We’ve got a complete mixed bag of architecture styles here today. A few ambitious iconic high-rises, some buildings that have more of a social connect. One thing that binds them all together is that all of them are highly inspirational! Go ahead, scroll now, bookmark later!

1. If there’s something that truly blurs lines between sculptural and structural design, it’s the Wire Pavilion by Eduardo Tresoldi and Designlab Experience. This piece of mind-melting work is made entirely out of metal wire. It looks almost as if an AutoCAD model came to life!

2. I swear, if I could life in a tree-house as an adult, I’d legit do that without batting an eyelid. It’s a good thing Swedish firm Manofactory designed these cliff-houses for adults to live in, that give us pretty much the same adrenaline rush as a tree-house would… Made with lightweight wood, these vertically suspended homes would actually be pretty thrilling to live in! Of course the designs will have their limitations with sources for water, electricity supply & making sure the cliffs chosen have close to no signs of soil erosion, but if planned well it is a step into innovative futuristic architecture.

3. The late Zaha Hadid made some great buildings, but if reality is any indication, they’ve been pretty brutal on the environment. Grand design can sometimes take a toll on the ecosystem. However, the firm Zaha Hadid Architects is now working towards being environemtally responsible while continuing to uphold the legacy of the ‘First Lady of Architecture’. Instead of building something beautiful with the iconic Zaha Hadid style irrespective of the repercussions, the Alai residency located on the Mayan riviera in Mexico has an element of ecologically aware design. Aside from ensuring that ecological impact is kept to a minimum, Zaha Hadid Architects plan to landscape a woodland nature reserve, together with the replanting of coastal wetland to protect and enhance the riviera’s mangroves.

4. BM Design Studios designed these concave shaped roofs at the Primary school for Iran that win our hearts not just for being iconic, but for being iconic with a rather ingenious purpose and innovative technique. These terracotta satellites are too cool for school, as they funnel in rainwater, effectively harvesting it for use, given Iran’s arid climate while also using terracotta’s cooling properties to act as a natural air conditioner for the classrooms. What better way of influencing kids to be sensitive to sustainable living than exposing them to study & grow in a space like this one?

5. It’s completely believable that these rather curvaceous towers by MAD Architects were referred to by local residents as the Marylin Monroe towers. I’m not kidding, this is absolutely true! Can you disagree though. For starters, I can’t take my eyes off these incredible highrises too! Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the Absolute skyscrapers look almost molded by the wind!

6. What looks like a beehive-esque building from afar is actually just very clever design. The honeycomb pattern is known to provide structural integrity, but look closely at the hexagon. Truncate the bottom bit off and you have a traditional house shape! The Urban Rural habitation by Eray Carbajo actually rely on the hexagon shape to provide housing space on the upper half of the hexagon, and a soil bed on the lower half, allowing each flat to effectively have their own greenery-laden porch, just like a rural settlement!

7. If Habitat 67 by Moshe Safdie explored layering individual living cells in a seemingly randomized fashion, the Interlace by Ole Scheeren does that with entire towers. Instead of keeping towers vertically, they’re stacked horizontally in a honeycomb fashion (recurring theme? maybe!), not only fitting more residences in the same area, but also creating a series of cantilevered zones that become terrace gardens in themselves. Mind blown!

8. This building embodies out-of-the-box thinking with inside-the-box construction! Designed to be an affordable home for veterans in LA, this community building titled The Six (possibly because of the six sided cube it looks like) was built by Brooks+Scarpa with the aim to provide a residential space for veterans, who occupy 3% of the population, but 11% of the homeless population in Los Angeles.

9. Definitely the most crazy architectural attempt out there, the Central Park expansion project by Yitan Sun & Jianshi Wu does something pretty smart. The large number of skyscrapers surrounding the park has destroyed the view for park goers, blocking the city’s skyline, as well as the sunrise and sunset. The solution? Line the entire part’s boundary with massive mirrors, giving it the illusion of infinity! Easier said than done, though…

10. What essentially is a flat, cube shaped building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), gets an entirely different dynamic the minute the faces of the cube get a sawtooth texture. Interesting, yet rather closed off, if you’re still wondering why this building has a seemingly no-trespassers vibe to it, it’s because it is a high-security emergency facility located in Bronx, NY, designed to strengthen the city’s 911 service by being a back-up facility for a remotely located primary call center.

