World famous buildings, Contemporary architecture around the globe, Architectural images

Famous Buildings – Celebrated Designs

Global Architectural Designs – Built Environment Highlights from around the World

post updated 22 August 2024

World Famous Buildings

We’ve selected what we feel are the key examples of Famous Architecture. Buildings aren’t necessarily ‘architecturally important’ but have acquired global importance for a variety of reasons.

Alphabetical List of some of the key buildings and structures in the world:

photo © Adrian Welch

Famous 21st Century Buildings

Famous 21st Century Architecture, alphabetical:

Bilbao Guggenheim, Spain
Architect: Frank Gehry

photo from architect
Bilbao Guggenheim
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is not only one of the most famous 20th century buildings globally, but it is credited with the current phenomenon of so-called ‘iconic architecture’ (of course iconic architecture has existed long before the Bilbao Guggenheim). City councils across the globe saw the effect the building had on the city – notably increased revenue via tourism – and decided they too wanted something similar.

Famous Architecture – the world’s highest skyscraper:

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE : tallest building in world
SOM Architects

photo from architect
Burj Khalifa Skyscraper
The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai). More famous fior being high rather than for any architectural merit. Architect Adrian Smith, designed Burj Khalifa while at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Burj Khalifa’s official height was announced at 828 meters, or 2,716.5 feet.

Juedisches Museum Berlin, Germany
Studio Daniel Libeskind Architect

picture © Guenter Schneider
Jewish Museum Berlin
This world-famous building is a “symbol of Berlin’s incredible cultural development in housing a museum which integrates, for the first time in post-war Germany, the history of the Jews in Germany and the repercussions of the Holocaust”.

Yokohama Ferry Terminal, Tokyo, Japan
Design: Foreign Office Architects

photo : Saturo Mashima
Yokohama Ferry Terminal Building
This is the kind of project many of us dream of. The architect said in a public lecture, ‘how far you can take a package to make a system’. I enjoyed her simple pursuit of simplicity, the rough wood outside, the smooth inside, also the inventiveness of it all, ‘the floor became a kind of bench…bodily contact with the buildings is…very effective’.

Key 21st Century Architecture, alphabetical:

Burj al Arab Dubai, Dubai, UAE
Architects: Atkins

photograph from architect
This extraordinary 321m tower is unique in design, fulfiling the client’s brief for a landmark building in Dubai. The “Burj al Arab looks set to take its place amongst the likes of Sydney Opera House & the Eiffel Tower as symbols of their countries”.

Getty Center Building, Los Angeles, Southern California, USA
Design: Richard Meier & Partners

image © Alice McRae

London Eye, South Bank, central London, England, UK
Architect: Marks Barfield Architects – David Marks + Julia Barfield

photograph © Nick Weall

London Olympic Stadium, Stratford, England, UK
Design: Populous

photo © Morley von Sternberg

Palm Island Dubai, UAE
Design: various

picture : Palm Jumeirah

Dubai Tours are carefully designed keeping in mind the best that the city has to offer.

Reichstag Building redevelopment, central Berlin, Germany
Design: Foster + Partners

photo © Adrian Welch

Seattle Library Building, Washington, USA
Rem Koolhaas Architects / OMA

photo : Philippe Ruault

Smithsonian Institute Courtyard, Washington D.C., USA
Design: Foster + Partners

photo : Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

Swiss Re Building, City of London, England, UK
Design: Foster + Partners

photo © Adrian Welch
This building shook up the design of skyscrapers in the British capital, and influenced buildings further afield. Abandoning the standard rectilinear point blocks (normally with some kind of crown element) Norman Foster went for a curvaceous form that soon became dubbed ‘the gherkin’.

Tate Modern, South Bank, Southwark, London, United Kingdom
Design: Herzog & de Meuron Architects

photo © Isabelle Lomholt
Bold redevelopment of former power station building designed by Giles Gilbert Scott to echo the form of St. Paul’s Cathedral dome across the Thames. Key space: The Turbine Hall is both the circulation space and home to a programme of installations.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, Southern California, USA
Design: Gehry Partners

photo © Andrew McRae
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and was started back in 1987, completing around 2003-04. The concert hall is a key part of the cultural hub in downtown Los Angeles and after Blibao became his next big thing.

