Architecture

From holey hotel to mountain museum: The best buildings of 2018

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The extraordinary Morpheus Hotel, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is one of our picks for the best buildings of 2018
Virgile Simon Bertrand
64 panels of full-height structural glass are arranged in a staggered, serrated pattern in Coal Drops Yard's uppermost floor
Hufton + Crow
Coal Drops Yard's uppermost floor features panoramic views
Hufton + Crow
Construction on Coal Drops Yard began in 2016 and involved reinventing two ornate old iron and brick railway buildings into a new shopping district comprising 60 retail units
Hufton + Crow
"The design extends the inner gabled roofs of the warehouses to link the two viaducts and define the yard, as well as creating fluid patterns of circulation," says Heatherwick Studio
Hufton + Crow
Coal Drops Yard links the two buildings as well as two viaducts on the site with massive new roofs
Hufton + Crow
Coal Drops Yard's two roof sections meet in the middle 
Hufton + Crow
Coal Drops Yard's protruding roof sections create a covered space
Hufton + Crow
Heatherwick Studio has done a stellar job of joining old and new with Coal Drops Yard
Hufton + Crow
Coal Drops Yard is located in Kings Cross, London
Hufton + Crow
In a nice touch, the 80,000 slate tiles that top Coal Drops Yard's roof were drawn from the same slate quarry in North Wales that were used on the original warehouse buildings
Hufton + Crow
Morpheus Hotel serves as a new flagship hotel for the City of Dreams resort in Macau, China
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel's interior design is as eye-catching as its exterior
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel includes 770 guest rooms, suites and sky villas, as well as meeting and event rooms, restaurants, spa, and a rooftop pool
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel's atrium is designed to reduce solar heat gain
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel has a total floorspace of 147,860 sq m (1,591,550 sq ft)
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel includes 42 floors
Virgile Simon Bertrand
The extraordinary Morpheus Hotel, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is one of our picks for the best buildings of 2018
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel is wrapped in a steel and aluminum exoskeleton that provides structural support
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel serves as a new flagship hotel for the City of Dreams resort in Macau
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Morpheus Hotel is designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher 
Virgile Simon Bertrand
007 Elements is reachable only by cable car
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements is located on a site 3,040 m (9,973 ft)-high on the summit of Gaislachkogl Mountain, above Sölden in Austria
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements is located in the same area that scenes from the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre were filmed
Christoph Nîsig
Visitors enter 007 Elements through a tunnel named "the Barrel of the Gun," before descending into multiple exhibition spaces
Christoph Nîsig
The 007 Elements exhibition spaces have novel names like the "Lair" and "Briefing Room," with sculptures, viewings of previous Bond movie action sequences, and more
Christoph Nîsig
The 007 Elements building itself sports a simple material palette of concrete, steel and glass, which was chosen to reflect modern Bond's style
Christoph Nîsig
The 007 Elements installations were curated with input from Neal Callow, Creative and Art Director on the last four Bond films
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements was constructed during very challenging conditions 
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements required a helicopter to bring over building materials
Christoph Nîsig
Grass and wildflowers grow atop the Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience building
Joas Souza
According to Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the building's roof is one of the most complex timber structures in the world
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience's roof consists of 1,800 timber beams and 380,000 individual components
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience contains new stills that are the exact same shape, size as those used in the original distillery
Joas Souza
View of steam pipework and process machinery beneath in the Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience's new facilities boost whisky production by up to a third
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience took up to 400 people a total of three years and six months to complete
Joas Souza
Visitors to the Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience are greeted with an exhibition and gallery area, before progressing through a sequence of production areas that follow the distilling of the whisky
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience is a very attractive building 
Joas Souza
The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience's timber roof consists of 1,800 timber beams and 380,000 individual components
Joas Souza
Calgary Central Library in built on a very challenging plot that incorporates an existing light rail line
Michael Grimm
Visitors enter Calgary Central Library through a large wood archway inspired by the Chinook cloud arch
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library has a total floorspace of 240,000 sq ft (22,300 sq m)
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library features a triple-glazed facade comprising a hexagonal pattern of fritted glass and aluminum panels
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library's main atrium is defined by its double-curved shell created from planks of western red cedar sourced from British Columbia
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library's main atrium is topped by a decorative oculus