Co-Authored by Khyati Seth

This is our fourth installment in the series, which means we’ve done this for a whole month! This week we’ve been bestowed with some truly amazing pieces of architectural work as Architizer’s A+ Awards come to a wrap. Alongside some of our favorite picks from everywhere, we’ll also showcase a few YD favorites from the A+ Awards this year!

1. It may interest you to know that one of the most prolific architects of our time, Moshe Safdie, responsible for the Habitat 67 (which we covered earlier this week), and the Holocaust Museum… is on Behance! Yes, his works are up on the portfolio site, and this one’s picked right from there. Known to work extensively with exposed concrete, Safdie Architects designed the National Gallery of Canada using the Brutalist style he’s well known for. He also makes extensive use of glass to make sure the building achieves two things. That it makes maximum use of natural light during the day, and looks like an absolute lit-up jewel at night!

2. From the grand works of Safdie, to the quaint prefab homes by Kodasema. This tiny 25 square-meter apartment has everything you need and comes fully ready to live in. It also boasts of an additional feature. It can be completely disassembled, transported, and reassembled elsewhere in a day! Read our cover on the Kodasema here.

3. Designer Dennis Palmadessa partnered with Neighborhood Services of New Orleans and the Make it Right Foundation to create these pre-fab single-room shops for local vendors. Sliding doors and privacy glasses make sure that vendors get a good deal of space, along with privacy, to conduct their daily business. Titled the URBANbuild-8, they exist as prototypes for future intervention in New Orleans.

4. We thought the Aurlios Chapel had to be one for the Architreasure books. Designed by Metro Cúbico Digital, this abstracted version of what traditional chapels look like is sure an eye-catcher. Iconic on the outside and hallowed on the inside, the steeple design actually channels the sunlight to shine as a glorious beam, making the altar look divine!

5. We kick off our A+ Award fave list with the Bahá’í Temple of South America by Hariri Pontarini Architects. Known for being a very neutral and accommodating religion, Bahá’í temples act as places of spirituality rather than propagating religious beliefs. Designed for everyone, religious or athiest, from all cultures and walks of life, the temple takes the shape of a closed flower bud emanating from the earth. The use of light as a sign of life and natural spirit looks brilliant as rays emanate from within the ‘folds’ of the bud after sunset.

6. The Poly International Plaza by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is a definite visual and structural all rounder, the geometric pattern isn’t just overwhelmingly iconic but serves as a smart support system for the floors above and below along with extended free voids, forming expanded shared meeting rooms & rather admirable curved staircases on the inside. In addition to the way the building looks, it also has a direct view of Beijing during the day & functionally helps in cutting down energy consumption due to indoor insulation.

7. This temporary installation should just get points for its brilliant initiative! Designed by Atelier Kastelic Buffey, this community driven lending library titled Story Pod allows people to step into the pod and subsequently into a world of their own imagination when they pick up a book to read. Situated right in the historic downtown core of Newmarket, Ontario, the pod’s design attracts passersby from afar, and once up close, who can truly resist the temptation to step inside and read a good book!?

8. Surrounded by the most advanced looking fruit packaging warehouses lies a man-made specially curated environmental courtyard known as the Washington Fruit Company. The space is not just cost efficient courtesy design and material selection, but also a controlled set up for perfect natural lighting. Designed to reflect modernity, yet take inspiration from an aging barn that the client had expressed as a favorite, this Graham Baba designed warehouse certainly breaks stereotypes of warehouses looking ‘boring’ and un-designed!

9. If a warehouse can be made to look warm and friendly, so can a bank! The Sugamo Shinkin Bank / Nakaaoki Branch, by Emmanuelle Moureaux Architecture + Design completely diverts from the stern/no-nonsense aesthetic avatars of banking buildings. Designed to look fun, vibrant, and inviting, the bank branch makes use of a 3D front facade that looks different from each angle, and memorable for sure!

10. We decided to end on a high note with a design that has a hypnotic, helical, organic charm that fondly reminds us of the Guggenheim Museum. The Ribbon Chapel by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP stands proudly enjoying a panoramic view of Seto Inland Sea in Onomichi, Hiroshima. Used mainly for weddings, the chapel’s construction is visually dominated by the two ribbon-like spiral staircases/aisles, with glass panels filling in the gaps, creating the chapel’s hall-space on the inside. The two aisles/pathways are designed so that the bride and the groom can walk up to the top of the chapel, and descend downwards into the hall together united as one. What a lovely way to use architecture to guide human movement, that too with such meaningful and visual grace!

Co-Authored by Khyati Seth