objectif d'un bâtiment de se fondre parfaitement dans l'environnement naturel afin de ne pas perturber son environnement.
9 / 100 L'architecte français d'origine suisse Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, mieux connu sous le pseudonyme de Le Corbusier, était à l'avant-garde du style international en architecture. Cette école de design particulière se caractérise par l'utilisation de matériaux industriels - par exemple, l'utilisation de l'acier et du béton - et un manque général d'accents ornementaux. Ce mouvement moderniste a ouvert la voie à la fondation par Le Corbusier du CIAM, ou des Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. L'organisation d'architectes visait à faire entrer la conception des bâtiments et l'urbanisme dans une nouvelle ère en préconisant une approche plus structurée, par exemple en proposant des choses comme les villes zonées. Bien que les philosophies de conception modernistes aient continué à gagner en popularité, le CIAM n'est resté intact que jusqu'en 1956, lorsque les inquiétudes quant à la façon dont les plans de l'organisation créeraient une fragmentation au sein de la société ont atteint leur paroxysme.
10 / 100 Connue par beaucoup comme la «Maison de la santé» grâce à ses innombrables caractéristiques soucieuses de la santé, la véritable revendication de gloire de la Lovell House est qu'elle a été la première résidence américaine à être construite à l'aide d'une charpente en acier. La maison a été conçue en 1927 par l'architecte austro-américain Richard Neutra, qui avait auparavant travaillé avec l'architecte allemand Erich Mendelsohn sur la conception de la tour Einstein en Allemagne. La maison de trois étages et de 4 500 pieds carrés, qui a été construite pour un médecin naturopathe, le Dr Philip Lovell, et sa famille, se trouve au bord d'une falaise dans le quartier Los Feliz de Los Angeles. À l'époque, la résidence était considérée comme avant-gardiste dans son incorporation d'éléments qui facilitaient la vie intérieure et extérieure, comme avoir des terrasses couvertes et en plein air. Depuis février 2020, l'emblématique Lovell House est sur le marché pour la première fois en 60 ans.
11 / 100 Lorsque l'industriel Walter P. Chrysler s'est associé à l'architecte William Van Alen pour construire le Chrysler Building, il y avait quelques objectifs en tête. Tout d'abord, Chrysler voulait que la structure revitalise la zone autour de la 42e rue, qui à ce moment-là avait perdu son attrait depuis l'époque où Grand Central Station était nouvelle. Deuxièmement, Chrysler voulait une structure qui imitait une voiture Chrysler, par exemple en utilisant des gargouilles pour refléter les ornements du capot. Enfin, le bâtiment était censé être le plus haut du monde, ce qu'il a réalisé pendant 11 mois jusqu'à ce qu'il soit dépassé par l'Empire State Building. Aujourd'hui, le Chrysler Building reste un élément emblématique de la célèbre ligne d'horizon de Manhattan.
12 / 100 Pendant que Walter Chrysler travaillait sur son bâtiment, l'un de ses concurrents, le financier John Jakob Raskob, qui travaillait pour General Motors, a parallèlement commencé à travailler sur les plans d'un bâtiment qui pourrait surpasser la structure de Chrysler. Raskob s'est associé à plusieurs investisseurs de premier plan et a embauché une société appelée Shreve, Lamb et Harmon Associates pour travailler sur le projet, qui a été remarquablement achevé en un peu plus d'un an. Lorsque le gratte-ciel de 102 étages a été achevé en 1931, il a réussi à arracher le titre de "bâtiment le plus haut du monde" au Chrysler Building.
13 / 100 Alors que le pont du port de Sydney a été officiellement achevé en 1932, les plans de construction du pont existaient en fait depuis le début de 1815, mais n'avaient pas connu beaucoup de succès en raison de divers bloqueurs économiques et politiques, y compris la Première Guerre mondiale. L'ingénieur australien John Bradfield a géré le presque Projet de 10 ans depuis le début, c'est-à-dire « le tournage du premier gazon » en juillet 1923, jusqu'à la fin. La conception en arc du pont offrait une option robuste mais rentable, tandis que sa construction à six voies était conçue pour accueillir trois modes de circulation :véhicule, piéton et train. Aujourd'hui, Sydney Harbour Bridge est autant une attraction touristique qu'un pont fonctionnel. L'une des activités les plus populaires auprès des visiteurs de la ville consiste à grimper au sommet et à admirer la vue sur le port environnant et les Blue Mountains.
14 / 100 Ouverte en 1919, Staatliches Bauhaus était une école d'art en Allemagne qui se concentrait sur les arts appliqués et le mélange d'art, de design, d'architecture et d'artisanat. Fondée par l'architecte Walter Gropius, l'école a ensuite été dirigée par l'architecte Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, dont les conceptions angulaires simples mais audacieuses figuraient parmi les exemples les plus célèbres du style international. En 1933, sous la direction de Mies, la pression du régime nazi contraint l'école révolutionnaire du Bauhaus à fermer ses portes. Bien que l'école n'ait été opérationnelle que pendant 14 ans, les idées du Bauhaus ont survécu bien au-delà de la diffusion de l'école alors que ses membres se sont répandus à travers le monde, apportant ses concepts à d'autres pays, en particulier aux États-Unis. Par exemple, le peintre et photographe hongrois László Moholy-Nagy a créé le New Bauhaus à Chicago pour développer davantage là où le Bauhaus de Berlin s'était arrêté.
15 / 100 Lorsque le Palacio de Bellas Artes a été achevé en 1934, il est devenu le premier musée d'art de l'histoire à ouvrir ses portes au Mexique. La construction était aussi une forme d'art à part entière. Commencé en 1904 par l'architecte italien Adamo Boari, l'extérieur en marbre du bâtiment joue sur le style Art nouveau qui était populaire à l'époque. Le déclenchement de la révolution mexicaine en 1910 a cependant interrompu la construction, qui n'a repris qu'en 1928, lorsque l'architecte mexicain Federico Mariscal a repris le projet. En raison de la longue période de temps pendant laquelle la construction était à l'arrêt, le Palacio de Bellas Artes présente un mélange unique de styles architecturaux qui reflètent chacun la période au cours de laquelle ils ont été achevés. Au moment où Mariscal a pris la relève, l'Art déco avait pris la place de l'Art nouveau comme style du jour; tandis que l'extérieur du bâtiment reflète les plans originaux de Boari, l'intérieur présente un changement radical de style grâce à des éléments tels que des accents de bronze et du marbre multicolore.
