Here at Bazis, we really appreciate innovative design and we admire architects that dare to be different with the design of their buildings. We’re always on the lookout for buildings that push the limits of design and we ‘ve compiled a list of buildings that have recently caught our eye.
The Walter Towers
The Walter Towers in Prague kinda reminds us of Emerald Park! Designed by the modern architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group, the Walter Towers is a combination of office and residential space, all connected within a W formation. We really dig the W-shaped design but the only thing we’re wondering is, how do you ride the elevator in this building?
Phoenix International Media Center
The Phoenix international media center aka The ‘Bird’s Nest’, is a 55-metre tall building created by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. It boasts 65,000 square metres of floor space for offices, restaurants and is the headquarters of China’s Phoenix TV. One word; Amazing!
The CCTV Headquarters
We just love the architecture coming out of China! The CCTV Headquarters is a 234 m, 44-story skyscraper in the Beijing Central Business District. The building was 10 years in the making! The structure itself is made up of three buildings. Two towers lean towards each other and eventually merge in a perpendicular, 70-metre cantilever. What can we say, we love cantilevers so naturally, this building had to make it on our list.
The Piano House
This building is music to our ears! The Piano House located in Huainan City, China, is a transparent violin and a piano building. Inside the violin, there is an escalator toward the piano house upstairs. The building acts as a performance and practising place for music students from the local college in Huainan City. Pure genius!
The City of Arts and Sciences
We’ve had our eye on this building for a while. The City of Arts and Sciences is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. The entire complex was designed to celebrate the arrival of the 21st century. The Hemesferic in the photo above resembles a huge eyeball floating above a pool of water. The eye even blinks with the aid of a steel and glass shutter operated by hydraulic lifts.
Jean-Marie Tijbaou Cultural Center
Renzo Piano is hands down one of our favourite architects and we especially love the work he did on the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Built to honor the assassinated Kanak leader, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, as well as the culture of the Kanak peoples, the cultural center is modeled after a traditional Kanak village, and the pavilions were inspired by Kanak huts. We really love how the buildings blend in with the natural surroundings.
The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
Beam us up Scotty! This building looks like it came from outer space. It’s so far out. The saucer-shaped building is located in the city of Niterói, Brazil. To top it all off, it’s set on a cliff side, at the bottom of which is a beach.
The Longaberger Company
We bet life’s a picnic in this building! The Longaberger Company is an American manufacturer of handcrafted maple wood baskets. Their corporate headquarters in Newark, Ohio, takes its shape from their biggest seller, the Medium Market Basket. The seven story, 180,000 square foot building opened in 1997 and the basket handles weigh almost 150 tons and can be heated during cold weather to prevent ice damage.