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From a distillery greenhouse in the south of England (by the always-inventive Thomas Heatherwick) to Jean Nouvel’s skyscraper in Sydney (draped entirely in greenery), here are 10 of the most mind-bendingly ambitious buildings completed this year.

By Catherine Osborne, Erin Donnelly and David Dick-Agnew

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1 Best cultural centre: Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre by Maki & Associates, Charles Correa and Moriyama & Teshima Architects
With their contemporary take on Arabic architecture – including towering etched-glass interpretations of traditional mashrabiya lattice work and pristine surfaces – Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki’s Aga Khan Museum, and Indian architect Charles Correa’s adjacent Ismaili Centre, make a striking addition to the north end of Toronto, where ambitious architecture rarely finds a home. The museum sits at one end of a seven-hectare site landscaped with mature trees and reflecting pools. Its angular form, which juts outward and upward toward the roofline, and white Brazilian granite cladding are both intended to catch light, shadows and reflections. Inside is a millennium’s worth of Islamic art from the personal collection of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the holy leader of 15 million Ismaili Muslims around the globe, including ancient text, ceramics, metalwork and architectural elements. The $US300-million project is by far one of the most significant cultural gifts to the city.

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2 Best campus building: Arcus Center by Studio Gang Architects
As a learning and meeting space for students, faculty, and visitors, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, only needed to provide basic facilities; as the architecture firm’s website points out, “a church basement, a living room, or even a kitchen table” would have sufficed. But Jeanne Gang’s intention was to elevate the pursuit of social justice in both a literal and a poetic sense, by creating a space that evokes harmony and the convergence of ideas in a physical way. The resulting Y-shaped plan projects in three directions, each culminating in an entire wall of glass to offer views out to the surrounding trees. A section of the roof, invisible from outside, is subtly lifted to create the clerestory windows that light the core of the building, where a fireplace offers an inviting place to congregate. The curving exterior walls hold minimal glazing – a few porthole-like openings here, a vertical slit there – and, outside, are clad in wooden disks sawn from logs to reveal their rings. The entire structure seems to balance on the peak of a knoll, speaking to the elevated goals pursued within.....Continue Reading

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