16 / 100 L'architecte Norman Foster, né à Manchester, a fondé le cabinet d'architecture mondialement respecté Foster + Partners, connu pour son approche durable de l'urbanisme et de la conception architecturale. Foster et son entreprise sont à l'origine d'innombrables bâtiments et constructions emblématiques dans le monde, avec des travaux couvrant de nombreux secteurs, notamment les transports, les immeubles de bureaux, les hôtels, les complexes résidentiels et les bâtiments municipaux. Le siège social de Hearst à New York, le Reichstag en Allemagne, le viaduc de Millau en France et l'aéroport international du Koweït font partie des projets notables de l'entreprise. Un élément caractéristique de l'approche de Foster en matière de conception est un mariage d'anciens et de nouveaux styles d'architecture qui intègre les tendances émergentes tout en rendant hommage à celles qui l'ont précédé. Au cours de sa carrière, Foster a reçu plusieurs distinctions et distinctions, dont un prix d'architecture Pritzker en 1999.
[Photo :Sir Norman Robert Foster lors de la cérémonie d'inauguration du bâtiment du Reichstag de Berlin en 1997.]
17 / 100 Achevé en 1936, le stade olympique de Berlin, ou "Olympiastadion", a été construit pour faire plus que simplement accueillir les Jeux olympiques d'été de 1936 - il était censé agir comme un élément de propagande nazie. En 1933, les nazis ont vu la construction d'un grand stade et leur domination attendue dans les jeux d'été comme un point de la supériorité de l'Allemagne de l'Ouest. L'Olympiastadion, qui une fois achevé pouvait accueillir plus de 100 000 spectateurs, a été conçu par l'architecte Werner March et a coûté environ 42 millions de RM à l'époque. Au moment des jeux, l'Allemagne a réussi à surpasser ses concurrents avec un grand total de 89 médailles. Pourtant, de solides performances d'athlètes comme Jesse Owens, une star noire de l'athlétisme de l'Alabama et vainqueur de quatre médailles d'or, ont servi à défier et à aggraver les théories nazies d'Hitler sur la supériorité raciale. En 2004, l'Olympiastadion de Berlin a fait l'objet d'une rénovation pour restaurer son architecture d'origine. Aujourd'hui, le stade accueille un certain nombre d'événements, notamment des matchs sportifs en direct et des concerts.
18 / 100 Les discussions sur un pont qui pourrait s'étendre sur toute la longueur du détroit du Golden Gate à San Francisco existaient depuis les années 1870, mais ce n'est qu'un demi-siècle plus tard, au début des années 1920, que les plans du Golden Gate Bridge ont commencé à prendre forme. . Joseph Strauss, un ingénieur des ponts de Cincinnati qui a dirigé la construction, a rédigé la proposition originale d'un pont suspendu simple en 1921. La conception a été développée par plusieurs ingénieurs-conseils et architectes, dont Irving F. Morrow, qui a infusé le simple et fonctionnel de Strauss. design avec des éléments Art Déco. La teinte rouge riche caractéristique du pont a également été suggérée par Morrow pour deux raisons :pour servir de complément naturel aux brillants couchers de soleil de San Francisco, et un moyen facile de résister aux effets des dommages disgracieux de la rouille. Le pont de 4 200 pieds de long a été officiellement ouvert aux piétons le 27 mai 1937 et aux véhicules un jour plus tard, le 28 mai.
19 / 100 L'un des premiers architectes à concevoir des structures basées sur l'approche autoproclamée connue sous le nom d'"architecture organique", Frank Lloyd Wright a créé des bâtiments destinés à fonctionner en harmonie avec la nature et à créer un sens flou des frontières avec leurs environnements. C'est quelque chose que Wright a largement tiré de l'architecture japonaise, qui a eu une profonde influence sur ses œuvres. L'une des conceptions les plus célèbres de Wright, la maison Fallingwater, a été construite pour s'asseoir au-dessus d'une chute d'eau dans les bois du sud-ouest de la Pennsylvanie. La maison a été construite pour l'homme d'affaires Edgar Jonas Kaufmann et sa famille. Lors de la construction de la maison, Wright a incorporé un certain nombre de considérations de conception destinées à embrasser la nature de manière à la fois subtile et explicite, notamment des terrasses angulaires et des plafonds bas destinés à guider le regard vers la nature plutôt que vers le haut. En 1963, la propriété a été donnée au Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
20 / 100 L'exposition universelle de New York a transformé un terrain de 1 200 acres dans le Queens en une «ville» futuriste imaginaire basée sur le «monde de demain». Des développeurs et diverses organisations du monde entier se sont réunis pour concevoir des pavillons entiers et des expositions dédiées à l'exploration des avancées technologiques et des évolutions architecturales. Bien qu'une grande partie de l'exposition ait été inspirée par la fiction (art de science-fiction, science de la pâte à papier, etc.), de nombreuses influences ont également été tirées des tendances architecturales existantes, notamment l'Art déco et le style international. Les éléments architecturaux les plus emblématiques de l'Exposition universelle de New York étaient les structures emblématiques Trylon et Perisphere, cette dernière abritant le plus long escalator du monde. Fabriquées avec du béton et de l'acier renforcé, la tour Trylon de 610 pieds de haut et la Perisphere sphérique de 200 pieds de haut étaient à la fois simplistes dans leurs conceptions géométriques, mais censées être audacieuses et futuristes dans leur minimalisme avant-gardiste.
21 / 100 L'hôtel Raleigh à Miami Beach a été conçu par l'architecte L. Murray Dixon, qui est crédité d'avoir largement façonné le paysage Art déco distinctif de Miami Beach (parmi les autres conceptions de Dixon figurent le Grossinger Beach Hotel - aujourd'hui le Ritz Plaza - et le Tides South Beach , cette dernière étant la structure la plus haute d'Ocean Drive depuis sa construction en 1936 jusqu'aux années 1980). L'hôtel Raleigh de Dixon, qui présentait une façade asymétrique et une élégante piscine intérieure que Life Magazine a déclaré être la plus belle d'Amérique en 1947, était un autre exemple de sa forte approche Art Déco de l'architecture. Gravement détruit par l'ouragan Irma en 2017, l'hôtel autrefois glamour a été en construction aux mains de plusieurs propriétaires différents, dont le créateur de mode Tommy Hilfiger, qui a acheté la propriété en 2014, et Michael Shvo, un promoteur immobilier new-yorkais qui Hilfiger a vendu la propriété à en 2019.
22 / 100 La Hoover Tower est une plate-forme d'observation située à l'université de Stanford commandée par Herbert Hoover pour commémorer le 50e anniversaire de l'université. La tour de 285 pieds a été conçue par plusieurs architectes collaborateurs, dont Arthur Brown Jr., qui était l'architecte derrière Coit Tower. Largement influencée par l'ancienne cathédrale de Salamanque en Espagne, la tour Hoover a été conçue avec une esthétique romane qui lui a permis de bien compléter le reste du campus.
