![Towering 50 meters above the Empire State Building, the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere will open its doors this year. Already topped out, the 426-meter tower <a href="http://432parkavenue.com/?state=home" target="_blank" target="_blank">432 Park Avenue</a> will feature just 104 apartments, with residences staring at $17 million and full floor penthouses reaching $82 million. <br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113112123-architecture-432-main.jpg?q=w_2569,h_1714,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
432 Park Avenue, New York —
Towering 50 meters above the Empire State Building, the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere will open its doors this year. Already topped out, the 426-meter tower 432 Park Avenue will feature just 104 apartments, with residences staring at $17 million and full floor penthouses reaching $82 million. [Artist's rendering.]
![The man behind 432 Park Avenue is <a href="http://www.rvapc.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Rafael Viñoly</a>, the Uruguayan architect who designed London's recently opened "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper, which unintentionally focused the sun's rays to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675" target="_blank" target="_blank">melt objects -- including a car </a>-- on the street below. After the unflattering reception that building received, he will hope the response to this tower is warmer. <br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113112125-architecture-432-bath.jpg?q=w_3000,h_3000,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
432 Park Avenue, New York —
The man behind 432 Park Avenue is Rafael Viñoly, the Uruguayan architect who designed London's recently opened "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper, which unintentionally focused the sun's rays to melt objects -- including a car -- on the street below. After the unflattering reception that building received, he will hope the response to this tower is warmer. [Artist's rendering.]
![Abu Dhabi <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/arts/design/07louv.html?_r=0" target="_blank" target="_blank">paid the Louvre $500m </a>to co-opt the prestigious French institution's name, and a reported $600 million more to build architect <a href="http://www.jeannouveldesign.fr/en/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Jean Nouvel</a>'s alien-looking creation -- a design apparently inspired by Arabic architecture's characteristic "Cupola" domes. <br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150106175320-arch-louvre-abu-dhabi-ext.jpg?q=w_1200,h_824,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE —
Abu Dhabi paid the Louvre $500m to co-opt the prestigious French institution's name, and a reported $600 million more to build architect Jean Nouvel's alien-looking creation -- a design apparently inspired by Arabic architecture's characteristic "Cupola" domes. [Artist's rendering.]
![Opening in December, the gallery will host masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet and Henri Matisse -- the first time many will be shown in the Middle East. <br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150106175319-arch-louvre-abu-dhabi-int.jpg?q=w_1080,h_675,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE —
Opening in December, the gallery will host masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet and Henri Matisse -- the first time many will be shown in the Middle East. [Artist's rendering.]
![It has earned him the moniker "Obama's favourite architect" and Tanzanian-born Ghanaian-British lead designer <a href="http://www.adjaye.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">David Adjaye</a> is now fulfilling the promise of an American museum 224 years in the making. <br /> <br />[Artist's rendering. Note: Architects <a href="http://www.freelon.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Freelon Group</a> have also designed parts of the museum]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150107125231-arch-washington-adjaye-ext.jpg?q=w_2420,h_1710,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
The Smithsonian Museum of African American History, Washington D.C. —
It has earned him the moniker "Obama's favourite architect" and Tanzanian-born Ghanaian-British lead designer David Adjaye is now fulfilling the promise of an American museum 224 years in the making. [Artist's rendering. Note: Architects The Freelon Group have also designed parts of the museum]
![<a href="http://nmaahc.si.edu/" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture</a> is currently taking shape on the last plot on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where Adjaye's shell takes inspiration from the bronze castings of both <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/23/a-sense-of-place" target="_blank" target="_blank">the pre-slave trade Yoruba peoples of Nigeria and freed slaves of Charleston and New Orleans</a>. <br /> <br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150107125233-arch-washington-adjaye-needle.jpg?q=w_2420,h_1710,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
The Smithsonian Museum of African American History, Washington D.C. —
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is currently taking shape on the last plot on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where Adjaye's shell takes inspiration from the bronze castings of both the pre-slave trade Yoruba peoples of Nigeria and freed slaves of Charleston and New Orleans. [Artist's rendering.]