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library's interior is arranged so that louder public activities are carried out on the lower floors and quieter study areas are away from the noise on the upper levels
Michael Grimm
"Wood slats line the perimeter of the open atrium, shaped in plan like a pointed ellipse, serving as an orientation device for people to quickly grasp the circulation and organizational logic of the library," says Snøhetta
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library's material palette is a simple mixture of wood, glass and concrete
Michael Grimm
Calgary Central Library's interior is arranged so that louder public activities are carried out on the lower floors and quieter study areas are away from the noise on the upper levels
Michael Grimm
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion consists of two towers, one rising to 120 m (393 ft)-tall and the other reaching 220 m (721 ft)
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion was designed by BIG but also involved Transsolar and Arup
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion was commissioned following an architecture competition in 2009 and construction began in 2012
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion has a combined floorspace of 96,000 sq m (around a million sq ft)
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion's upper areas are reserved for state-owned firm Shenzhen Energy Company, while lower areas are made up of office space to rent
Chao Zhang
"Shenzhen Energy Mansion is our first realized example of 'engineering without engines' – the idea that we can engineer the dependence on machinery out of our buildings and let architecture fulfill the performance," says BIG founder Bjarke Ingels
Chao Zhang
According to BIG, even when the sun is shining directly onto the building from the east or west, most of its rays are reflected off the glass, thus preventing it from unduly heating up the interior and reducing energy requirements 
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion's remarkable shape lends it a different appearance, depending on where in the city one is viewing it from
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion's two towers are joined together with a 34 m (111 ft)-tall podium that houses lobbies, a conference center, cafeteria, and an exhibition space
Chao Zhang
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion consists of two towers, one rising to 120 m (393 ft)-tall and the other reaching 220 m (721 ft)
Chao Zhang
The new Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 is located in Lapu-Lapu City and is part of an ongoing development push in the area by the Philippine government
Sydney Dyguani
The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2's interior is meant to evoke the hull of a boat and really does show off the natural beauty of the build materials
Steve Lee
The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 features a striking design inspired by ocean waves
Erwin Choachuy
The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 makes use of glulam (glue-laminated timber)
Sydney Dyguani
The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 project took three years to construct and cost US$327 million
Christopher Colinares
Children Village is located on the edge of the rainforest in northern Brazil
Leonardo Finotti
Children Village was designed by Gustavo Utrabo and Petro Duschenes from Aleph Zero, along with Rosenbaum's Marcelo Rosenbaum and Adriana Benguela
Leonardo Finotti
Children Village provides boarding school accommodation for over 500 children aged between 13 to 18
Leonardo Finotti
Many of Children Village's pupils hail from remote areas of Brazil
Leonardo Finotti
The 25,000 sq m (270,000 sq ft) Children Village is split into two identical parts: one for girls and another for boys
Leonardo Finotti
Impressively, despite the tropical climate, which can reach around 45° C (113 degrees Fahrenheit), the interior of Children Village provides a comfortable environment without air-conditioning
Leonardo Finotti
Children Village's architects worked closely with the kids and asked them what they wanted and needed to be comfortable away from home
Leonardo Finotti
Children Village's residences are arranged around large and well-shaded courtyards 
Leonardo Finotti
Bloomberg London features energy-efficent smart ceilings that automatically regulate acoustics, temperature and lighting
James Newton
Bloomberg London represents the third time that Foster + Partners has been declared the winner of the most prestigious award in British architecture, RIBA's Stirling Prize
Foster + Partners
Visitors to Bloomberg London's main entrance enter into the "Vortex," a double-height space comprising three curved timber shells
Foster + Partners
Bloomberg London includes access to tube stations, a museum displaying the Roman Temple of Mithras (discovered on the site 60 years ago), and cafes and restaurants
James Newton
Bloomberg London includes public artwork, like this piece called Forgotten Streams, by Cristina Iglesias
Foster + Partners
Bloomberg London has considerable sustainable features
Foster + Partners
Bloomberg London serves as the massive new London headquarters for the media giant 
Foster + Partners
Bloomberg London actually consists of two buildings joined by a bridge
Foster + Partners
Bloomberg London is finished in 9,600 tonnes (10,752 US tons) of sandstone, enlivened by bronze window ventilation fins
Foster + Partners
The new town hall for the people of Eysturkommuna, with a soccer pitch in the foreground
Nic Lehoux
View from the Eysturkommuna Town Hall
Nic Lehoux
The Eysturkommuna Town Hall doubles as a grass-covered pedestrian bridge
Nic Lehoux
The Eysturkommuna Town Hall is an effort to re-energize public life in the region
Nic Lehoux
View of the Eysturkommuna Town Hall from the water
Nic Lehoux
Construction began on the Eysturkommuna Town Hall in 2015
Nic Lehoux
The Eysturkommuna Town Hall is a new 700 sq m facility for the village of Norðragøta
Nic Lehoux
The Eysturkommuna Town Hall features a glass opening in its floor
Nic Lehoux
Interior of the Eysturkommuna Town Hall
Nic Lehoux
View gallery - 90 images