23 / 100 Le 30 mai 1942, un raid à la bombe sur Cologne, en Allemagne - le premier des 1 000 raids de la Royal Air Force qui frapperait l'Allemagne pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale - a livré 2 000 tonnes d'explosifs dans la ville, causant des dégâts extrêmes partout. Le raid, qui était à l'origine destiné à Hambourg mais détourné en raison des mauvaises conditions météorologiques, aurait causé des dommages à quelque 5 000 non-résidents, dont environ 3 300 bâtiments menacés de destruction totale. Les effets du raid étaient dus en partie aux coups directs des explosifs, mais aussi aux incendies qui se sont propagés dans toute la ville. Remarquablement, le raid a causé des dommages minimes à la façade et aux flèches de la cathédrale gothique de Cologne.
24 / 100 L'un des premiers exemples d'architecture moderniste au Brésil, le Pampulha Modern Ensemble a été conçu par Oscar Niemeyer dans le but de créer un quartier de banlieue prospère autour du lac artificiel Pampulha. Le complexe, qui comprenait un yacht club, une salle de bal, un casino et une église, fut l'un des premiers à être achevé par Niemeyer, qui recevra plus tard un prix Pritzker pour ses créations. S'inspirant beaucoup du travail de Le Corbusier, les créations de Niemeyer possédaient un certain nombre d'éléments caractéristiques, notamment des formes organiques et des lignes courbes qui reflétaient les principes de conception modernistes. En 2016, le Pampulha Modern Ensemble est devenu un site du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO.
25 / 100 Alors que la Seconde Guerre mondiale touchait à sa fin, les pays commençaient à réfléchir aux prochaines étapes de la reconstruction d'après-guerre. Au Royaume-Uni, une mesure qui a été prise a été la construction de maisons préfabriquées, mieux connues sous le nom de préfabriqués, qui pourraient offrir une solution de relogement facile pour les compatriotes revenant de la guerre. Ces structures de logement, qui étaient essentiellement des bungalows de deux chambres, ont commencé à apparaître en 1944, et en mars de cette année-là, Winston Churchill a approuvé la construction de préfabriqués lors d'une émission dans laquelle il a qualifié les maisons temporaires d'option solide pour les militaires et leurs familles. .
26 / 100 Point de repère principal de Reykjavík visible de presque partout dans la ville, Hallgrímskirkja est la plus grande église paroissiale luthérienne (74,5 mètres) d'Islande. Conçue par Guðjón Samúelsson, l'église était autant une démonstration de modernisme qu'un reflet de la nature et du paysage du pays. La construction du bâtiment a duré plus de quatre décennies, du début à la fin, la tour étant la première pièce de la structure à être achevée et la nef étant la dernière.
27 / 100 Macy's est peut-être le premier grand magasin qui vient à l'esprit lorsque l'on pense aux détaillants les plus importants de l'histoire des États-Unis, mais Hudson's à Detroit était facilement en deuxième position. Bien que la construction du grand magasin n'ait été achevée qu'en 1946, après que les derniers ajouts aient étendu son étendue sur tout un pâté de maisons, le projet en cours a été lancé à l'origine il y a cinq décennies en 1891. Aujourd'hui, le Hudson's original n'est plus là où il était autrefois. fait, mais des plans sont en cours pour construire une nouvelle structure à sa place. Pour le nouveau projet, qui combinera commerces, bureaux et espaces résidentiels, les conceptions sont gérées par la société SHoP Architects basée à New York.
28 / 100 La tour de 34 étages du 75 Rockefeller Plaza a été construite pour abriter les bureaux de la Standard Oil Company de J.D. Rockefeller. Point de repère de New York, le 75 Rockefeller Plaza a été construit dans un style moderniste qui utilisait des matériaux comme l'acier et privilégiait une esthétique épurée et simple aux motifs décoratifs. Parmi ses distinctions notables à l'époque, la tour détenait le titre de plus haut bâtiment climatisé de la ville et abritait le plus grand restaurant du monde, le Schrafft's Restaurant. Au cours de son histoire, le bâtiment a changé de mains à plusieurs reprises, sa dernière vente en 2013 étant un bail de 99 ans à RXR Realty pour 420 millions de dollars.
29 / 100 Initialement connu sous le nom de Bears Stadium, le Mile High Stadium de Denver a été construit en 1948 pour remplacer le Merchants Park de la ville en tant que stade principal des Denver Bears. La construction du stade a été financée par des fonds privés de la famille Howsam, qui avait acheté les Bears un an plus tôt en 1947. Le premier match au Bears Stadium contre les Sioux City Soos a attiré environ 11 000 spectateurs le 14 août 1948. Vingt ans plus tard, en 1968, la ville de Denver a acquis la propriété du stade et a augmenté sa capacité et l'a renommé Mile High Stadium.
[Photo :le directeur des Bears, Bob Howsham, montre le stade au directeur des Yankees, George Weiss, en 1957.]
30 / 100 Achevée en 1949, la Glass House était la première des 14 structures, dont une galerie d'art et un pavillon de sculptures, que l'architecte Philip Johnson construirait sur un domaine de 49 acres à New Canaan, Connecticut. La maison à un étage était de conception simple, avec un plan d'étage ouvert, un sol en briques rouges et des panneaux de verre soutenus par des tiges d'acier et des poutres en H. La conception de la maison a été largement inspirée par le travail de l'architecte Bauhaus Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, en particulier sa maison Farnsworth dans l'Illinois, qui comportait également une construction en verre qui brouillait les frontières entre l'intérieur de la structure et le paysage naturel environnant. Bien que Mies van der Rohe n'ait pas été impressionné par le design de Johnson lorsqu'il l'a vu en personne, la Glass House a obtenu son statut de site historique du National Trust en 1997.
31 / 100 La plus grande renommée de l'architecte moderniste Richard Neutra a été sa construction de la maison Lovell en 1929. Le travail de l'architecte né à Vienne est resté prolifique au fil des ans, car il est devenu une figure clé de l'expansion du modernisme dans le sud de la Californie et au-delà. Parmi les autres projets majeurs sur lesquels Neutra a travaillé, citons la construction d'une escapade hivernale à Palm Springs pour la mondaine Grace Lewis Miller au milieu des années 30 et son travail sur une résidence d'hiver pour la même famille Kauffman pour qui Frank Lloyd Wright avait conçu Fallingwater. En 1950, Neutra a conçu et achevé une structure rectangulaire moderniste de deux étages à Silverlake, Los Angeles, qui servirait de bureau d'architecture au cours des deux prochaines décennies.
[Pictured:A California house designed by Richard Neutra.]
32 / 100 While the Morumbi suburb of São Paulo, Brazil, is today recognized as a wealthy neighborhood, architect Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro, or “Glass House,” became the first residence in the area when it was constructed in 1951. Bo Bardi’s goal in creating the house was not to pave the way for further development, however; the architect designed the house in what was left of the Mata Atlantica rainforest to live with her husband outside of the city. Modernist in style, the house aims to exist harmoniously with the surrounding forest, such as by using stilted columns as a foundation to allow the natural landscape to flow underneath. Like Philip Johnson’s Glass House, the glass paneling allows for a blending of the indoor space and nature.
