As we marvel at the brilliant new buildings that were completed in 2023, we can't help but wonder what lies ahead for the world's most spectacular cityscapes. 2024 and 2025 will bring even more amazing structures, from an AI museum built by robots to America’s first carbon-positive building.
Click through this gallery to discover the most eye-catching, boundary-pushing buildings about to alter our skylines forever...
A fish market might sound like a utilitarian, less-than-inspiring space. But Sydney Fish Market, set to open later in 2024, is likely to become a unique addition to the city's skyline. Designed by Danish architects 3XN, the 860,000-square-foot (79,896sqm) space will integrate a working market with public food and dining spaces. The New South Wales government hopes the impressive new building will become a major new tourist destination, attracting an estimated six million visitors a year. One thing's for sure – the contemporary design is lightyears away from the damp, pungent fish markets of years gone by.
The building's wave-like roof isn't purely decorative. According to 3XN, it harvests rainwater for reuse and uses prevailing winds to extract hot air. Meanwhile, the timber and aluminium canopy is designed to be as permeable as possible, minimising the need for air conditioning and deflecting direct sunlight. The project has so far cost £395 million (AUS$750m), a massive £263 million (AUS$500m) over the initial 2017 estimate. Price aside, the Fish Market will become the most significant harbourside complex since 1973, when the Sydney Opera House opened.
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The construction of Seoul's extraordinary Robot & AI Museum (RAIM) is as meta as you might expect from such a futuristic building. Not only will it exhibit robots, but it's being built, in part, by them. Turkish firm Melike Altinisik Architects (MAA) is showcasing robotic potential by having them involved from the design process through to assembly, effectively turning the construction itself into an exhibition. Drones will also conduct building inspections, security surveillance and mapping data.
The groundbreaking building will play a role in advancing science and tech by providing a space where people can interact with robots, perhaps for the very first time. It's hoped that the innovative new museum will revitalise the local economy and serve as a base for Korea's fourth industrial revolution, which seeks to integrate new tech like AI and big data into the manufacturing process. Originally slated to open in 2022, RAIM is now set to welcome its first visitors in late 2024.
Made up of 23 inverted steel pyramids, 12 galleries and a soaring steel atrium, it's easy to see how Cairo's Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is only just nearing completion 20 years after construction began. The largest museum in the world devoted to a single civilisation, the GEM has cost £940 million ($1.2bn) to date, and will include labs and research facilities, as well as 100,000 artefacts from 30 dynasties stretching from prehistoric times to the end of the Roman era.
Designed by Ireland’s Heneghan Peng Architects, it's hoped that five million visitors will make their way to the GEM in its first year and a new airport has been built nearby along with hotels to accommodate them. While guests have been allowed into the breathtaking atrium since November 2023 to visit the 83-tonne statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II (pictured), the full museum is expected to open in late spring 2024.
An age-old West African tradition is meeting under a 'palaver tree' to discuss community issues. This symbol inspired architect Francis Kéré's design for the brand-new Benin National Assembly in Porto-Novo. "The site is next to a botanic garden," he told The Guardian, "so we proposed to extend the garden and place the biggest tree in the centre, with a debate hall beneath the figurative tree canopy, reflecting how democracy has always been conducted in West Africa."
A central spiral staircase connects the hall to offices in the crown of the 'tree', while the hollow trunk creates a naturally ventilated central courtyard. Kéré experiments with clever alternatives to air conditioning, and termite mounds influenced one previous build. Born in a remote village in Burkina Faso, Kéré became an architect after winning a scholarship to study in Germany. Twenty-one years after completing his first project, he won the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest accolade. He's certainly one to watch, as is the construction of the Benin National Assembly, due to be completed in the second half of 2024.
Construction is well underway on the new permanent collections building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The new two-storey David Geffen Galleries building has been designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, replacing four older buildings by William Pereira and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, which had serious structural issues. The new 347,500-square-foot (32,283sqm) design bridges Wilshire Boulevard and promises to be a "place of reflection, expression and empathy", according to the museum.
