The year flew by quickly, but left behind dozens of impressive buildings that we will definitely remember. We summarize the results of 2021 and recall the best projects of the year.

Hotel in Maebashi designed by Su Fujimoto

Impressive does not mean large-scale. Therefore, our list opens a compact construction of a hotel in Maebashi designed by Su Fujimoto. The architect reconstructed the old building, removing part of the walls inside it and attaching a green hill with small houses to it.

Photo: Katsumasa Tanaka

Photo: Katsumasa Tanaka

Tianjin Juilliard School designed by the bureau Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro built the Juilliard School for the second time — the first appeared in New York, now its branch has been built in China. The new facility consists of four concrete and steel pavilions with glass walkways. Like its American counterpart, the project accommodates spaces for performances and training, as well as public spaces.

Photo: Zhang Chao

Photo: Zhang Chao

Village School in China

Open Architecture architects have built a school in China that looks like a small village, with more than 2,000 students aged three to fifteen instead of residents. The kindergarten is located in an autonomous building, and the schools are located in rooms scattered throughout the campus. The art center looks like a piece of rock with smooth edges, but the library resembles a huge whale.

A new skyscraper in St. Louis designed by Studio Gang

The new skyscraper from Studio Gang is located next to Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Its construction consists of four-storey modules with beveled corners that form private terraces and shared open spaces. The facade is decorated with glass panels that reflect the clouds and trees of the park and allow the building to fit harmoniously into the landscape.

Photo: Tom Harris

Photo: Tom Harris

Tea house designed by Neri & Hu in Fuzhou

Neri & Hu studio was inspired by an ancient temple and built a tea house celebrating the traditional architecture of China. As a basis, the architects took the historical house of the Qing Dynasty, filled with complex decorative wood carvings. The architects gently «wrapped» it in a new design, leaving the artifact unchanged.

Photo: Chen Hao

Photo: Chen Hao

Office building with a pedestrian street inside designed by Jean Nouvel

Pritzker laureate Jean Nouvel has built an office building in Shanghai with a pedestrian street inside. The site was located in an area that was part of the French concession in the late XIX and early XX century. And this has left its mark: now there is a variety of styles, and the streets are buried in the greenery of London plane trees. The architect tried to fit the building into the formed urban development, but still made a reference to traditional Chinese streets.

Photo: 10 Studio

A campus to support startups in Kenya

Insect habitats are not the most obvious thing for inspiration. But Berlin-based studio Kéré Architecture has built a campus to support startups in Kenya, based on the construction of termite mounds. The two-level terracotta buildings have many terraces and shaded gazebos, as well as three tall towers resembling chimneys. Their angular shape allows you to push out hot air from above and draw in cold air through the holes from below. By the way, the project was included in the list of impressive buildings according to the AD editors of all countries.

Photo: © Kere Architecture

Colorado Springs Bridge designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Last year we wrote about the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, which was built by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. This year they added a new bridge to the composition, which is in harmony with the facade of the building. At night, the bridge lights up, illuminating the passage, and the slots in it turn the structure into a kind of lighthouse. Both pedestrians and cyclists will be able to use it. It is equipped with an elevator and a ramp and is as convenient as possible for people traveling in a wheelchair.

Hangzhou Showroom

The two-story showroom, paneled in stainless steel, looks like a rock. And there is an exclamation mark on the front door, hinting at the «feeling of surprise” that can be experienced inside. Already in the lobby, a three-dimensional arch, a staircase of non-standard shape, a podium made up of blocks of different geometric shapes, as well as a bar counter formed by cylinders lined up in a row, catch your eye.

Photo: Feng Shao

Photo: Feng Shao

Luma Arles Tower designed by Frank Gehry

The expressive tower was designed for the art center, which was founded by the Swiss collector Maya Hoffmann in 2013 and occupies the territory of former railway workshops built in the middle of the XIX century. According to Frank Gehry, the architecture is inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings «Starry Night» and Les Alpilles, which were painted by the artist nearby. The second source is the Roman architecture of Arles: the glass drum from which the tower grows largely echoes the forms of the ancient amphitheater.

