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2023 in architecture had elements of extravagance, with India unveiling the world’s tallest office building and Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 becoming the second tallest skyscraper ever built. But it was also a year that celebrated subtlety, with a thoughtfully designed Chinese boarding school being named World Building of the Year and British architect David Chipperfield (who has also undertaken the transformation of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens) being honored with the Pritzker Prize – the the industry’s equivalent of a Nobel Prize – for a career dedicated to subtly designed cultural institutions. 2024 will likely bring a similar mix of boldness and beauty.

Let’s then look at 10 exciting architectural projects that will be completed this year:

National Assembly of Benin – Porto Novo, Benin

The new National Assembly of Benin, by the office Kéré ArchitectureKéré Architecture

In 2022 Francis Kéré from Burkina Faso became the first African architect to win the coveted Pritzker Prize. And his plan for the new 35,000 sq.m. National Assembly. in neighboring Benin he follows the same principles he has championed since he took on his first order, a primary school in his village, in 2001: natural ventilation, plenty of shading and the use of local materials. According to Kéré’s Berlin-based company, the look of the building is inspired by the palaver tree, which is traditionally a meeting point in African villages (kind of like the big sycamore of the village square in Greece). A ground-floor meeting hall will house Benin’s 109-seat legislature, while a public park around it offers “a sense of openness and transparency,” according to the project’s description.

Nanjing Vertical Forest – Nanjing, China

Nanjing Vertical Forest, by Stefano Boeri ArchitettiStefano Boeri Architetti

The tree-covered Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) in Milan has become an icon of green design since it opened nearly a decade ago. But for architect Stefano Boeri, the impressive residential project was only the beginning of a series of similar projects in Europe and beyond. The latest of these, in China’s former capital Nanjing, will feature around 800 trees and over 2,500 shrubs and climbers that will be installed in carefully designed balconies. Consisting of two towers – the largest of which is 200 meters high – the new Vertical Forest will include offices, a museum and a hotel with a rooftop pool. Boeri’s company said the 27 endemic species sprouting from the building facades will promote biodiversity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 18 tonnes per year.

Kunstsilo – Kristiansand, Norway

Kunstsilo was designed by Mestres Wåge Arquitectes and MX_SIKunstsilo

A towering pre-war grain storage silo in the southern Norwegian town of Kristiansand was left empty when the local mill closed after 370 years of continuous operation in 2008. However, local officials ordered the decommissioned heritage structure to be preserved and launched an architectural competition for redesigning it as a gallery, which attracted proposals from more than 100 architectural firms. The winning proposal, by Mestres Wåge Arquitectes and MX_SI, leaves much of the exterior of the silo intact. Inside, however, 3,000 square meters of exhibition space has been laid out to house the 5,500-work Tangen Collection, the largest private collection of Nordic art in the world.

Keppel South Central – Singapore

The pool at Keppel South Central, designed by NBBJNBBJ office

The airy outdoor swimming pool and abundant green spaces will make breaks more enjoyable for corporate workers housed in Singapore’s Keppel South Central Tower. While the building’s facade curves near its base to shelter an outdoor plaza with shops, cafes and restaurants.

While rooftop photovoltaics and rainwater harvesting systems contribute to the tower’s designation by architecture firm NBBJ as one of “Singapore’s most sustainable office buildings to date”.

EVE Park – London, Canada

EVE Park was designed by the Gensler office for the construction company s2e TechnologiesGensler/Studio Dror

Canada’s Electric Vehicle Enclave Park (or EVE Park) in London, Ontario is a residential project exclusively for electric vehicle enthusiasts and powered by the sun. It offers electric vehicle charging and a car-sharing program for residents. Each of the apartment buildings contains an automated ‘smart’ parking tower that stores vehicles vertically, freeing up space for gardens. The four circular residential structures, designed for the construction company s2e Technologies by the American architectural office Gensler, can accommodate a total of 84 households. They are positioned and oriented to maximize sun exposure for the photovoltaics that feed the community’s “microgrid”.

EPIQ – Quito, Ecuador

EPIQ was designed by Dane Bjarke IngelsUribe Schwarzkopf/Bjarke Ingels

Quito grows taller year after year with high-rise buildings designed by well-known architects such as Moshe Safdie, Jean Nouvel and Ma Yansong. Bjarke Ingels, founder of Danish architecture firm BIG, after completing the city’s tallest building, the 133m IQON in 2022, returns this year with EPIQ, at the southern end of Parque La Carolina in the city centre. The 24-story mixed-use building is divided into eight distinct volumes – or “buildings within buildings” – connected by green terraces.

The restoration of the Grand Palais – Paris, France

After 124 years, the Grand Palais is made ‘new’ again by Chatillon ArchitectesChatillon Architectes

The Grand Palais in the heart of Paris from 1900 completed until today, has functioned as an exhibition space, event space and even as a military hospital during the First World War. But while work has been done on its glass roof and foundations in that time, the building has never undergone major renovations. For this reason it was closed to the public in 2021 in order to begin a 212 million euro renovation by Chatillon Architects. Facilities are being modernised, access and environmental performance are being improved, an additional underground level is being opened and the way visitors move around the complex’s sunny exhibition hall is changing. The first renovated sections will be ready in time for the Paris Olympics this summer.

One Za’abeel – Dubai, UAE

One Za’abeel’s twin towers, with the bridge known as The Link, designed by Nikken SekkeiKerzner International

After the world’s tallest building, the United Arab Emirates has achieved another outstanding feat of structural engineering: a 226-meter-long, 9,500-ton bridge that rises 100 meters above a busy Dubai highway and connects the two skyscrapers of the One Za complex ‘abeel, which will open in February. The two towers – described as “father and son” by Japanese design firm Nikken Sekkei – include residences, office space and a hotel, while their “bridge” will house luxury restaurants, a swimming pool and observation decks overlooking the city and the Persian Gulf.

Populus Hotel – Denver, USA

The 13-story Populus Hotel designed by Studio Gang ArchitechtsStudio Gang

Set to open this summer in Denver, Colorado, the 13-story, 265-room hotel is an interesting example of biophilic design, inspired by the trunk of the endemic poplar (Populus is the tree’s scientific name). It is the first carbon-positive hotel in the US, and it will be the first building to be built in downtown Denver without parking.

QPAC’s New Theater – Brisbane, Australia

The new theater at the Queensland Performing Arts Center was designed by Norwegian architects Snøhetta and Australian Blight RaynerVisualiiiWith its vast, undulating glass facade and open foyer spaces, the long-awaited new building at the Queensland Performing Arts Center (QPAC) in Brisbane, Australia, it offers a transparency rarely associated with theaters. Deeper inside, however, a concrete shell contains the main attraction, a 1,500-seat wood-paneled auditorium designed to host ballet, opera, theater and musicals.

Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta and local office Blight Rayner – who together beat more than 20 entrants to an international competition – took design inspiration from the flow of the Brisbane River. The project cost A$175 million (€106.5 million).

With information from: The new architecture set to shape the world in 2024 by Oscar Holland, CNN

Source: https://www.cnn.gr/kosmos/story/400349/sk-ta-10-pio-synarpastika-arxitektonika-protzekt-tou-2024