![Sustainable inspiration from Vietnam's bamboo architect <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/01/12/spc-ones-to-watch-architecture-c.cnn">Vo Trong Nghia</a>. The designer has created gigantic halls from lightweight, natural bamboo in the past, but this lotus flower-inspired pavilion will be his most visible to date.<br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113110514-architecture-vo-trong-nghia.jpg?q=w_1024,h_683,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Vietnam Pavilion, Milan —
Sustainable inspiration from Vietnam's bamboo architect Vo Trong Nghia. The designer has created gigantic halls from lightweight, natural bamboo in the past, but this lotus flower-inspired pavilion will be his most visible to date.[Artist's rendering.]
![It will provide Vietnam's pavilion for the <a href="http://www.expo2015.org/en/index.html?packedargs=op=changeLang" target="_blank" target="_blank">2015 World Expo in Milan</a>, where the focus is on sustainability, with the official theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for life." 25 bamboo structures and a ring of water will surround a two-storey exhibition space at the heart of the pavilion. <br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113112122-architecture-vo-trong-nghia-int.jpg?q=w_1024,h_683,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Vietnam Pavilion, Milan —
It will provide Vietnam's pavilion for the 2015 World Expo in Milan, where the focus is on sustainability, with the official theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for life." 25 bamboo structures and a ring of water will surround a two-storey exhibition space at the heart of the pavilion. [Artist's rendering.]
![The transformation of a former quarry outside Shanghai into a 19-storey resort is almost complete. On completion the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental will have a giant waterfall cascading from the roof, an extreme sports center hanging from the a rock-face, and an underwater restaurant.<br /> <br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113115906-architecture-songjiang-hotel-day.jpg?q=w_2806,h_2457,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental, Shanghai —
The transformation of a former quarry outside Shanghai into a 19-storey resort is almost complete. On completion the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental will have a giant waterfall cascading from the roof, an extreme sports center hanging from the a rock-face, and an underwater restaurant.[Artist's rendering.]
![Engineering and architecture firm Atkins won an international design com-petition for the five-star hotel in August 2006, which is built to take advantage of eco-friendly geothermal and solar energy supplies.<br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113115904-architecture-songjiang-hotel-night.jpg?q=w_2806,h_1957,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental, Shanghai —
Engineering and architecture firm Atkins won an international design com-petition for the five-star hotel in August 2006, which is built to take advantage of eco-friendly geothermal and solar energy supplies.[Artist's rendering.]
Shanghai Tower, Shanghai —
More than double the height of London's Shard, Shanghai Tower is expected to open this year. The 632m building (center) will be China's tallest building and second only worldwide to Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
![Russian climbers Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov scaled the unfinished tower in February of last year, gaining some incredible, unauthorized views from the summit. The pair used no safety equipment during their climb and returned with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/feb/13/shanghai-tower-climb-in-pictures" target="_blank" target="_blank">some stomach churning images</a>. <br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/130805031331-skyscraper-shanghai.jpg?q=w_4809,h_2456,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Shanghai Tower, Shanghai —
Russian climbers Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov scaled the unfinished tower in February of last year, gaining some incredible, unauthorized views from the summit. The pair used no safety equipment during their climb and returned with some stomach churning images. [Artist's rendering.]
A House for Essex, Essex, UK —
The smallest building on our list owes its existence to a big collaboration between some of the UK's most divisive creative minds. Maverick artist Grayson Perry, famed for idiosyncratic ceramics, worked with recently disbanded oddball architecture collective FAT to create the "Hose for Essex" for writer Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project.
A House for Essex. Essex, UK —
The building, which opens next month, is designed to resemble traditional "wayside" or pilgrimage chapels and will play host to a series of events. The project made waves with its previous miniature meeting space: a tiny boat perched on the edge of a concert hall on London's South Bank.
