Building award 2018

Do you love beautiful architecture and design? Then take a look at the winners of the Building Of The Year Award 2018. ArchDaily decided to ask their readers to pick out the buildings that represent the best architecture of the year. With beauty, creativity and intelligence in mind.
It was narrowed down to the 15 winners, which you can see below.

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

This shimmering glass-brick face, is part of a house located in Hiroshima, Japan and designed by Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura. The house was constructed right next to a busy road, and therefore the architects wanted to create a private oasis, but at the same time allow residents to watch the movement on the streets.

It consists of 6,000 specially made glass blocks to build the two-story high wall in front of the building.

CaixaForum Sevilla by Vázquez Consuegra

CaixaForum – the new cultural centre in Sevilla that puts on concerts, movies, discussions, family workshops and conferences. It looks beautiful on both the outside and inside, though most of the building is placed underground. The architect behind it is Vázquez Consuegra.

Waterside Buddhist Shrine by ARCHSTUDIO

This Buddhist shrine, located near the city of Tangshan in China, gives the perfect surroundings for meditation. It has a view to the nearby river and the forested site. With this building, ArchStudio has really managed to fullfill the Buddhist need for humans and nature to exist in harmony.

It consist of 6,000 specially made glass blocks to build the two-story high wall in front of the building.

Gymnasium of New Campus of Tianjin University by Atelier Li Xinggang

This gymnasium for the Tianjin University in China, really sets new standards for amazing architecture. The main buildings include an indoor sports center and natatorium. And the public spaces between the buildings is linked by a large arch bridge.
The building really stands out in its way of exposing the structure of the design, with its concrete walls, curved surfaces and barrel arches.

Apple Store in Chicago by Foster + Partners

The first thing that stand out on this building, is its think Macbook looking roof made of carbon fiber. Supported on slender stainless-steel columns, 32 feet glass walls and a beautiful granite stairway, this design truly do not disappoint, which was created by London firm, Foster + Partners.

Zaryadye Park by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Zerydye Park, is the first park to be built in Moscow, Russia in the last 70 years. Diller Scofidio + Renfro was picked to complete the project in 2012, and has since fulfilled to develop a park that relies on the latest construction technologies and sustainability strategies.

In each corner of the park, visitors will encounter terraces that recreate and celebrate four landscapes found in Russias: tundra, steppe, forest and wetland.

KOI Cafe by Farming Architects

In the KOI Cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam, you’ll find fish pond filled with koi carps, an indoor waterfall and it’s own renewable resource cycle. Waste from the fish is pumped into the soil, which supports the cafe’s green roof. And the waste absorbed by the vegetation, results in purified water for the aquarium.

In terms of building materials, all the wood used was recycled from the old building to create furnitures for the cafe.

The Herdade Do Freixo Winery by Frederico Valsassina Arquitectos

In Portugal, this amazing looking wineyard for Herdade do Freixo was designed by Frederico Valsassina and his team. It has been buried over several floors, 40 meters underground where the wineyard are able to achive the best thermal conditions for wine conservation.

The morphology of the existing ground was so decisive for the project, and therefore it was built underground.
The architect behind, Frederico Valsassina Arquitectos, did an amazing job.

RIJNSTRAAT 8 by OMA

With the help of the OMA, the Dutch government got it’s innovative office building. It was completed in 1992, but have since got through a renovation of its 90,000 m2 building, located next to The Hague’s central station. During its renovation, it was possible to limit the use of new materials – of the 20% of the building that was demolished, 99.7% has been reused.

Children Village by Rosenbaum + Aleph Zero

With this building, the Brazilian firms of Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero was invited to design two dormitories for 540 students. One for boys and one for girls, to house the students of the boarding school.

Huangshan Mountain Village by MAD Architects

Near the ancient villages of Hongcun and Xidi in China, you’ll find the Huangshan Mountain Village. Placed in a stunning looking landscape that has become a popular tourist destination, and part of UNESCO’s Heritage list.