2018 has been a strong year for architecture worldwide and our coverage has been correspondingly varied. From a starchitect-designed hotel with holes in it, to a James Bond-themed museum high up in the mountains, here's our pick of the best buildings of the year.

We won't lie to you. Selecting 2018's top buildings was not an easy task, but we've managed to choose 10 of the very best – listed below in no particular order. More info and photos for each of them can be found in the gallery.

Children Village

Children Village provides boarding school accommodation for over 500 children aged between 13 to 18
Leonardo Finotti

Aleph Zero and Rosenbaum's Children Village was recently named the 2018 International Prize winner by RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects). It serves as a home away from home to over 500 schoolchildren in Brazil.

The 25,000 sq m (270,000 sq ft) boarding school is split into two matching buildings, one for boys and another for girls. Residences are arranged around central courtyards at ground level and upper areas host communal spaces. Despite the tropical climate in that part of the world, Children Village stays cool without air-conditioning thanks to its focus on passive ventilation and shading.

Macallan Distillery

Grass and wildflowers grow atop the Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience building
Joas Souza

Described by architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners as one of the most complex timber structures in the world, the Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Experience is a remarkable building topped by a large undulating green roof that helps it blend in with the Scottish landscape.

The distillery's design is inspired by ancient Scottish earthworks and the building is part-buried into a slope. Its eye-catching roof consists of 1,800 timber beams and 380,000 individual components, and is enclosed by a glazed facade.

Calgary Central Library

Calgary Central Library in built on a very challenging plot that incorporates an existing light rail line
Michael Grimm

Snøhetta worked with local firm Dialog to design a new library for Calgary, Canada. The Calgary Central Library is situated in a very challenging site that has a train running through it.

The library's exterior consists of an energy-efficient glazed facade made up of a hexagonal pattern of glass and aluminum that looks a little like snowflakes. Inside, visitors enter through a large wood archway inspired by Chinook cloud arch formations into a stunning wooden atrium topped by a decorative oculus. The team used considerable soundproofing to ensure that people studying in the upper reading rooms would not be disturbed by the trains passing below.

007 Elements

007 Elements is located in the same area that scenes from the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre were filmed
Christoph Nîsig

The James Bond-themed 007 Elements museum is the work of Obermoser Arch-Omo, Optimist's Tino Schaedler and Art Director Neal Callow. It is situated at 3,040 m (9,973 ft) on the summit of the Gaislachkogl Mountain in Austria and represents a significant engineering achievement for architects Obermoser Arch-Omo, who had to carry out the project in difficult conditions, including unexpected early snowfall.

The concrete museum hosts interior spaces inspired by the long-running spy movies. Interestingly, the firm chose to not install any heating in the museum, despite the extreme environment. This was done both so that visitors experienced the mountainous conditions in full, and to ensure that no heat is transferred to the permafrost on the site.

Coal Drops Yard

In a nice touch, the 80,000 slate tiles that top Coal Drops Yard's roof were drawn from the same slate quarry in North Wales that were used on the original warehouse buildings
Hufton + Crow

High-profile designer Thomas Heatherwick's firm Heatherwick Studio did a masterful job mixing old and new while turning two dilapidated Victorian-era coal storage buildings in London into a large new shopping center crowned by a stunning roof.

Coal Drops Yard sees the original buildings extended and renovated, as well as two viaducts on the site. The curved roof sections are covered in 80,000 slate tiles drawn from the same slate quarry in North Wales used when constructing the original buildings over 150 years ago.