![This year will see construction begin on the new <a href="http://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/archive/2014/09/httpwwwfosterandpartnerscomnewsarchive201409foster-and-partners-to-design-new-international-airport-for-mexico-city/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Mexico City International Airport</a>, boasting to be the "most sustainable airport in the world." The airport will have just one terminal, measuring 470,000-square-meters, which will eventually serve six runways.<br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150102144325-mexico-city-international-airport.jpg?q=w_5316,h_2250,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Mexico City International Airport, Mexico City —
This year will see construction begin on the new Mexico City International Airport, boasting to be the "most sustainable airport in the world." The airport will have just one terminal, measuring 470,000-square-meters, which will eventually serve six runways.[Artist's rendering.]
![The design marks a collaboration between legendary British architect Norman Foster's <a href="http://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/archive/2014/09/httpwwwfosterandpartnerscomnewsarchive201409foster-and-partners-to-design-new-international-airport-for-mexico-city/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Foster + Partners </a>and Mexican <a href="http://fr-ee.org/mexico-city-airport/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Fernando Romero's FR-EE</a>. The pair claim their design sets a new template for airports, featuring cavernous open spaces that merge terminals to use less building material. <br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150107131023-mexico-city-international-airport-int.jpg?q=w_1280,h_800,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Mexico City International Airport, Mexico City —
The design marks a collaboration between legendary British architect Norman Foster's Foster + Partners and Mexican Fernando Romero's FR-EE. The pair claim their design sets a new template for airports, featuring cavernous open spaces that merge terminals to use less building material. [Artist's rendering.]
Dr Chau Chak wing, UTS Business School, Sydney —
Legendary architect Frank Gehry condemned 98% of modern architecture as "pure shit" this October. So, all eyes are now turned to his latest creation: a "paper bag" business school at the University of Technology Sydney.
Dr Chau Chak wing, UTS Business School, Sydney —
The 85-year-old Canadian-American has applied his trademark curvy-fronted style to the Dr Chau Chak wing building, but eschewed shiny surfaces in favor of 320,000 custom-designed bricks. It opens in February and so far critics are giving a tentative thumbs up.
![The title "Africa's tallest building" hasn't changed hands in 42 years -- Johannesburg's 232m tall Carlton Centre having held it since 1973. This year, Dubai developers <a href="http://www.med.ae/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Middle East Development</a> hope to begin a project that would put that tower in the shade:<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/africa/morocco-africas-tallest-building/index.html"> the 540 meter Al Noor Tower</a> in Casablanca, Morocco.<br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113122440-al-noor-tower-sunset.jpg?q=w_2289,h_1744,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Al Noor Tower, Casablanca, Morocco —
The title "Africa's tallest building" hasn't changed hands in 42 years -- Johannesburg's 232m tall Carlton Centre having held it since 1973. This year, Dubai developers Middle East Development hope to begin a project that would put that tower in the shade: the 540 meter Al Noor Tower in Casablanca, Morocco.[Artist's rendering.]
![Architects <a href="http://www.v-p.com/en" target="_blank" target="_blank">Valode & Pistre</a> have claimed the building resembles a fountain pen nib -- but <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/africa/morocco-africas-tallest-building/index.html">Lord of the Rings' "Eye of Suaron" has inevitably been invoked</a>. For now, the Al Noor tower and Tolkien's trilogy are both just tall tales, with the skyscraper's location and a date for breaking ground still to be written. But the designers say planning is on track for 2015 to be the year the continent starts to see a new icon.<br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113123454-al-noor-tower-top-day.jpg?q=w_2124,h_1502,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Al Noor Tower, Casablanca, Morocco —
Architects Valode & Pistre have claimed the building resembles a fountain pen nib -- but Lord of the Rings' "Eye of Suaron" has inevitably been invoked. For now, the Al Noor tower and Tolkien's trilogy are both just tall tales, with the skyscraper's location and a date for breaking ground still to be written. But the designers say planning is on track for 2015 to be the year the continent starts to see a new icon.[Artist's rendering.]