Famous 20th Century Buildings

Famous 20th Century Architecture, alphabetical:

Sydney Opera House, NSW, Australia
Architect: Jørn Utzon

photo © Derek McGavigan
Sydney Opera House
It could be argued that this has become the msot famous building in the world, partly due to its lovely waterfront setting in a key global city but mostly for its unforgettable external form. Utzon worked with Ove Arup on this seminal building. In 1966 Jorn Utzon left Sydney, never to return.

Barcelona Pavilion Building, Catalonia, Spain
Mies van der Rohe Architect

picture © Adrian Welch
Barcelona Pavilion
This International Style building is for many architects their favourite building in the World. It’s architecture is pure poetry, simple honest planes of stone with slim, graceful polished steel cruciform columns. The integration of water through two shallow pools brings calmness and reflection to the pavilion.

Casa Mila, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Antoni Gaudi, Architect

picture © Adrian Welch
Casa Mila

Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias, Valencia, Spain
Santiago Calatrava Architects

image © Paul Zanre
City of Arts and Science Valencia

Empire State, New York City, NY, USA
Design: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, Architects

photo © Andrew McRae
The Empire State Building is a celebrated 20th Century skyscraper, designed in the Art Deco style. The building is a 381m high skyscraper, a world-famous New York landmark. It is a good example of Art Deco architecture – subtle on the exterior, more accentuated in the tower interior.

Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, USA
Mies van der Rohe architect

photo © gm+ad architects
Farnsworth House

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, NY, USA
Design: Frank Lloyd Wright Architects

photo : David M. Heald, © SRGF, New York
This famus building is Frank Lloyd Wright’s New York masterpiece with its famous internal spiral ramp – containing art – around the atrium.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Catalina, Spain
Antoni Gaudi, Architect

picture © Adrian Welch
Sagrada Familia

Key 20th Century Architecture, alphabetical:

Canary Wharf Building, Isle of Dogs, London, UK

photograph © Jason Baxter

Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong

photo : Dennis Gilbert/VIEW

Chrysler Building, New York City, NY, USA

photo © Joe Lekas

CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Emirates Stadium, London, England, UK

photo © Hufton and Crow

Galeries Lafayette, Berlin, Germany

picture © Adrian Welch

Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, Hong Kong

photo © Andrew McRae

John Hancock Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

photo : Royce Douglas

Lloyds Building, London, UK

picture © Adrian Welch

Millennium Dome, London, England

photo © webbaviation

National Gallery Building Berlin, Germany

picture © Adrian Welch

Petronas Towers Buildings, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

picture © Tom Ravenscroft

Royal Festival Hall, London, UK

photo © Dennis Gilbert

Sears Tower, Chicago, Illinois, USA

photo courtesy of Jan Klerks

Waterloo Station Building, London, England
Design: Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners

image © Nick Weall
The International Terminal Waterloo is a multifaceted transport interchange, the busiest railway station in London. The International Terminal Waterloo was designed to be a monument to the new railway age heralded by the advent of cross-channel rail travel in Britain.#

Tengah Executive Condominium is an upcoming sought after development that gained fame about the recent investors as it is the first ec to incorporate smart features in the new Tengah substainable district. Tengah EC will feature innovative designs by famous architects to bring in new features for home stayers in this green district.

Links to World Famous Buildings below, no images:

Famous Historic Buildings

Famous Historic Architecture, alphabetical:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York

Buckingham Palace, London

The Capitol, Washington DC

Colosseum, Rome

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Forbidden Palace, Beijing

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Houses of Parliament, London

L’Arc de Triomphe, Paris

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

Mosque of Córdoba, Spain

Natural History Museum, London

Neues Museum, Berlin

The Pantheon, Rome

The Parthenon, Athens

Prado, Madrid

Pyramids, Giza, Egypt

Red Square, Moscow

St Mark’s, Venice

St Peter’s Basilica, Rome

Sphinx, Egypt

Statue of Liberty, New York

Taj Mahal, India

Tower Bridge, London

The Tower, London

Uffizi Palace, Florence

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Washington Monument, Washington DC

Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC

White House, Washington DC

Windsor Castle, England

Suggestions for Famous Buildings welcome: info(at)e-architect.com

Most World Famous Buildings Guide by Homesthetics

Insanely Famous Buildings by Architecture Lab

More World Famous Buildings Links online very soon

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World Architect Portraits – Photos of key designers

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Comments / photos for the World Famous Buildings – Celebrated Architecture page welcome.