Aiming to provide a more egalitarian viewing experience, the museum will avoid giving more prominence to any one culture or era across the new 110,000 square feet (10,200sqm) of exhibition space. Almost unbelievably, the £511 million ($650m) build is Peter Zumthor's first in the US. A former winner of the Pritzker Prize, Zumthor is noted for having no single style, but his work is often described as minimalist. The building is due in late 2024.
This elegant building will be gracing Shenzhen in 2025, as one of the city's '10 Cultural Facilities of the New Era'. Designed by 3XN, B+H Architects and Zhubo Design, Shenzhen's new Natural History Museum will "rise seamlessly from the river delta", according to B+H, its walls echoing the undulating curves of the city waterfront. The green roof will be a public park, with every turn framing "a new spectacular view over the surrounding park, hills and lake" from dedicated viewing terraces.
A meandering path will spiral down from the rooftop park, like the inside of a shell, to lead visitors to the heart of the building, where a range of specimens will be displayed across 365,000 square feet (33,909sqm) of exhibition space. Visitors will also be able to enjoy multiple cafes and public areas inside the futuristic building. The project is set to cost £386 million (¥3.5bn), which doesn't include the acquisition of the exhibits. We can't wait to see how the completed construction compares to these amazing concept images.
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Another epic creation set to alter a big-city skyline in 2025 is The One, a skyscraper designed by Foster + Partners. Once completed, the 91-storey, 1,004-foot-high (306m) skyscraper will become Canada's tallest building, and its second tallest man-made structure after the CN Tower. The One will sit between downtown Toronto and trendy Yorkville, in an area that's seen rapid transformation over the past decade. The distinctive exterior frame of the building is clad in champagne bronze, making The One look like a shard of light.
A fusion of old and new, the structure will incorporate the historic William Luke Buildings, which date to 1883 and occupy part of the site. However, this potential structure has suffered some bumps in the road. The One went into receivership in October 2023 after the owners, developer Sam Mizrahi and investor Jenny Coco, defaulted on nearly £999 million (CA$1.7bn) of debt. If the build finishes in 2025 commercial units will fill the lower levels, with apartments above. This includes duplex penthouses with sweeping views of Lake Ontario.
To support Riyadh's rapidly expanding population, an entirely new public transit system is being built in the Saudi city. The network will comprise six main lines covering a remarkable 109 miles (175km), and the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station will be one of 85 new stations. Designed by the world-renowned Zaha Hadid Architects and supported by the Riyadh Development Authority (RDA), the exterior of the structure mimics patterns generated by desert winds and reduces solar heat gain.
Inside, maximising circulation and minimising congestion have been prioritised, resulting in a "three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sine-waves", according to the architect. It's hoped the new metro system will be fully up and running by 2030 and the RDA anticipates 3.6 million passengers will use it every day, reducing the number of daily car journeys by almost two million.
In 2006, just one year after it was founded, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MMA Warsaw) held a design competition to create a new building to house its collection. Almost 20 years later, the building is nearly complete and MMA Warsaw is set to open its (new) doors in autumn 2024. Designed by New York City-based architecture studio Thomas Phifer and Partners, the minimalist white building stands on Parade Square in downtown Warsaw and is made from two cuboids that house four above-ground and two below-ground storeys.
Inside, 48,500 square feet (4,500sqm) of exhibition space exists alongside a 150-seat cinema, an auditorium, cafe and a shop, as well as conservation and art storage areas. The galleries on the top floor will be illuminated by sunlight pouring in through shaded skylights. "The roof is the building's 'fifth wall'. We want the galleries to glow with diffused light," says architect Thomas Phifer. Interior fit-out works are currently underway on all floors, concentrating around this arresting central staircase. When MMA Warsaw finally opens, it's planning to mark the event with the biggest exhibition in its history.
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