Firm: Nabil Gholam Architects
Expected completion date: mid 2014

In city that can’t stop growing vertically, Beirut’s Sky Gate will offer a playful take on the residential tower block. Standing on one of the highest vantage points on Ashrafieh Hill, architect Nabil Gholam has thoughtfully included wide openings, almost like windows, so Sky Gate’s 42 floors do not entirely block the view for its nearby neighbours.

They’re symbolic too: “Despite being shaken by wars and earthquakes Lebanon is still standing,” says Gholam. This year will see a handful of new projects by Gholam in Beirut including a building downtown and an engineering lab on the American University’s campus.
nabilgholam.com

Firm: Shigeru Ban Architects
Expected completion date: July 2014

Aspen Art Museum will mark its 35th anniversary this year by moving into a new home designed by Shigeru Ban Architects. The building will be wrapped in a striking woven structure, behind which will lie a grand staircase that will channel visitors up the three stories of the museum. Ban’s intention was for them to experience the gallery like they would the nearby mountains: starting at the top and working their way down.
shigerubanarchitects.com

Firm: Atelier Albert Wimmer
Expected completion date: December 2014

The roof of Vienna’s new rail terminus will be formed of 14 enormous 76-metre-long steel diamonds, each with a 180-sq m window in its middle. Architect Albert Wimmer says it’s a “homage to a sheet of music”, symbolising Vienna’s rich musical history. The station will have the capacity to handle 1,000 trains and 120,000 passengers a day.
awimmer.at

Firm: Richard Meier & Partners
Expected completion date: early autumn 2014

The staccato Tel Aviv skyline will acquire another bump this year when Richard Meier’s first Middle Eastern project completes. Located on Rothschild Boulevard and Allenby Street, the 42-storey complex will provide retail spaces, offices and apartments. It promises to be another tall building in a city of vertiginous landmarks.
richardmeier.com

Firm: Odebrecht/CDCA
Expected completion date: January 2014

Host of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil opening match, the Arena Corinthians stadium in São Paulo is set to be the permanent home of the city’s most popular team, Corinthians. It will house 48,000 fixed seats, 89 box seats, 502 toilets and 15 lifts. The convex metal roof has a large square cutout in its middle, making good use of natural light, and is supported only at two edges, helping create a ventilation corridor through the stadium.
odebrechtarenas.com.br

Firm: Snøhetta
Expected completion date: spring 2014

The only building on the memorial grounds of the World Trade Center, Snøhetta’s steel structure will act as the entrance to the subterranean 9/11 Memorial Museum. The pavilion will display two of the Twin Towers’ steel supports in its central atrium and will look out over the two memorial pools that mark the original sites of the Center.
snohetta.com

Firm: Maki and Associates, Charles Correa Associates and Moriyama & Teshima Architects
Expected completion date: early 2014

Announced well over a decade ago, Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum and the adjacent Ismaili Centre is finally close to completion. Dedicated to the preservation of Muslim art, the Aga Khan Museum was designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki of Maki and Associates.

The Ismaili Centre was masterminded by Indian architecture practice Charles Correa Associates in collaboration with Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima Architects. “We wanted to create a building that reflects the traditions of Islamic architecture but in a contemporary way and using modern materials,” says Po Ma from Moriyama & Teshima. The glass pyramid roof of the prayer hall channels the shape of traditional Muslim domes – and, inevitably, IM Pei’s Louvre redevelopment.
maki-and-associates.co.jp;charlescorrea.net; mtarch.com

Firm: J. Mayer H. Architects
Expected completion date: late 2014

Germany’s largest private university FOM will take up residence in a new site masterminded by the Berlin-based firm J. Mayer H. in Düsseldorf towards the end of 2014. Futuristic, cantilevered balconies and wraparound windows will identify the building. The centre will house approximately 1,400 students, offices, underground parking and will be marked by extensive landscaping around it, anchoring the new Le Quartier Central area of Düsseldorf.
jmayerh.de