Photo: Iwan Baan

Photo: Iwan Baan

Exhibition Center in China

The architectural firm CLOU architects has built a center in Sanya, which accommodates a multifunctional research complex and an exhibition space. Its purpose is to present advanced agricultural technologies to the public and to show the openness of this sphere. That is why the translucent facade of Sanya Farm Lab demonstrates the contents of the building to passersby.

Photo: Shining Laboratory

Photo: Shining Laboratory

The observation tower according to the BIG project in Denmark

Bjarke Ingels Architectural Firm has built a new tourist attraction in Denmark. This is a 25-meter observation tower, which is located on the territory of the Marsk campsite and resembles a giant DNA structure. The structure is made of 300 tons of Corten steel and consists entirely of steps. The structure in the form of a double helix offers two ways: one leads up, the other leads exclusively down. 

Photo: Marsk Camp

Photo: Marsk Camp

Audrey Irmas Pavilion by OMA project in Los Angeles

In September, the long-awaited pavilion of the Jewish temple still appeared in Los Angeles. Its construction began back in 2015, when the OMA bureau won the competition. The architects built a monolithic structure that deviates from the historical temple to let more natural light into the courtyard. At the same time, it stretches to Wilshire Boulevard, inviting residents to a new urban environment.

Photo: Jason O’Rear / OMA New York

Photo: Jason O’Rear / OMA New York

Climate Research Center in Greenland

A team led by the Danish architect Dorte Mandrup worked on the design of the complex structure. The Bureau presented a design with a winding triangular structure that demonstrates openness and at the same time stands out minimally against the rocky landscape. And the building itself is completely glazed so that visitors can see the impressive changes in light. 

Photo: Adam Mørk.

Office building designed by Sergey Choban in St. Petersburg

At the end of the summer, the construction of an office center under the Tchoban Voss Architekten project was completed in St. Petersburg. According to the bureau, this is one of the first buildings in Russia built with a sculptural facade made of Korten steel. This material is resistant to corrosion and has a bright, expressive appearance. The name of the business center translates as «iron» and is a reference to the material of the facade and to the industrial history of this place.

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava at Expo 2020 in Dubai

In early October, the Expo 2020 World Exhibition opened in Dubai, which was not held last year due to the pandemic. The central pavilion of the host country was designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava. Its design is inspired by the shape of the wing of a flying falcon, which is depicted on the coat of arms of the UAE.

Photo: © Palladium Photodesign. Oliver Schuh + Barbara Burg

Photo: © Palladium Photodesign. Oliver Schuh + Barbara Burg

12 pavilions worth paying attention to at Expo 2020 in Dubai, Expo 2020 Dubai, which opened on October 1, 2021, perfectly combines oriental luxury, Western technologies and the unthinkable by modern standards, when the whole world lives in a restricted movement mode, the number of impressions.Read

A new multifunctional complex under the OMA project in Fukuoka

The Tenjin Business Center became the first OMA-designed office building in Japan. And also the first implemented project within the framework of the Tenjin Big Bang initiative, according to which this area will soon become a new technological city. The complex includes many offices, several companies and shops, as well as parking. The glazed facades are made in pixel technique, and the building itself resembles a huge ice cube, which seems to begin to melt from several sides.

The center of hospitality in the park «Kudykina Gora”

To build a Hospitality Center, Megabudka architects conducted research and developed their own vision of a new Russian style. It is not artificially derived, but is based on cultural aspects inherent in the national architecture and mentality. For example, the facade is made of dark wood, as if burnt out in the sun, and refers to traditional wooden architecture. And the ornaments of triangular windows, grilles, belts and various ways of laying boards play out archetypal images of the Russian hut.

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

New Infinitus China Headquarters designed by Zaha Hadid Architects

The bureau of Zaha Hadid Architects did not often delight us with its projects in 2021. But in November it presented the headquarters of Infinitus China. A metro line runs directly under the complex, which divides it into two separate buildings. The structures are made in the same style — in the form of a series of rings. And rounded atriums and courtyards form an infinity sign, which is a reference to the company’s name. 

Photo: Liang Xue

Photo: Liang Xue