25+ Of The Coolest New Buildings On The Planet

The World Architecture Festival — held this year in Singapore — won’t name 2015’s Building of the Year until November, but the nominations are officially in.

With 338 buildings in the running, we combed through the contenders and made our shortlist. From a ribbon-inspired wedding chapel in Hiroshima to Zaha Hadid’s £240 million London Aquatics Centre, these are the 27 buildings that jumped out and caught our eye.

Scrolling through these hotels, schools, office buildings, and more, you’ll see plenty of dramatic slopes, sharp corners, and swooping curves. Oh, and glass. Lots and lots of glass.

01. Cardedeu by EMC Arquitectura (Lago de Coatepeque, El Salvador)

World Architecture Festival

From the religious building category.

02. Ribbon Chapel by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co. Ltd. (Hiroshima, Japan)

World Architecture Festival

From the religious building category.

03. Thermal Spa Hotel by Gad Architecture (Eskisehir, Turkey)

World Architecture Festival

From the hotel and leisure building category.

04. Youth Hotel in iD Town by O Office Architects (Shenzhen, China)

World Architecture Festival

From the hotel and leisure building category.

05. Sino Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu by The Oval Partnership (Chengdu, China)

World Architecture Festival

From the shopping building category.

06. Hiroshi Senjyu Musem Karuizawa Cafe & Shop by Hideo Yasui + A.I.T. (Karuizawa, Japan)

World Architecture Festival

From the shopping building category.

07. Riverside 66 by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (Tianjin, China)

World Architecture Festival

From the shopping building category.

08. The GPT Group’s Wollongong Central by HDR Rice Daubney (Wollongong, Australia)

World Architecture Festival

From the shopping building category.

09. Fulton Center by Grimshaw Architects (New York, NY)

World Architecture Festival

From the transport building category.

10. Shanghai Natural History Museum by Perkins + Will (Shanghai, China)

World Architecture Festival

From the culture buildings category.

11. Nazrul Tirtha by Abin Design Studio (West Bengal, India)

World Architecture Festival

From the culture buildings category.

12. Steyn City Clubhouse by Boogertman + Partners Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa)

World Architecture Festival

From the sports building category.

13. Margaret Court Arena by NH Architecture (Melbourne, Australia)

World Architecture Festival

From the sports building category.

14. London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects (London, UK)

World Architecture Festival

From the sports building category.

15. Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium by Pattern Design (Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)

World Architecture Festival

From the sports building category.

16. Shunde Primary School by K2LD Architects Pte Ltd. (Guangdong, China)

World Architecture Festival

From the school building category.

17. Penleigh and Essendon Grammar Middle Girls School by McBride Charles Ryan (Melbourne, Australia)

World Architecture Festival

From the school building category.

18. Aselsan Rehis Golbasi Campus by Yazgan Design Architecture Co. Ltd. (Ankara, Turkey)

World Architecture Festival

From the production, energy, and recycling building category.

19. 100PP by Ministry of Design Pte Ltd. (Singapore)

World Architecture Festival

From the office building category.

20. 5 Broadgate by Make Architects (London, UK)

World Architecture Festival

From the office building category

21. King Fahad National Library by Gerber Architekten (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

World Architecture Festival

From the new and old building categories.

22. Viking by Crown by MHN Design Union Pty Ltd. (Sydney, Australia)

World Architecture Festival

From the mixed-use category.

23. THE INTERLACE by Buro Ole Scheeren (Singapore)

World Architecture Festival

From the housing building category.

24. Maggie’s Centre by Wilkinson Eyre Architects (Oxford, UK)

World Architecture Festival

From the health building category.

25. The University of Queensland Oral Health Centre by Cox Rayner Architects (Brisbane, Queensland)

World Architecture Festival

From the health building category.

26. Zhonghe Community Sports Center by Q-Lab (New Taipei City, Taiwan)

World Architecture Festival

From the civic and community building category.

27. Halifax Central Library by Schmidt Hammer Lassen (Nova Scotia, Canada)

World Architecture Festival

From the civic and community building category.

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