33 / 100 In 1948, construction began on a permanent United Nations headquarters in New York. The land for the project was purchased by the Rockefeller family for $8.5 million, after which they donated the plot to the city. The team of architects on the project consisted of individuals from around the world, all of whom were led by American architect Wallace K. Harrison, Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, and Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. The design for the headquarters features curtain-walled east and west exteriors, while the north and south facades are simply composed of Vermont marble.
34 / 100 Though one of Mendelsohn’s most renowned works was the Einstein Tower, the architect worked on a number of projects during his lifetime that made him a key figure in the rise and spread of Art Deco and exemplified his insistence on pushing the boundaries of conventional design. When Mendelsohn was tasked with reconstructing the Mossehaus office building in Berlin, for example, the architect totally pivoted away from the original neo-baroque design of the building in favor of working with new materials like ceramic. Other signature works included the De La Warr Pavilion in England and The Weizmann Residence in Israel, which is credited with introducing Le Corbusier’s International Style to the Middle East.
[Pictured:Staircase detail of the De La Warr Pavilion.]
35 / 100 The daughter and only child of immigrants from Trinidad, Harlem-born-and-raised Norma Merrick Sklarek was the first African American woman to become a licensed architect in the state of New York. With a bachelor of architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Columbia University under her belt, Sklarek spent the early part of the 1950s struggling to find work—due to her gender and race—before deciding to take her licensing exam in 1954. Unfortunately, Sklarek’s status as an African American female architect forced her to play the role of a project manager more often than a lead architect despite her capabilities. Nevertheless, she achieved a number of milestones throughout her long career, including becoming the first African American woman member of the American Institute of Architects in 1958 and co-founding Siegel-Sklarek-Diamond in 1985, which, at the time, was the country’s largest woman-owned architectural firm.
36 / 100 Brutalism is a design movement that is characterized by a raw, almost bland-looking aesthetic and a use of harsh, rough materials like concrete. Though architectural critic Reyner Banham is credited with coining the term in his December 1955 essay, “The New Brutalism,” the movement could actually be said to have its roots in the post-World War II designs of Le Corbusier over a decade earlier, which were classified by the French term “béton brut,” or “raw concrete.”
[Pictured:Brutalist block of flats in London 1968.]
37 / 100 When he commissioned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new corporate headquarters for his construction company in Bartlesville, Okla., Harold C. Price did so with the intention of building a low-rise, rectangular structure. Wright, having previously worked on the design for a New York skyscraper that never came to fruition, convinced Price that a vertical construction would offer more value. The architect was ultimately able to use his 1929 skyscraper designs to guide the direction of the tower, which was constructed using a mix of copper, concrete, and aluminum. In 1960, just four years after Price Tower’s official opening, the American Institute of Architects declared the structure to be among Wright’s most significant works, and in 2007, the tower earned the status of National Historic Landmark. Price Tower was the only skyscraper to ever be designed by Wright.
38 / 100 The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was the first to traverse the Yangtze River in China, which is the largest in the country and acts as a north-south boundary. The construction of the bridge marked an important point in history as it allowed for economic development in the country through travel and communication between previously divided regions. The 1,670-meter-long bridge, which took just over two years to complete, was one of the over 150 construction projects in China that the Soviet Union consulted on.
39 / 100 Plans for the UNESCO headquarters began taking shape in 1951, at which point the organization was temporarily being “headquartered” in Paris’ Hotel Majestic. Early considerations around who to have lead the design project included Le Corbusier, though the famous architect was ultimately passed up for the role at the behest of representatives from the U.S., which was largely financing the new construction. Instead, an international team of three architects—Marcel Breuer, Bernard Zehrfuss, and Pier Luigi Nervi––were selected to lead the project. The finished headquarters, which has a signature Y-shaped design and uses a mix of concrete and glass, presents a staunch aesthetic contrast to the otherwise classic part of Paris in which it resides.
40 / 100 Though Price Tower has been deemed one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most iconic works, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York has often been considered his crowning achievement. The circular shell of the museum is constructed using a combination of gunite—a relatively new form of concrete that could be sprayed (not poured) onto plywood forms that give the structure its curved lines—and structural steel. The interior of the museum features a spiral ramp and a domed glass skylight above the inner court. The Guggenheim is one of eight works by Wright to make it onto the UNESCO World Heritage List.
41 / 100 Up until 1960, the capital of Brazil had been the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro. However, the overcrowding of the city became a hindrance as far as the efficiency of government operations, which prompted the nation to instead create a new capital:Brasilia. The planned city was the product of a four-year project aimed at creating a well-designed, structured city that could have delineated sections dedicated to different government and political activities. Of the various architects and planners involved in the development of Brasilia, one of the most famous is Oscar Niemeyer, who had previously worked on the Pampulha project. Niemeyer’s work on most of the key civic buildings in Brasilia—e.g., the Cathedral of Brasilia, the National Congress building in Brasilia’s Monumental Axis, etc.—shaped the city’s signature modernist aesthetic, which earned it the distinction of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
42 / 100 The first woman to become a licensed architect in Illinois, Marion Mahony Griffin is best known for her role in popularizing the American Prairie School style of architecture. Prominent in the American Midwest, the no-frills design approach is one characterized by sparse use of ornamentation and a focus on creating a sense of unity between a structure and its environment. It also pulled from the Arts and Crafts movement in its emphasis on strong craftsmanship. During the course of her career, Griffin collaborated with various well-known architects whose works aligned with the Prairie School, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Burley Griffin, whom she would later marry.
[Pictured:Watercolor and ink by Marion Griffin 1894.]
43 / 100 Standing at 605-feet tall, the Space Needle is an observation tower and an iconic Seattle landmark that dates back to the 1962 World’s Fair. Hotelier and chief fair organizer Edward E. Carlson first came up with the idea of the Space Needle in 1959, after being inspired by a broadcast tower that housed a restaurant in Germany. Determined to make the structure the focal point of the World’s Fair, Carlson teamed up with architect John “Jack” Graham, Jr. and former NASA engineer John Minasian to bring the vision to life over the course of the next several years. On April 21, 1962, the completed Space Needle, which had a futuristic design and a signature saucer-like top, officially opened.
44 / 100 From the point of its initial opening in 1910, Penn Station was considered a signature New York landmark, thanks in large part to its Beaux-Arts-style construction and Roman influences. By the 1950s, however, new modes of transportation were causing a serious dip in passenger traffic, and the train station was facing dwindling financial security. As a result, the station was torn down in October 1963 in what many New Yorkers referred to at the time as an attack on the city’s heritage.
[Pictured:American writer Jane Jacobs (L) and architect Philip Johnson (R) stand with picketing crowds outside Penn Station.]
