Skyscrapers

Defined by an unusual exterior made up of 500 rods that will be illuminated as they sway with the prevailing wind, the aptly named Breeze of Innovation is a new tower slated for Silicon Valley. It will rise to a maximum height of 200 ft in San José.

Despite the challenges and delays caused by COVID-19, 2021 looks set to be an outstanding year for architecture. With this in mind, we've chosen five exciting projects we're looking forward to this year.

Turkey's Melike Altinisik Architects recently completed work on a new supertall communications tower. It reaches a height of 369 m over Istanbul and boasts a viewing area offering choice views of the point where Europe and Asia meet.

Rising to a height of 1,005 ft and defined by its spiraling green terraces, which twist around its glass form as it rises, The Spiral by BIG is now nearing completion. The ambitious building recently topped out and is slated to open in 2022.

Taking up the footprint of an entire city block and rising to a height of 308 m, Foster + Partners' 50 Hudson Yards recently topped out in Manhattan. The project is now well on the way to completion and expected to be in use by 2022.

The tall timber construction boom continues with a tower slated for Berlin. Designed by Mad arkitekter, it will integrate greenery and feature a hybrid wood and concrete structure that allows it to reach a considerable height of 98 m.

Two eye-catching skyscrapers designed by Frank Gehry are slated for the high-profile architect's hometown in Toronto. Resembling a collection of stacked boxes, the project will, assuming it goes to plan, include Gehry's tallest building to date.

Thin is in when it comes to skyscraper design, with skinny luxury towers increasingly seen as viable in crowded cities. However, the Pencil Tower Hotel makes other thin towers look chunky as it will measure just 6.4 meters in width.

The number of timber towers worldwide is set to grow with a new example from 3XN and IttenBrechbühl. Named the Tilia Tower, the mixed-use building is slated for the outskirts of Lausanne, Switzerland, and will rise to a height of 85 m.

Stefano Boeri Architetti and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are reimagining Milan's Pirellino office tower and surrounding area. The project will renovate the building and create a new greenery covered tower, with a greenery filled bridge connecting them.

Over a decade after first being commissioned, Vincent Callebaut's twisting Tao Zhu Yin Yuan is finally nearing completion – and it's looking like the wait has been worth it. It has an ambitious DNA-inspired form and a focus on energy efficiency.

UK firm Heatherwick Studio's North American invasion continues with a pair of high-rise towers slated for Canada. Defined by an eye-catching tapering design, the high-rise buildings would make significant use of wood and incorporate lots of greenery.