MAD Architects took on the task of designing these buildings, and make it blend in with the culturally important mountain range. Each of the buildings are diverse in height and appearance, to maintain the original mountain levels.

Nike New York Headquarters by WSDIA

A six floor 150,000 square foot space building holds the surroundings of Nike’s headquarters in New York. Besides having a 90-foot, planted swoosh on the rooftop terrace, the building includes a massive indoor basketball court (of course), VIP and workout spaces and custom features that emphasize the company’s history. Read more about the architect here.

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa by Heatherwick Studio

The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, houses 9,500 sq metres of custom designed space, and it is carved out of the Grain Silo Complex. It was onced used to store and grade maize from all over South Africa.
It was the Heatherwick Studio who took on the challenge to convert the concrete tubes into a museum, while keeping the industrial character of the silo.

Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation by El Equipo de Mazzanti

The Santa Fe University Hospital is located in the north of the city of Bogota, Columbia. The new extension design for the hospital was made by Columbian architectural firm, El Equipo Mazzanti, who created a building that looks like something out of a Star Wars movie.

The project began in 2012 as part of a private competition by the Foundation, that had one requirement – the use of bricks. The main challenge was then to face the logistical challenge of ensuring the 12-story structure seamlessly meshed with its urban environment and the other structures of the hospital.

100 Classrooms for Refugee Children by Emergency Architecture & Human Rights

The architecture firm, The Emergency Architecture & Human Rights, works with building for socially vulnerable communities. One big problem today is the refugee of the Syrian civil war, which has displaced millions of people. Amongst these, are a lot of children who can’t receive education due to lack of schools. Therefore, Emergency Architecture & Human Rights has started building sand-bag school for Syrian and Jordanian children.

The structure of the buildings looks like a giant beehive, and is inspired by the Great Mosque of Djenne. These schools can be built quickly and without much construction knowledge, and therefore local workers were trained by EAHR, who hope the skills will be used to build more buildings with.

Location of the buildings

In this map, you can see where you can find the buildings. Maybe you should plan your next trip to go see them live?
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Anticipated buildings of 2018

The great list provided by Archdaily, hands out awards to already built buildings. Here are a list of stunning buildings, we can anticipate to see completed in 2018. 

ARC Power Plant by Bjarke Ingels Group

The Dane, Bjarke Ingels, is well-known for his architecture work in Denmark and around the world. His latest project is for the highly anticipated ARC Power Plant in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building itself is going to burn 400,000 tons of waste annually into clean energy, which in return will power 60,000 homes in the area. But that’s not it. Atop of the structure’s roof, is a nearly 1,500-foot long ski slope, which is accessible through an elevator inside of the building.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice by MASS Design Group

The Boston-based firm, MASS Design Group, are planning to complete this project in 2018, which is the first-ever national memorial to victims of lynching. 

Nanjing Green Towers by Stefano Boeri Architetti

This project, will be Asia’s first-ever vertical forest. A great milestone for a country that has some of the worst carbon dioxide emissions in the world. The 656-foot tall skyscraper will house office spaces, a museum, an architecture school, hotel and a rooftop club.

National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel

Another building design that looks like something out of this world. It’s the new upcoming national museum in Qatar, which design is inspired by the surrounding desert. It will be used to house artifacts related to themes that define the country: oil, gas, trade and Persian Gulf. 

V&A Museum of Design Dundee by Kengo Kuma

Another upcoming museum is this one in Dundee, Scotland. It’s the world-known Japanese designer Kengo Kuma, who have designed this first-ever design museum for Scotland. Kengo got his inspiration for this building from the cliffs surrounding the country.

Paradise City by MVRDV

This is one of the most extravagant designs, which will soon be realised. It’s a building being built by MVRDV in the capital of South Korea. It will house a nightclub and a shopping centre, and its large golden circle will be visible to tourist flying into the nearby Incheon airport.

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