45 / 100 Completed over the course of three years, the BT Tower in Fitzrovia, London, was commissioned by the General Post Office to serve as a communications transmitter. The tower, which was constructed using around 13,000 tons of concrete, stands at 627 feet, which made it the tallest building in London at the time it was built in 1964. Though the circular design of the tower is largely a result of the microwave aerials that cover its midsection, it was also a strategic architectural play:Eric Bedford and G.R. Yeats, who were behind the tower’s design, opted for a rounded design because this could help the building withstand a nuclear blast, which was top of mind amid the Cold War.
46 / 100 The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was a commemorative construction meant to mark the significant role of St. Louis, Mo., in the nation’s expansion west. The arch was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who took on the project after winning a nationwide competition. While Saarinen drafted the plans for the stainless steel Gateway Arch, the architect never got to see his design come to life, as he died of a brain tumor two years before construction began in 1963.
[Pictured:Placing the keystone in the Gateway Arch on November 1, 1965.]
47 / 100 New York City’s iconic World Trade Center was originally constructed with the intention of promoting economic advancement, such as by stimulating global trade. The $900 million project was led by Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki, who is known for his mastery of New Formalism, a design style that combines a classical, clean aesthetic with rich materials. While Yamasaki originally planned to construct the towers out of steel, he ultimately used a cheaper aluminum silver alloy that was made specifically for the project. The Twin Towers officially opened in 1973 and remained an iconic part of the New York skyline until they were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
[Pictured:The Twin Towers under construction in 1971.]
48 / 100 The St. Pancras railway station first opened in 1868, and was built by the Midland Railroad Company in an effort to connect London with other major cities throughout England. Designed by civil engineer William Henry Barlow, the station’s iconic Victorian-Gothic architecture played largely in its favor as the railway station fell into a rapid state of decline in the early 20th century and was at risk of demolition. The station was ultimately saved thanks to the efforts of English poet John Betjeman, who managed to have the station recognized as a Grade I listing building before it could be destroyed.
[Pictured:A statue of poet Sir John Betjeman stands at St Pancras Station.]
49 / 100 In signature Mies style, the New National Gallery in Berlin offered a novel museum construction that consisted of a single open space surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass panels as walls. The design of the museum is reminiscent of the Bauhaus architect’s earlier works, including his Farnsworth House in Illinois. Oddly, the New National Gallery’s main collection, rather than being housed in the museum’s main area, is actually on display in the building’s basement, suggesting that it is meant to be less of a focus than Mies’ structure itself.
50 / 100 Designed by Hermann Henselmann along with architects Fritz Dieter and Günter Franke, the Fernsehturm—also known as the Berlin TV Tower—is the tallest structure in Berlin. It is crafted with unfinished concrete and contains a metal dome about two-thirds of the way to the top which houses two separate viewing floors that provide a panoramic view of the city. At the time of its construction, the Fernsehturm was meant to be a symbol of hope in East Germany.
51 / 100 The Sears Tower—known now as the Willis Tower—was designed by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to provide a new office space for Sears, Roebuck and Company. The construction of the steel-framed tower would take around three years and the efforts of 2,000 construction workers to complete.
52 / 100 The Hillbrow Tower, a telephone tower owned by Telkom, was built over the course of three years, between 1968 and 1971. In order to serve its function, the tower needed to stand higher than all of the buildings surrounding it, which was a literal tall order in during the 1960s, when skyscrapers were all the rage and building height restrictions had been removed nearly two decades earlier. The tower, though constructed first and foremost for functional purposes, is considered such a significant part of the Johannesburg skyline that it has even earned a spot in the city’s official logo.
53 / 100 Throughout the course of the 1800–1900s, the role of architecture as a discipline was evolving at the university level. At Yale University, architecture had been a part of the arts curriculum since the late 19th century, and as early as 1916, there was a specific architecture department within the university’s School of the Fine Arts. It wasn’t until 1972, however, that the Yale School of Architecture was established as a standalone professional school.
[Pictured:Perspective drawings of the Yale Art and Architecture Building designed by Paul Rudolph.]
54 / 100 The construction of the Sydney Opera House technically started in 1955, when a competition run by Australia’s prime minister sought to locate a designer who could create a plan for the venue. Danish architect Jørn Utzon was ultimately given the project, which he approached with an Expressionist aesthetic. Financial complications over the next several years ended up stalling the project and resulting in Utzon’s resignation, after which the architect was replaced by an architect named Peter Hall. By the time of its completion, which was nearly 10 years later than the projected finish date, the construction of the Sydney Opera House had not only been led by two different architects, but it had also come to cost about 1,457% more than its projected budget.
55 / 100 Four years after construction started on the project and one year after it wrapped up, the Sears Tower—now the Willis Tower—officially opened to the public. Upon its completion, the tower was the tallest in the world, which remained true until 1998 when it was dethroned by the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. When the tower opened, attractions like its signature Skydeck were a huge draw, and to this day the observation level of the tower attracts over 1 million visitors each year.
56 / 100 First Canadian Place in Toronto was originally constructed to house the Bank of Montreal’s Ontario headquarters, and sits in the heart of the city’s financial district. The building is designed in a modernist style with a steel-and-framed-tube structural system and glass exterior that replaced the original marble facade in 2012. Today, First Canadian Place features a number of signature design and functional elements, including a state-of-the-art environmental system with no less than 20 controlled zones per floor. The building has also earned countless distinctions over the years, including a 2005 Building of the Year award from BOMA, which recognizes environmentally sound or conscious building practices. Once one of the tallest buildings in the world, First Canadian Place remains the tallest building in Canada.
57 / 100 Eileen Gray was an Irish designer and modernist architect known primarily for her unique and eccentric furniture designs. One of Gray’s designs—the “Dragons” armchair, which features brown leather upholstering and claw-like sculpted wooden armrests—is famous for having belonged to fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and for later being sold at auction in 2009 for a record-breaking $28 million. After Gray’s death in Paris in 1976, the National Museum of Ireland declared the architect and designer to be one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. The Central Bank of Ireland also issued a limited edition collector’s coin featuring Gray in 2016, making the designer the first woman to ever appear on an Irish coin.
58 / 100 The idea for Centre Georges Pompidou (or simply Centre Pompidou) came about in 1969, when France’s then-new president, President Georges Pompidou, called for the construction of a first-of-its-kind cultural center for contemporary arts. As in the case of the Sydney Opera House and the St. Louis Gateway Arch, efforts to find the right designer for this project took the form of an architectural competition, which was won by a team of three architects:Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, and Gianfranco Franchini, the former two of whom would go on to receive Pritzkers in later years. The resulting construction possessed an unconventional industrial aesthetic in which functional elements like water pipes and ducts were placed on the outside of the building. Likened to an oil refinery in the time following its construction, Centre Pompidou eventually came to be recognized as an iconic structure.
59 / 100 Once the tallest building in Japan, Sunshine 60 is a 60-story skyscraper that houses office spaces and a shopping complex. Constructed in Ikebukuro in Tokyo, the building is considered haunted because it’s built on the ground where the Sugamo Prison—which held political prisoners and war criminals—once stood. This dark history is ultimately what inspired the name of the building, which attempts to separate the new structure from Sugamo.