Bloomberg HQ London

Bloomberg London serves as the massive new London headquarters for the media giant 
Foster + Partners

Recently named Britain's best new building by RIBA, Foster + Partners' Bloomberg Headquarters takes up an entire block in the City of London. It is widely reported to have cost £1 billion (US$1.3 billion).

It consists of two large buildings joined by a bridge and situated either side of a new public arcade that re-establishes an ancient Roman road. They're finished in 9,600 tonnes (10,752 US tons) of sandstone and enlivened by decorative bronze window ventilation fins. A significant amount of sustainable technology went into the project too, most notably rainwater capture, greywater recycling, natural lighting, and smart ventilation systems.

Shenzhen Energy Mansion

The Shenzhen Energy Mansion's remarkable shape lends it a different appearance, depending on where in the city one is viewing it from
Chao Zhang

Denmark's BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) offers an interesting twist on skyscraper design with its Shenzhen Energy Mansion. The project consists of two towers rising to 120 m (393 ft)-tall and 220 m (721 ft), respectively, that are joined by a podium.

The towers' facades mix glazing and an aluminum skin that's carefully patterned to reduce the amount of daylight that permeates within. Additionally, eye-catching folds in the exterior help mitigate the sun's glare and solar heat gain. It has been awarded LEED Gold (a green building standard) for its efficiency, and other notable features include rainwater collection, greywater recycling, and green roofs.

The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2

The Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 project took three years to construct and cost US$327 million
Christopher Colinares

International airports are often rather dull places to spend some time but the Philippines' Mactan Cebu International Terminal 2 is one notable exception.

The airport is primarily constructed from glulam (glue-laminated timber) and has a striking overall shape inspired by rolling ocean waves. Inside, the arched skeleton of the structure has been left exposed and the floor is finished in decorative terrazzo inlaid with iridescent mother-of-pearl. A large team realized this project, including Kenneth Cobonpue, interior designer Budji Layug, architect Royal Pineda, and Hong Kong-based Integrated Design Associates.

Eysturkommuna Town Hall

The Eysturkommuna Town Hall is an effort to re-energize public life in the region
Nic Lehoux

Designed by Henning Larsen Architects, the Eysturkommuna Town Hall in the Faroe Islands serves as both town hall for the village of Norðragøta, and a bridge for locals to cross a river.

The 700 sq m (7,500 sq ft) building is covered by a green roof and its interior centers around a glass floor opening with views of the water running beneath. A circular table ensures no one person sits at the end so that all are deemed equal, a layout inspired by the kivas, the ceremonial chambers of the Pueblo Native Americans.

Morpheus Hotel

Morpheus Hotel is wrapped in a steel and aluminum exoskeleton that provides structural support
Virgile Simon Bertrand

Morpheus Hotel, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is built atop the foundations of a rectangular condo that was never completed, it rises to a height of 160 m (524 ft) and, structurally, takes the form of two towers connected at multiple points.

Its exterior features an impressive exoskeleton comprising 2,500 steelwork connections and 1,200 junctions, all clad in aluminum. The hotel's 42 m (137 ft)-tall atrium is filled with complex geometric shapes and a dozen glass elevators move people around. The 147,860 sq m (1,591,550 sq ft) building includes 770 guest rooms, suites and sky villas, and is topped by a rooftop pool.

View gallery - 90 images
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3 comments
guzmanchinky
I've been to the 007 building this summer, it is astonishing, and the restaurant/bar is amazing. The men's urinal in the separate little building below has the best view anyone will ever have while going wee. But only for the men! The Distillery looks incredible, must go see that one...
Grunchy
The basement of the old Calgary central library flooded during the 2013 flood and I heard wrecked lots of the microfiche that had been down there. The new location is just spectacular though, and no more basement. The old one wasn't really that bad, it was only about 50 steps from the C-train stop and shaped as a rectangular brick building & hence old fashioned. Sadly, they gave the fire trick they had parked inside back to the fire department and nothing for the new library.
SteveMc
It's a shame that the majority of these buildings are owned by the millionaires and billionaires and built for their own gratification. I am particularly disgusted by the London coal bunker 'development' being built for the benefit of global brand corporations (with a few token artisans and culture to appease the planners and PR) while the UK government has been forced to initiate a real shop rescue fund to attempt a rescue of the independent businesses who can't afford to stay open. "There are stores here that you know (but perhaps not as you know them), and stores that you don’t." So corporations with disguised rebrands to appear as artisans then......