St Peter's Seminary, Cardross, Scotland —
Abandoned for 25 years, "Scotland's greatest modernist building" is set to be reborn this year. St Peter's, the Le Corbusier-inspired catholic seminary opened in 1966, and experienced just 14 years of sporadic use before falling into disrepair. Works begin this year that will see the site reopened as "an international venue for public art in knowledge exchange."
![Originally designed by Glasgow architects <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2014/08/18/andy-macmillan-gillespie-kidd-coia-dies-aged-85/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan</a>, the renovations will be led by Glasgow-based <a href="http://nva.org.uk/current-projects/kilmahew+st+peters-41/" target="_blank" target="_blank">public art charity NVA</a> and include London regeneration experts <a href="http://avantiarchitects.co.uk/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Avanti Architects</a>. Unlike many restoration projects, the architects are not hoping to wipe clean the damage and decay that has occurred in the last quarter-century, instead taking inspiration from the "unmediated changes that have emerged over the last decades."<br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113121038-architecture-scotland-st-peters-new.jpg?q=w_3969,h_2124,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
St Peter's Seminary, Cardross, Scotland —
Originally designed by Glasgow architects Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan, the renovations will be led by Glasgow-based public art charity NVA and include London regeneration experts Avanti Architects. Unlike many restoration projects, the architects are not hoping to wipe clean the damage and decay that has occurred in the last quarter-century, instead taking inspiration from the "unmediated changes that have emerged over the last decades."[Artist's rendering.]
![A giant spike at the center of Moscow's <a href="http://svetasfera.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Federation Tower</a> is set to top 500m, but the East Tower is already Europe's tallest building -- at 370 meters just topping the same city's Mercury City tower. The skyscraper has been a long time coming, with construction starting in 2003, before bankruptcies and construction disasters held off completion. <br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113133530-federation-tower.jpg?q=w_1000,h_1011,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Federation Tower, Moscow —
A giant spike at the center of Moscow's Federation Tower is set to top 500m, but the East Tower is already Europe's tallest building -- at 370 meters just topping the same city's Mercury City tower. The skyscraper has been a long time coming, with construction starting in 2003, before bankruptcies and construction disasters held off completion. [Artist's rendering.]
Federation Tower, Moscow —
A major fire 60-floors up in 2012 pushed the opening date back further -- but in 2015 it should finally open its doors. Austrian-German architect Peter Schweger is the man behind the design, but rarely has such a massive building project arrived to so little fanfare. Could critics change their mind when they see the view from inside?
![With the 828 meter Burj Khalifa unlikely to be caught any time soon, the title of Dubai's second tallest building is where the competition is among the emirate's ostentatious developers. Marina 101 will reach 426 meters when finished, winning it the title -- for now.<br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113123246-architecture-marina-101-day.jpg?q=w_1397,h_3115,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Marina 101, Dubai —
With the 828 meter Burj Khalifa unlikely to be caught any time soon, the title of Dubai's second tallest building is where the competition is among the emirate's ostentatious developers. Marina 101 will reach 426 meters when finished, winning it the title -- for now.[Artist's rendering.]
![The first 33 floors of the skyscraper will comprise a 300-room Hard Rock hotel, with residential apartments above. The top 20 floors will contain some of the most expensive penthouses in Dubai, developers claim.<br /><br />[Artist's rendering.]](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/150113123245-architecture-marina-101-night.jpg?q=w_2701,h_5741,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
Marina 101, Dubai —
The first 33 floors of the skyscraper will comprise a 300-room Hard Rock hotel, with residential apartments above. The top 20 floors will contain some of the most expensive penthouses in Dubai, developers claim.[Artist's rendering.]