60 / 100 Construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro began in 1964 and was led by architect Edgar Fonseca. A truly unique structure that draws influences from Mayan pyramids and architecture, the cathedral has also been likened to a beehive because of its honeycombed stained class that moves its way to the top of a cylindrical dome at the top of the building.
61 / 100 Standing at 1,000 feet, Estonia’s Tallinn TV tower is the tallest structure in the country, when it was constructed in 1980, however, the goal wasn’t to create a structure that towered over everything else in the country—it was to improve telecommunications ahead of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Though it took 32 construction companies to build the main components, the project was successfully completed with just enough time to broadcast the games.
62 / 100 Before I.M. Pei went on to work on such projects as the Louvre Pyramid and the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, the Chinese-born, America-trained architect led the construction of the Texas Commerce Tower (now the JPMorgan Chase Tower). Pei began the Texas Commerce Tower project in 1978, ultimately creating a 75-story tower that was the first concrete-and-steel structure of its kind to achieve such a height.
63 / 100 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is unquestionably one of America's most popular monuments, with over 100 million people having visited the site since its construction, as of 2017. What few of the countless annual visitors know, however, is that the design behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completed by an architectural student at the time. Maya Lin was in her senior year studying architecture at Yale when she submitted the design, which had been part of a class project, to a competition being held in Washington choosing the design for a memorial structure. Lin’s winning design featured the names of the then-estimated 58,000 Americans who lost their lives in service, which would be etched onto a V-shaped slab of polished black granite.
64 / 100 The construction of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue began in 1979, and the project was led by Der Scutt, the modernist architect who was also behind the construction of One Astor Plaza overlooking Times Square. The 68-story skyscraper was constructed to serve as the headquarters of the Trump Corporation, as well as the occasional residence of the tower’s namesake, now-President Donald Trump. The jagged facade of the mixed-use skyscraper along with the structure’s bronzed-glass curtain wall made it a drastic contrast from the primarily stone buildings that lined Fifth Avenue prior to the tower’s construction. In addition to housing a host of high-end retailers and dining destinations inside its walls, the building’s lobby also features a 60-foot waterfall.
[Pictured:Interior of Trump Tower.]
65 / 100 Following the strong positive (even if not immediately so) reception of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Richard Rogers’ was asked to design a new building for the insurance firm Lloyd’s in London. The design that was drafted by Rogers followed a similar approach to his designs on the French cultural center that focused on flipping a building “inside out,” so to speak. This way, elements that may traditionally remain out of sight or relatively concealed become decorative tools, in a sense.
66 / 100 Following the bombing of the Marine Headquarters and U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983, American leaders were focused on identifying measures that would need to be taken in order to allow the U.S. to continue carrying out its diplomatic affairs without putting the nation’s citizens, visitors, and foreign residents at risk. The Inman Report, or Report of the Secretary of State's Advisory Panel on Overseas Security, was published in 1985 with a list of measures that could be taken to ensure higher levels of security. Among the recommendations were several that would call for changes in the architecture of government buildings. Specifically, the report recommended that government buildings be built a minimum of 100 feet away from uncontrolled areas, on sites of at least 15 acres, and with a window-to-wall ratio of 15% to minimize the amount of glass used in buildings.
[Pictured:Enhanced security features the U.S. Embassy in London.]
67 / 100 In the late 1970s, Thai architect Sumet Jumsai was tasked with creating a new headquarters for the Bank of Asia in Bangkok that could somehow capture the role of computer technology in banking through its design. Jumsai’s response to the challenge was a building inspired by one of his son’s toy robots, where tiered levels would create the appearance of a robot’s body, and circular windows at the top of the structure would serve to mimic a robot’s eyes. Though certainly unconventional in its construction, the building’s innovative design earned it recognition from the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art as one of the century's 50 seminal buildings.
68 / 100 Though a single glance at the Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea might garner appreciation of the structure’s unique architecture, the perpetually unfinished project leaves much to be desired. Originally started in 1987, the hotel, which is nicknamed the “Hotel of Doom,” has had its construction halted countless times over the years due to economic difficulties in North Korea. As it stands today, Ryugyong holds the ranking as the tallest unoccupied building in the world and has been used for things other than its intended use in hospitality, such as the display of propaganda-infused light shows.
[Pictured:Pyongyang skyline with Ryugyong Hotel (left) in 2009.]
69 / 100 The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque is an iconic structure in Malaysia constructed using a blend of traditional Malay style and a Modernist approach. The mosque features blue stained windows to create a sense of serenity as well as decorative accents like calligraphic inscriptions and intricately layered aluminum panels along doors and walls. Beyond acting as a grand example of religious architecture compared to other mosques in Asia and around the world, the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque has been said to represent the powerful reign of Islam as the religion of the country.
70 / 100 In 1983, the president of France, François Mitterrand, approached Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei about modernizing the Louvre and helping to create a more intuitive way of navigating the galleries. Upon studying the Louvre, Pei decided that the best solution would be to create an alternative entrance in the center of the courtyard in front of the Louvre that could then funnel people into a more thoughtful underground infrastructure. Pei’s alternative entrance—a pyramid constructed of glass and metal—was at first met with strong resistance. The Louvre Pyramid is considered as iconic a symbol of Paris as the Eiffel Tower, which was also met with its fair share of backlash upon its construction.
71 / 100 The same year that I.M. Pei completed the Louvre Pyramid, he and his firm were simultaneously wrapping up construction on the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. The asymmetrical tower, which was built to house the headquarters of Bank of China, posed the difficult challenge of creating a skyscraper in a typhoon-prone region where wind-load requirement was a key focus. Pei’s design ultimately used four vertical shafts to create the structure, which allowed for a stronger resistance to intense winds. The bold design of the building, which uses reflexive mirrors and strong angles makes the building a standout structure in Hong Kong, but has also caused a fair share of controversy. For example, feng shui masters have criticized the building’s sharp corners, which they say resemble knives.
72 / 100 César Pelli, the Argentine architect who would later lead the design of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, was commissioned to help build a 50-story skyscraper in London’s Canary Wharf that would house primarily offices, as well as a select few residential rentals. The design of the building takes influences from iconic British monuments, such as Big Ben, as well as former works of Pelli, like the American Express Tower in New York.
73 / 100 Another building designed by César Pelli, the Bank of America Corporate Center project in Charlotte was also shaped in large part by structural engineer Walter P. Moore. To build the structure, Moore decided to work with reinforced concrete as it was the best and most cost-effective option to achieve structural stability while adhering to Pelli’s design, which included the architect’s signature sharp angles and geometric shapes. The 60-story building, which serves as the headquarters for Bank of America, is adorned with a “crown” for metal rods around the top of the building to symbolize the city of Charlotte’s nickname:“The Queen City.”
