Ten brand new buildings, designed by great architects and destined to redefine the identity of the cities that host them: these icons of recent architecture are the great protagonists of the ten photographs selected in the Top 10 of the New Buildings 2022 award promoted by Matrix4Design in collaboration with URBAN Photo Awards, now in its third edition.
The images chosen by Matrix4Design founder Andrea Boni tell about visionary projects that have been able to interpret the innovative spirit of the contemporary age by changing the urban landscape, and celebrate them through shots of extraordinary impact. Discover the gallery below.
Alessandro Gamberini – The Cloud
Created in 1993, the Fondazione Prada is the cultural institution chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli and dedicated to contemporary art, film, photography, philosophy, dance and architecture projects. Its headquarters is located in Milan, opened in 2015 and covers an area of 20,000 square meters. The project, designed by architecture firm OMA, founded by Rem Koolhaas, consisted of the redevelopment of a gin distillery built in the early 20th century and the construction of three new buildings.
Alma Bibolotti – The Curve
Opened in 2011, the Riverside Museum in Glasgow houses the Scottish city’s Museum of Transport and is located on the banks of the River Clyde in the redeveloped Glasgow Harbour neighborhood. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the museum showcases more than 3,000 objects that have made mobility history, from skateboards to vintage cars to historic locomotives.
Angiolo Manetti – Apocalyptic Visions
Opened in 2022 and located in Amsterdam’s new financial district, the Valley project was designed by Dutch studio MVRDV and is a 75,000-square-meter mixed-use architectural complex comprising 200 apartments, stores, offices, cultural centers, as well as an underground parking garage with 375 spaces. Glass windows, terraces and roof gardens complete the structure, which features spaces open to citizens.
Gabriel Caneda – Botin Center
Completed in 2017, the Botin Center for Art and Culture is located in Santander, Spain, and was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. The structure consists of two volumes of different sizes supported by columns and connected by an elevated walkway over the Cantabrian Sea, over which both buildings are partially suspended.
Giada Catanoso – Dreamy Skyscraper
Completed in 2015, 432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper, 426 meters high, located in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Designed by Uruguayan-U.S. architect Rafael Viñoly, it has 85 storeys and is characterized by the repetition of the geometric shape of the square; the orthogonal grid of the facades is punctuated by the presence of 1890 windows. The building also includes a series of common spaces for residents, including a meeting room, cinema room, library, billiard room, wine bar, children’s area, gym and wellness area.
Giuseppe Cardoni – Luma Foundation, Arles #02
Opened in 2021, the Luma Tower was designed by American architect Frank Gehry within the Parc Des Ateliers in Arles, France. Covering an area of 15,000 square meters, 56 meters high and clad with 11,000 reflective steel panels, the building houses exhibition galleries, research facilities, a dining area and the archives of the LUMA Foundation, which supports artistic creation in the visual arts.
Hiran Perera – Triptych Bankside #01
Completed in 2021 and located a stone’s throw from Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern in the heart of London, Triptych Bankside is the new mixed-use complex designed by London-based architecture firm Squire & Partners and developed by JTRE London.. The project includes three buildings, two for residential use (a total of 169 luxury apartments) and one for office use, and is characterized by the curved, undulating lines of the facades, which distinguish it from the surrounding buildings. In addition to the many amenities, including private lounges, cinema room, gym and gardens, you can enjoy the spectacular views on St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge.
Ingrid Gielen – Port House
Opened to the public in 2016 and designed by architect Zaha Hadid, Port House is a government complex resulting from the redevelopment of a former fire station in the port of Antwerp in Belgium. Attached above and connected to the fire station is a contemporary diamond-shaped structure that dominates the aesthetics of the structure.
Maria Cristina Pasotti – Beekman Tower
Designed by American architect Frank Gehry, the Beekman Tower is a 76-storey skyscraper built in 2011 in Lower Manhattan district in New York. Picking up on the “wedding cake” conformation typical of the New York skyline, the tower features vertically misaligned windows and façade cladding that mimics the draping of fabric through the use of undulating stainless steel panels. The building houses a public school, offices of the New York Downtown Hospital and 898 apartments.
Valentina D’Alia – The Bowl
Opened in 2021 and designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is the world’s first art repository open to the public, in whose rooms works are displayed according to their respective conservation criteria. The building is characterized by its unusual “bowl” shape, which limits the floor space and allows a roof space for a restaurant and roof garden, overlooking the landscape. The cladding consists of more than 6,000 square meters of glass divided into 1,664 mirrored panels, which help “dematerializing” the volume, almost 40 meters high.
