Top 10 architecture projects most eagerly anticipated in 2024

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Kéré Architecture, Benin National Assembly, Porto-Novo, Benin © Kéré Architecture

From Kengo Kuma to Herzog & de Meuron, from MVRDV to Francis Kéré: a selection of the masterpieces of architecture set to be inaugurated this year

Spaces for education and the community, projects capable of relating to the rural landscape or transforming whole segments of the city. We have selected 10 of the most hotly anticipated architectural projects for 2024: projects designed by the leading figures on the global scene that will be enriching cities and metropolises around the world.

Sou Fujimoto Architects, architettura, salonemilano — Sou Fujimoto Architects, Hida Takayama University, Japan © Sou Fujimoto Architects

Sou Fujimoto Architects, Hida Takayama University, Japan

The first of 12 regional learning centers spread across Japan. Designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects, Hida Takayama University is located in a rural area, with the aim of revitalizing the region and supporting its community. The project will feature a walkable roof with an organic form inspired by the surrounding landscape. Sou Fujimoto explained: “Surrounded by beautiful mountains, the entire city of Hida is one of the great learning plazas where people gather and talk. The university will open up to the region and its people. We wanted to experiment with this concept of openness in its architecture as well.”

Dominique Perrault, salonemilano, architettura — Dominique Perrault, Athletes’ Village, Paris, France © Paris 2024 / Solideo-Illumens-Dominique Perrault / Ingérop/Une Fabrique de la Ville / VITEC / Agence TER /UrbanEco / Jean-Paul Lamoureux

Dominique Perrault, Athletes' Village, Paris, France

2024 will be the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. No new sports facilities are being built for the event and no opulent works (often proving useless and expensive) are planned. The largest project will be the Olympic and Paralympic village, built to a masterplan devised by the French architect Dominique Perrault. Covering some 120,000 square meters, the village will be built in the Seine-Saint-Denis district, a deprived, multi-ethnic area in the north of the city. The village will be converted into housing for some 6,000 people, including a significant proportion of social housing, and offices for 6,000 workers.

cobe, danimarca, salonemilano, architettura — Cobe, Paper Island, Copenhagen, Denmark © Cobe / Luxigon

Cobe, Paper Island, Copenhagen, Denmark

Christiansholm Island, also known as “Paper Island” is a former industrial district that will be converted into a new residential complex. It has been redesigned by the Cobe studio, declared the winner of an international competition. The project includes housing, commercial spaces and several “informal public functions”, such as event spaces, galleries and swimming pools. All surrounded by a public promenade around the island. “Our vision for the island’s future is to create a place that celebrates the city’s culture and the Copenhagen way of life. It was important for us that Paper Island also in future will be a first class example of Copenhagen’s generous urban living that can attract tourists and visitors and at the same time has a strong local presence,” said Dan Stubbergaard, owner and creative director of COBE.

herzog e de meuron, salonemilano, architettura — Herzog & de Meuron, Kinderspital, Zurich, Switzerland © Herzog & de Meuron / Bloomimages

Herzog & de Meuron, Kinderspital, Zurich, Switzerland

Another international competition, this time won by one of the most prestigious Swiss architecture firms of recent years. The expansion project for the children's hospital includes two complementary buildings, contrasting in type, functions and urban design, but still geometrically related. The main building will be used for the treatment and care of children and adolescents, while the teaching and research center is intended for scientific work and the public narrative of the facility.

kengo kuma, salonemilano, architettura — Kengo Kuma and Associates, Saint Maurice Cathedral, Angers, France © Kengo Kuma and Associates / l’autreimage

Kengo Kuma and Associates, Saint Maurice Cathedral, Angers, France

The Gothic cathedral of Saint Maurice in Angers is notable for the stratification of signs and interventions: the Angevin Gothic style, developed in different periods from the 12th to the 17th century, has been superimposed on an earlier Romanesque cathedral. A new contemporary layer, designed by the Japanese studio Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), will create a new entrance gallery on the west side of the building, where a series of polychrome sculptures were discovered in 2009.

studio gang, salonemilano, architettura — Studio Gang, Hotel Populus, Denver, United States © Studio Gang

Studio Gang, Hotel Populus, Denver, United States

The most interesting aspect of the Populus project, designed by Studio Gang, is its ecological footprint. The project, which will open this year in Denver, promises to be the first carbon-neutral hotel in the United States. This will be achieved by using low-carbon concrete mixes, recycled and recyclable materials, maximizing structural efficiency, using fewer materials for the finishes, and minimizing waste... Trees will also be planted and grown to create a forest covering over 20,000 square meters.

MVRDV, salonemilano, architettura — MVRDV, Sun Rock project, Taichung, Taiwan © MVRDV

MVRDV, Sun Rock project, Taichung, Taiwan

The project by the Dutch studio MVRDV will be “a tool for energy production”, which aims to tell the story of Taiwan's planned transition to green energy. The morphology of the project and its aesthetics derive entirely from parametric modeling: the form is an expression of the most efficient way of generating solar energy. The building will include offices, laboratories for the maintenance of the building itself, storage spaces and a public gallery. MVRDV defines the project as a “built manifesto”, which investigates a “future without fossil fuels”.

Snøhetta, salonemilano, architettura — Snøhetta, “Forest of Knowledge” Library, Beijing © Snøhetta / Plomp

Snøhetta, “Forest of Knowledge” Library, Beijing

A place for sharing and exchanging knowledge, celebrating the cultural richness of China and its capital. Snøhetta's building will stand out by its 16-metre high, fully glazed, self-supporting facade. This architectural element will allow free interactions between the exterior and interior of the building, inviting passers-by to enter the fluid space, conceived as an artificial landscape. The design of the “contour lines” defines spaces devoted to reading, circulation, meeting or informal relaxation.

Kéré Architecture, salonemilano, architettura — Kéré Architecture,  Benin National Assembly, Porto-Novo, Benin
© Kéré Architecture

Kéré Architecture, Benin National Assembly, Porto-Novo, Benin

The project by the Berlin-based studio Kéré Architecture for the new Benin National Assembly is inspired by the Palaver Trees, under whose shade many African populations regularly gather to make consensual decisions in the interest of their communities. Reinterpreting these ideas, Diébédo Francis Kéré and his collaborators have designed a building surrounded by a porticoed space, at the heart of which is the assembly hall. A notable element of the building will be the dynamic ceiling with exposed structural beams evoking tree branches.

Kengo Kuma and Associates, Welcome, Milan, Italy

Also soon to be completed is the “Welcome, feeling at work” project, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates. which will enrich Milan with its architectural jewels. The project fits perfectly into the narrative of a city that has made the environmental transition its main goal for the coming years. Yuki Ikeguchi, a partner at Kengo Kuma and Associates and project leader at Welcome, says, “Sustainability is the main theme of our future and a social responsibility for any industry and society. Welcome will offer a workplace model that fosters business innovation for sustainability.” The project is accessible, permeable and transparent, conceived as a large hanging garden that changes with the seasons. “We conceived Welcome as a large open piazza, made up of hanging gardens where everyone can walk, linger and work,” says Ikeguchi.

18 January 2024