74 / 100 A structure that looks somewhat like a futuristic, sci-fi version of the Arc de Triomphe, the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka, Japan, consists of two 40-story skyscrapers bridged together by a “floating” observatory at the top which offers 360-degree views of the city. Designed by Hiroshi Hara, the Umeda Sky Building was the first in the world to use a lift-up method of construction, by which the floating observation garden was constructed on the ground before being lifted by wire atop the towers.
75 / 100 Construction of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai began in 1991. The design, which blends traditional styles with an overarching modern construction, is said to have been inspired by a Tang Dynasty poem that compared the droplet-like melody of a pipa instrument with the sound of pearls dropping onto a jade plate. The finished tower, which opened in 1994, includes a museum, a “space capsule,” a glass-bottomed sightseeing deck, and a revolving restaurant.
76 / 100 Led by Richard Meier &Partners, the construction of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art took place over the course of eight years, from 1987 to 1995. The design of the building was significantly influenced by Modernism, which is evident from the structure’s lack of ornamentation and focus on clean lines. Though the museum will occasionally display the work of artists from around the world, the museum’s primary focus is on showcasing the works of Catalan and Spanish artists.
77 / 100 A member of Le Corbusier’s CIAM, British architect Jane Drew was a major proponent of not just the modernist movement, but more specifically modern tropical design. This twist on traditional modern design served as a way to bring the modernist trends of Europe into warmer climates like those of West Africa, Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka, where Drew worked on designing schools and housing developments. In 1946, Drew and her husband, British architect Maxwell Fry, actually started their own firm—Fry, Drew, and Partners—with the primary goal of taking on large-scale projects and design planning for tropical countries.
[Pictured:Architect Jane Drew in 1948.]
78 / 100 Neo-Modernism is similar to Modernism in that its approach to architecture is quite pared down and focused on simplicity, straightforwardness, and an understated aesthetic. Parametricism, on the other hand, is a radically new concept that started emerging towards the end of the 1990s with the rise of personal computers and advances in technology. Parametricism utilized the emerging trend of computer- and algorithm-generated building design made possible by programs and workflows like CAD (computer aided design) and BIM (building information modeling).
[Pictured:The Guangzhou Opera House designed by Zaha Hadid.]
79 / 100 Designed by Argentine American architect Cesar Pelli, the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were built to house the headquarters of Malaysia’s largest petroleum manufacturer, Petronas. Constructed using steel-reinforced concrete foundation and frame with a glass-and-stainless-steel exterior, the towers were at once Modernist in their sleek, metallic aesthetic, yet infused with influences from traditional Islamic art. For example, Pelli referenced the “Rub el Hizb”—a common symbol in Arab and Islamic art that consists of two overlapping squares—when developing the original blueprints of the design. By the time the towers were completed in 1998, they stood at 1,483 feet, which made them the tallest structures in the world, replacing the Sears Tower.
80 / 100 The London Eye—originally called the Millennium Wheel—was designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield as a submission to a newspaper competition in London sourcing ideas for a new landmark to commemorate the turn of the century. The project was largely funded by British Airways, and the 400-foot ferris wheel, once completed, stood taller than Big Ben. The London Eye remained the largest ferris wheel in the world until the construction of China’s Star of Nanchang.
81 / 100 Experience Music Project—now called the Museum of Pop Culture—is dedicated to music, science fiction, and popular culture. Designed by Frank Gehry, the goal with the aesthetic of the building was to create something that somehow captured the experience of listening to music. Gehry ultimately covered the exterior of the museum with 21,000 hand-cut shingles made of either stainless steel or painted aluminum that would produce dynamic reflections of light and thus create a shifting experience akin to listening to music.
82 / 100 On Sept. 11, 2001—35 years after construction began on the World Trade Center—the Twin Towers were destroyed in a series of terrorist attacks that also targeted the Pentagon in Washington D.C. In New York, two planes that had been hijacked by Islamic extremist group al Qaeda flew directly into the towers, the first striking the north tower at 8:45 a.m. and the second striking the south tower around 9:03 a.m. Both towers completely collapsed by 10:30 that morning, and over 2,600 individuals lost their lives as a result of the World Trade Center attacks.
[Pictured:An aerial view of the World Trade Center rescue site on September 14, 2001.]
83 / 100 The construction of Kingdom Centre was a joint architectural effort between U.S.-based firm Ellerbe Becket and Riyadh-based firm Omrania and Associates. The project was commissioned by a prominent Saudi Arabian businessman who wanted to see the development of a structure that could represent the country’s role in the global economy. The resulting structure—a 992-foot tall mixed-use complex constructed out of a combination of glass, granite, and brushed aluminum—became the tallest building in Saudi Arabia (and also housed the tallest mosque in the world on the 77th floor).
84 / 100 2Designed by Frank Gehry, the architect behind Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, the Walt Disney Concert Hall has a striking steel facade that’s designed to resemble the curved lines and shapes of blowing ship sails. The interior was designed to feel open and bright, but Gehry’s real pièce de résistance was the hall’s seating structure; rather than creating a layout that resembled the typical concert hall—complete with balconies and tiered seating—the architect chose to opt for something that felt more equalizing than dividing.
85 / 100 At the time that the construction of Taipei 101 was completed in October 2004, the tallest structure in the world was César Pelli’s Petronas Towers. The 101-story Taiwanese skyscraper, which stood at 1,667 feet with its spire, managed to bump Pelli’s towers in Malaysia out of the top spot. The steel-and-concrete structure, which houses offices in addition to a large shopping center on the lower levels, has a distinctly Chinese nature to its design, which resembles a tall, layered pagoda.
86 / 100 The Xanadu Houses were three experimental constructions originally designed by Bob Masters starting in 1979. To construct one of the Xanadu Houses, Masters would inflate a balloon, spray it with polyurethane foam, and then remove the balloon once the foam had dried. Masters would then customize the dried structures to convert them into “houses,” such as by cutting out areas for windows or doors. Masters created two of the houses (one in Tennessee and one in Wisconsin), while Roy Mason designed the Florida home, and they incorporated elements of a “smart house” where tasks like controlling the lights or seeing who was at the door could be computerized. While the experiment ultimately went nowhere—the houses were all demolished, with the Florida home the last to be destroyed in 2005—Masters’ ideas around the evolution of a smart house were not too far off from where things were headed.
87 / 100 In 2006, plans to turn the defunct High Line elevated railroad into a 1.5-mile-long park officially went into motion. Ahead of the groundbreaking, a competition had been held to identify the best plan for the former railway, and though many submissions may have earned points for thinking big—e.g., turning the railroad into a roller coaster—the winning submission was that of Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Their design for an elevated park was easy enough to implement while also creating a totally one-of-a-kind serene and natural space in the heart of New York.
