As we conclude the celebrations of 2024, we have compiled a list of 10 eagerly anticipated buildings set to open in 2025.

MAD Architects' Fenix Museum in Rotterdam features an iconic "Tornado" structure that rises from the ground floor and extends out of the rooftop onto a platform. 

Other notable projects include Snøhetta's Shanghai Grand Opera House, which has a sculptural staircase connecting to the roof; Foster + Partners' Techo International Airport in Cambodia, designed with structural trees that create a spacious roof; and BIG's Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, characterized by its curvy roofs. Together, these buildings comprise our list of the most anticipated buildings set to open in 2025.

Here are ten buildings we are excited to see debut in 2025 (in no particular order):

Image © Henry Verhorst

Fenix Museum in Rotterdam by MAD (to be opened on 16 May 2025)

Designed by MAD Architects, the Fenix Museum is scheduled to open on 16 May 2025 in Rotterdam. Currently under construction on site, the FENIX Museum of Migration is the first MAD cultural project in Europe. The project was commissioned by the Droom en Daad Foundation. 

Under the direction of conservation architects Bureau Polderman, the 1,486-square-meter museum is located in a former warehouse on a prominent location in the center of Rotterdam's historic harbor. A dynamic structure known as the "Tornado" rises from the ground level and spills out onto a platform from the rooftop. The Tornado structure evokes the rising air by hanging over the city. It is a metaphor for the journeys refugees take around the globe.

Read more about the FENIX Museum of Migration by MAD. 

Doris Duke Theatre under construction on the Jacob’s Pillow campus (October 2024). Image © RobertBenson; courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow

Jacob’s Pillow, Doris Duke Theatre in Becket, Massachusetts, USA by Mecanoo (to be opened on 9 July 2025)

The new Doris Duke Theatre in Becket is set to be opened on 9 July 2025. Designed by Dutch architecture practice Mecanoo, the theatre is located in Becket Massachusetts, Jacob’s Pillow is a treasured 220-acre National Historic Landmark and will be a home to America’s longest-running international dance festival. The reimagined Doris Duke Theatre occupies the site of the former studio theater from 1990, destroyed by fire in November 2020. 

The recently renovated Doris Duke Theatre, which looks to the future with cutting-edge technology, adaptable performance spaces, and an accessible, sustainable design, will open in the summer of 2025. While Marvel is the architect of record, the project is developed in collaboration with technical theatre consultant Charcoalblue and renowned artist Jeffrey Gibson. The project will be America’s "only purpose-built new dance theater" in the Berkshires, United States.

Read more about the Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo. 

Image © Moreau Kusunoki

Powerhouse Parramatta in Sydney, Australia by Moreau Kusunoki and Genton (to be opened early 2025)

Designed by Franco-Japanese architects Moreau Kusunoki, lead designer of the project, and Australian architects Genton, local architect of the project, the Powerhouse Parramatta is scheduled to be opened early 2025. The 32,579-square-meter museum is situated in Parramatta, which is surrounded by a river and is home to one of Australia's most varied and rapidly expanding communities. According to Powerhouse Parramatta, "Australia’s largest cultural infrastructure development since the Sydney Opera House and will open in 2025."

The museum—dubbed "a pioneering a new museum model"—aims to reshape modern museum culture and practice. The combined area of the exhibitions and public areas will be 8,572 square meters. Three levels of size and complexity can be found in Powerhouse Parramatta's structure: the building's façade and, most importantly, its supporting structure, or exoskeleton, are both formed by the white steel latticing that envelops the structure.

Read more about the Powerhouse Parramatta by Moreau Kusunoki and Genton.

Image ©︎ Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

Naoshima New Museum Of Art in Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan by Tadao Ando (to be opened in spring 2025)

The new Naoshima New Museum Of Art in Naoshima, Kagawa, is scheduled to be opened in spring 2025. Designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum is located on a hilltop near the Honmura district of Naoshima, Japan. Once complete, the Benesse Art Site Naoshima will be Ando's tenth architectural work, the Naoshima New Museum of Art. 

With two stories below ground level and one on the ground floor, the new three-story museum features a wide roof whose slope complements the hilltop site. Straight down from the ground level to the underground floors is a stairway chamber with a skylight for natural light. There are four galleries on either side of the stairs. A café on the ground floor's northern section provides a picturesque view of the island of Teshima and the passing fishing boats, which is a typical sight of the Seto Inland Sea.

Read more about the Naoshima New Museum Of Art by Tadao Ando. 

Image courtesy of  Foster + Partners

Techno International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by Foster + Partners (to be opened in July 2025)

Designed by Foster + Partners, the new Techno International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is scheduled to be opened to the public in July 2025. The project's structural trees provide a spacious roof and a light-filled passenger interior. Inspired by Campodia's vernacular architecture, Foster + Partners' design seeks to be the new vision for Cambodia's capital while also adapting to its tropical environment.

