These are the world’s most beautiful buildings? Are you kidding?
A hundred years ago, naming the world’s most beautiful buildings was easy: the Parthenon. Sure. The Taj Mahal. Absolutely. Hagia Sophia. No argument. But now, in part because the whole notion was chewed up and spit out by those troublemaking Modernists, we’re just learning to think about architecture in terms of beauty again. It’s open season.
We readily admit our choices for the world’s most beautiful buildings are questionable. They include Gaudí’s controversial Sagrada Família cathedral (arguably a top sight) in Barcelona—a building that teeters on the boundary between love and hate. We see that edge as the exact place where beauty happens. Beautiful is not the same as pretty; it’s a strong word, suggesting big emotions.
Sagrada Família, Barcelona
Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands
The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
National Congress Hall, Brasilia, Brazil
The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain
The Chrysler Building, New York City
Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France
ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany
Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building, Kansas City, MO
Gresham Palace, Budapest, Hungary
Christian Dior Store, Omotesando, Tokyo
Hearst Tower, New York City
Therme Vals, Vals, Switzerland
Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Bhutan
New Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Oslo, Norway
Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali
Catherine Palace, Outside St. Petersburg, Russia
The Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany
Akron Boys and Girls Club II, Akron, AL
Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Hand-Made School, Rudrapur, Bangladesh