88 / 100 Prior to the opening of the new Wembley Stadium in 2007, the original Wembley Stadium, which was called Empire Stadium and opened in 1923, had already had a long history in London. Besides hosting the first ever FA Cup final (and every subsequent FA Cup final from 1923–2000), the stadium also hosted the 1948 Olympics. In 2000, however, the old Wembley Stadium was demolished and plans went into place to rebuild a larger version in its place. The project, which was completed by Foster + Partners and HOK Sport, resulted in a stadium with a 90,000-person capacity and the addition of a retractable roof.
89 / 100 When Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008, there was as much buzz about the athletic showmanship of the games as there was about the architectural structures in which they took place. The most famous of the buildings was the Beijing National Stadium, which was referred to as the “Bird’s Nest.” The stadium, which was the site of the Opening Ceremony, was designed by Herzog &De Meuron in collaboration with Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Other notable architectural masterpieces from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing included the National Indoor Stadium, which was called “The Fan,” as well as the Beijing National Aquatics Center.
90 / 100 When the Americans and Iraqis dedicated the new massive U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the idea was that the milestone would mark a turn in American-Iraqi relations. The embassy, which is the largest U.S. embassy in the world, cost $600 million just to build. Designs for the embassy ahead of its construction were completed by a Kansas City architectural firm called Berger Devine Yaeger.
91 / 100 Led by architect Adrian Smith, architects Skidmore, Owings &Merrill LLP and Emaar Properties developers, the construction of the neo-Futuristic Burj Khalifa began in 2004, just one year after Taipei 101 earned the title of tallest building in the world, which the Dubai building would soon snatch. As the project progressed, special considerations had to be taken into account to accommodate a structure of that size. For example, the unique Y-shape of the tower is as much functional as it is aesthetic; the shape helps reduce the damaging effects of wind, which become more detrimental the taller the building gets. By the time the construction of the multi-use tower was complete in 2010, it had already broken a number of world records, only the least of which was the tallest building in the world. Beyond that, Burj Khalifa has set records including hosting the highest BASE jump from a building, the highest fireworks on a building, and the most floors in a building.
92 / 100 In the early 2000s, the City of Seville was focused on trying to revitalize the once-bustling Plaza de la Encarnación. In doing so, the city held a competition to collect bids for architectural projects that could potentially return the region of the city to its former splendor. The structure that came to be chosen for the space was one designed by a German firm called J. MAYER H., led by architect Jürgen Mayer H. Metropol Parasol—which would come to house open markets, bars, restaurants, and more—was designed to create a fluid, ripple-like effect that incorporated flowing parasols and a waffle-like composition. By the time the project was completed in 2011, in addition to being the world’s largest wooden structure, the Metropol Parasol was also the largest construction to be held together using polyurethane, or foam seal.
93 / 100 Designed by architect Renzo Piano, The Shard is a multi-use building that houses everything from restaurants to corporate offices. At the time of the building’s development, a number of hurdles held up the project that were only overcome when Qatar got involved and helped with financing in exchange for part ownership. Despite having an incredibly aggressive aesthetic as far as blending-in goes, the final Shard tower still achieves a sense of harmony with the city thanks to its reflective glass exterior that quite literally transforms with its surroundings.
94 / 100 When Amsterdam’s art and history museum, the Rijksmuseum, closed for renovations in 2003, the plan was to have everything back up and running three years later. However, a slew of setbacks, including asbestos problems and the departure of the museum’s director, caused the museum to instead remain closed for a decade. In 2013, the museum finally opened its doors again and debuted—among other long-anticipated improvements—a completely redesigned atrium. Amidst all of the changes, the only thing that remained in its former position was Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch.”
95 / 100 Nearly five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, work started on a project to build a new tower. One World Trade Center—also called the “Freedom Tower”—was designed by David Childs and was built with a hybrid concrete-and-steel foundation and frame. The exterior of the 1,776-foot tower is comprised of a special glass that is at once highly reflective to create a unique kaleidoscope effect when hit by light and also incredibly transparent. One World Trade Center officially opened to the public in October 2014, and in addition to leasing corporate offices, the tower is also home to the “One World Observatory” observation deck.
96 / 100 In 2015, the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad was torn down with plans to build a larger, better-designed stadium that would be completed in two years. Though the project wasn’t completed in the original timeline, updated projects estimate the new Sardar Patel Stadium will be completed in 2020. In addition to increased audience capacity, additional improvements to the stadium will include a 55-room clubhouse that will house an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an indoor cricket academy, and a fabric roof system designed by Walter P. Moore, whose previous work includes the Bank of America Tower. Once complete, the new Sardar Patel Stadium is positioned to become the world’s largest cricket stadium.
[Pictured:U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at Sardar Patel Stadium on February 24, 2020.]
97 / 100 Among Alejandro Aravena’s greatest architectural achievements are the social housing projects that he has worked on throughout Latin America. The Chilean architect’s firm, Elemental, has been working for over a decade to rehouse families who have been left homeless and squatting because of economic hardship. Aravena’s innovative approach to the problem is to provide basic concrete-terraced houses that act as a blank slate for families who can start with the frame and make the space feel like their home from there. This work in socially aware and conscious architecture earned Aravena the 2016 Pritzker Prize in Architecture.
[Pictured:Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, Director of the Biennale di Venezia, speaks in Santiago, Chile in 2016.]
98 / 100 When Apple, Inc. began building out its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., the plan was to construct a space that felt more like a campus than it did a traditional office space or company base. Construction on Apple Park commenced in November 2013 and continued through 2018, though the 175-acre campus was opened to employees in 2017, before all construction had wrapped up. Architectural designs for the project—including those for a central Ring Building, the Steve Jobs Theater, a 100,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center, etc.—were completed by Foster + Partners, while the campus’ natural landscape was completed by landscape architect Laurie Olin.
99 / 100 Located at the base of Amazon’s campus in downtown Seattle, The Spheres is a cluster of three domed plant conservatories where employees can work amidst the foliage in the enclosed gardens. Designed by American architectural firm NBBJ, the structures were meant to push the boundary of a traditional workspace by giving the e-retailer’s employees a chance to step away from traditional offices and desks in favor of working and collaborating in the presence of nature. Construction on the Spheres—which are made of a combination of glass, concrete, and steel—began in 2015, and over the next three years, the structures were completed and slowly filled with plants to allow the ecosystems to thrive.
100 / 100 A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most iconic landmarks in the French capital. The medieval Gothic cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, is visited by an estimated 13 million people from around the world each year, which is actually double the amount of people who visit the Eiffel Tower. In April 2019, the historic church was engulfed in flames due to a structural fire, which ultimately destroyed the cathedral’s spire and ceiling—dubbed “the forest” because of the ceiling frame’s strong use of (very flammable) oak wood—before it was extinguished. Reconstruction plans for the church are underway, led largely by French architect Philippe Villeneuve, but tensions among key players about how to approach the restoration continue to pose difficulties in moving forward.