In order to maximize walking distances, the terminal structure is designed with a central headhouse and two aerofoil-shaped wings for arrivals and departures. There are several structural trees that support the large roof; each tree is 36 meters long. The lightweight steel grid shell that makes up the roof canopy. In addition to its shell feature, the roof will contain a cutting-edge screen that filters sunlight and lights up the expansive terminal area.

Read more about the Techno International Airport by Foster + Partners.

Image © StudioSZ - Justin Szeremeta, David Sommer, courtesy of Snøhetta

Shanghai Grand Opera House, Shanghai, China by Snøhetta (to be opened in late 2025)

The new Shanghai Grand Opera House in Shanghai is set to be opened to the public in late 2025. Designed by the world renowned Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, the 146,786-square-metre building has a sculptural stairway connected to the roof in an effort to draw in a younger audience for experimental performances. For the ground floor's new public area, the spacious spiral staircase is aimed at becoming a great avenue. 

The Opera's main auditorium, which has 2,000 seats and is a perfectly tuned instrument with cutting-edge technical solutions and excellent acoustics, is its focal point. For smaller shows, the second stage, which has 1,200 seats, will provide a more intimate atmosphere. In an effort to draw in a younger audience of operagoers, the third stage, which has 1,000 seats, provides a versatile staging and seating configuration that allows for more avant-garde and distinctive productions.

Read more about the Shanghai Grand Opera House by Snøhetta.

Image courtesy of OMA and Inplace

Harajuku Quest in Tokyo, Japan by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu (to be opened in February 2025)

A new mixed-use scheme, designed by OMA, is scheduled to be opened to the public in February 2025. The design, led by OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu, features a twisted and sculptural facade created through a "pinching and pulling" approach that enhances its sculptural expression. 

Named Harajuku Quest, the complex spans 8,082 square meters and includes retail spaces on the first three floors, while dining areas occupy the upper three floors. The rooftop features a terrace surrounded by a large central green wall. Once complete, Harajuku Quest will be the firm’s first ground-up mixed-use building in Omotesando.

Read more about the Harajuku Quest by OMA. 

Image © Justin Szeremeta

Suzhou Museum Of Contemporary Art, Suzhou, China by BIG (to be opened in 2025)

The new Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by BIG, is set to be opened to the public in 2025. Currently under construction on site, the 60,000 square meter new museum, created by BIG, architecture company Font, and engineering firm ARTS Group, provides a modern interpretation of the elements that have influenced the city's landscape, architecture, and urbanization for centuries.

The project is designed as a community featuring 12 pavilions. Four of these pavilions will house the main gallery experience of the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art. The remaining five pavilions will include a theater, a restaurant, a grand entrance, and a multipurpose hall that can be used for events and lectures.

Read more about the Suzhou Museum Of Contemporary Art by BIG. 

Image © Foster + Partners

Sheikh Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by Foster + Partners (to be opened in 2025)

The Sheikh Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, designed by Foster + Partners, is scheduled to be opened in 2025, according to Foster + Partners' website. One of the highly-anticipated projects of 2025, the 44,000-square-metre museum is nestled in a landscape garden, and will be dedicated to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE. The Zayed National Museum will be the centerpiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, showcasing the history, culture, and recent social and economic transformations of the Emirates.

The galleries are designed within a mound that abstracts the topography of the Emirates. Rising above this mound are five lightweight steel structures, sculpted aerodynamically to function as solar thermal towers. The heat generated at the top of the towers draws air vertically through the galleries, utilizing the thermal stack effect. Despite ongoing construction delays and uncertainties regarding operational strategies, the museum is now expected to open in 2025.

Read more about the Sheikh Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners. 

Image courtesy of MAD Architects

Anji Culture and Art Center, Anji, China by MAD (to be opened in 2025)

The Anji Culture and Art Center, by MAD, is set to be opened in 2025. The current construction project spans 120,000 square meters and is concealed beneath white metal roofs that resemble "bamboo leaves" in Anji, China. This project includes six major venues: the Grand Theater, Conference Center, Leisure Center, Sports Center, Youth Activity Center, and Art Education Center. These venues are strategically located beneath the "bamboo leaves" roof, which surrounds the unique green tea fields of Anji.

As MAD founder Ma Yansong stated, "Anji is the only county to win the "United Nations Habitat Award" and has been praised as “bamboo” and “white tea” town of China."

"The project is designed as a transitional connecting space between the natural and built environments of the region; on the east side lies the city, while the river and the mountains in the distance on its west side," he added.

Read more about the Anji Culture and Art Center by MAD.

Top image in the article: Shanghai Grand Opera House, Shanghai, China by Snøhetta. Image © StudioSZ - Justin Szeremeta, David Sommer, courtesy of Snøhetta.

BIG Foster + Partners highly anticipated projects Mecanoo new projects OMA Snøhetta under construction