Last year saw the completion of a number of impressive and bizarre buildings all over the world. Here are some of the most intriguing projects, including a few that are still in the works.

Seed Cathedral — Shanghai, China
The UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, featured an original structure that served as a low-tech counterpoint to many of the high-tech Asian installations: Seed Cathedral, designed by British artist Thomas Heatherwick. With a shape described as “hedgehog-like,” the Cathedral features 60,000 thin optic rods that sway in the breeze, culminating in the interior arrangement where they are tipped with different seed samples from the Millennium Seed Bank Project.

Burj Khalifa — Dubai, United Arab Emirates
With a surplus of stories about audacious and bold architectural and engineering creations in oil-rich Dubai, it is no surprise that last January saw the opening of the world’s tallest skyscraper in the heart of the city. The Burj Khalifa stands at an impressive 828 meters (2716.5 feet) tall, a full 320 meters taller than the next highest building, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, and is home to office and residential space.

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Image credit: Lciuffo/WikiMedia

Canton Tower — Guangzhou, China
Only a few months after the Burj Khalifa officially began operation, the Canton Tower, a television tower and sightseeing destination, opened in Guangzhou, China. The structure reaches 600 meters at the tip of its spire, while the interior holds shopping centers, restaurants and a cinema.

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Image credit: Flickr-Colin Zhu/WikiMedia

CityCenter — Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
MGM Resorts’ troubled entertainment and hotel project in Las Vegas was the scene of various labor struggles and budget problems, but after $11 billion and more than three years of construction, CityCenter opened in 2009 and became fully operational in 2010. MGM describes CityCenter as an all-inclusive entertainment getaway, with hotels, casinos, retail and even residential areas, all connected to the main MGM Grand hotel casino. CityCenter includes environmentally-conscious features like a water recycling system and a power plant.

8House — Copenhagen, Denmark
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), known for innovative designs in Europe, unleashed their apartment complex concepts last year with 8House, an apartment center with an unusual design and broad vision. The multi-story complex is shaped like a figure-eight, with various residential and commercial levels intertwining in an intricate geometric puzzle. BIG intends 8House to represent a new understanding of suburban and urban dwellings.

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Image credit: ©Jens Lind via ArchDaily

Antilia — Mumbai, India
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s largest private sector conglomerate company, is the richest man in Asia, so it is logical that he should live in the finest residence available. In 2010, he moved into his new Mumbai house, named Antilia, which contains a 168-car garage, a 50-seat cinema theater, a ballroom, three helipads, a gym and multiple swimming pools spread over 27 floors, all serviced and maintained by a staff of 600. The current value of the house: $1 billion.

A Look into the Future

In addition to the completed structures above, there are some architectural marvels coming soon, including the following.

Masdar Eco-City — Abu Dhabi, UAE
Southwest of all the surprising architectural projects in Dubai, preparation work is underway for Masdar City, a planned community that will capture renewable energy sources like solar energy and biological waste to become the first zero-carbon, zero-waste, sustainable city in the world. The city will boast a university, public transportation and about 45,000 residents.


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Image credit: Masdar

The Ark Hotel — Russia
Russian design group Remistudio released concept images of The Ark Hotel, a large pod-looking structure that can be built on a wide variety of surfaces in varying climates, or can float on water. The Ark has the capability to capture and store solar, wind and thermal water energy to maintain self-sufficient energy use, and is intended as an answer to possible climate disaster.

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Image credit: Remistudio via Inhabitat

Onkalo Waste Repository — Olkiluoto, Finland
To combat the problem of nuclear waste disposal and comply with Finnish laws about maintaining the country’s personal production of nuclear waste, scientists and engineers at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant are working on a 500-meter (1,600-feet) deep, 5-kilometer (3-mile) mine into the bedrock. When completed and filled in 2120, the mine will be sealed and is intended to remain undisturbed for 100,000 years — longer than any man-made structure.