Jonathan Morrison
10 buildings to look forward to in 2023
From Manchester to Jerusalem, the architectural highlights of the year ahead
Every year produces a number of ‘firsts’ and ‘mosts’ in architecture – and 2022 was no different. Most obviously, at least for residents of New York, the world’s skinniest skyscraper, with sixty storeys of single apartments stacked to a height of 435 metres, was completed on ‘billionaire’s row’ in Manhattan, perhaps becoming the ultimate example of ‘form following finance’ in the construction annals.
But while that was dispiriting for so many reasons, there was much to celebrate too – not least the pleasing restorations of Marcel Breuer’s Armstrong Rubber Company headquarters in Connecticut, which has become a hotel, and the Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin, an old department store that has become a photography museum – the environmental gods doth smile on refurb and reuse. Going one better was the transformation of Sydney’s AMP Centre, a 1970s skyscraper and the city’s tallest building, by stripping it to its concrete bones and wrapping it in something altogether more modern while saving the carbon cost of building afresh. Billed as the first ‘upcycling’, it may soon be the first of many.
As 2023 gets under way the green agenda shows few signs of fading to pistachio, so the use of wood and other bio-materials is set to grow, as is the requirement for locally sourced ones. One technology that might help fill the gap is 3D printing, and the trend for 3D printing homes in particular looks set to pick up pace after several years of heavy publicity but little action. There were some surprisingly attractive examples produced last year, again mostly in the States, although the tendency of the walls to look like plasticine has not been entirely resolved.
One thing that won’t change, however, is that the big money and the big names will gravitate towards prestigious cultural edifices, where the language of architecture becomes a firm statement. This happened last year – producing the bang-average Taipei Cultural Centre in Taiwan, a distant cousin of 1997’s Fuji Broadcasting Centre, and the very last century Sydney Modern Project – but there is good reason to think that 2023 will harvest a better crop. So here, in no particular order, are ten architectural highlights to look forward to:
Factory International, Manchester – OMA
In a nutshell: The north remembers
(OMA)
It seems a long time since ‘Madchester’ was the centre of the cultural universe, but this double-the-initial-pricetag and much-delayed arts palace is intended to put it back on the map by creating a permanent home for the Manchester International Festival and a rolling programme of ‘dance, theatre, popular culture and contemporary work’ – words which would normally be enough to put most people off. While its promise to turn up to 10,000 unemployed locals into opera singers, portrait artists, ballerinas and the like sounds a little ambitious, this is a serious and uncompromising piece of architecture that screams energy and desire.
Maggie’s Royal Free, Hampstead, London – Studio Libeskind
In a nutshell: Good work
Carefully wrapped in folds of timber, Maggie’s Royal Free, part of a network of spaces that support those affected by cancer, is intended to provide a maximum contrast with its clinical and concrete surroundings at the Royal Free Hospital in Belsize Park and create a welcoming sanctuary for patients. The wooden louvres and the 97 windows they frame provide plenty of cool natural light, while the rooftop garden will be a sanctuary for patients facing the most difficult times of their lives and the family members and expert staff that will support them. One of the smaller projects by the renowned Polish-American deconstructivist Daniel Libeskind, now 76, and one of his most restrained.
Chappe Art Museum, Tammisaari, Finland – JKMM
In a nutshell: Say timber
(JKMM Architects)
Sticking with the subject of wooden wonders, this small pine and spruce museum proves that new buildings can be good neighbours and reflects the traditional forms and materials of the period townhouses in this small seaside town around two hours from Helsinki. At the same time, the cavernous interior, illuminated by huge picture windows, provides wonderful Tardis-like exhibition spaces for the remarkable private collection of Albert de la Chapelle, the world-renowned geneticist and cancer researcher who died in 2020.
Nordo, Copenhagen, Denmark – Henning Larson
In a nutshell: Tall drink of water
Staying with Scandinavia, this much larger scheme on the waterfront in the eastern part of the Danish capital shows what can be done to transform an inauspicious brownfield site into a thriving new district. Containing 115 spacious new homes – plus gardens, a shared gym and laundry service – the stepped red-brick structure nods to the area’s industrial past while embracing views of the harbour (and indeed all the way to Sweden) with big windows and high ceilings. For once the promise of an ‘urban oasis’ isn’t mere estate agent’s waffle.
Richard Gilder Center, American Museum of Natural History, New York – Studio Gang
In a nutshell: Rock star
Boasting one of the most unusual interiors in recent memory in its four-storey, cavern-like interior – and with an exterior that most resembles a glass and granite cliff-face – this geological addition to the staid American Museum of Natural History is shocking in its audacity and yet feels like the perfect response to the constrained site. The organic sweeps of the atrium opens on to 23,000 sq m of new space and connects existing galleries in a way that is sure to elicit wows from kids and adults alike.
Bezalel Academy of Arts, Jerusalem – SANAA
In a nutshell: Holy moley
(SANAA)
Some sites are constrained by more than surface area, however, and what is built in the world’s holiest city is bound to attract a fiercer level of scrutiny than usual. This was what confronted the Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa as they sought to accommodate 2,500 students and 500 faculty members in the Russian Compound while, naturally, revitalising the city centre and connecting up the urban fabric of a city sacred to all three Abrahamic religions – in short, an easy brief. That they have managed to incorporate a library, galleries, classrooms, studios, offices, auditoriums, a cafeteria and a shop into a graceful 37,000 sq m glass and concrete carpet that hugs the natural gradient – minus howls of anguish – is a significant achievement.
National Library of Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel – Herzog & de Meuron
In brief: Cracking the books
(Herzog & de Meuron)
Israel’s getting not one but two great new buildings this year, thanks to the Swiss architects behind Tate Modern. A sculptural if somewhat brutalist perforated concrete shell conceals a beautiful reading room with curving bookcases and a circular light well in the centre of its scooped roof. Perfect for the location and climate.
Sub-centre library, Beijing, China – Snohetta
In a nutshell: A new leaf
Arguably less dramatic than the underwater restaurant they opened three years ago, and which has already become an artificial reef, the pioneering Norwegian studio has nonetheless stayed true to their roots (sorry) with another biomorphic take on a library. With a roof that references a native ginko forest’s canopy, held aloft by 16m tall slender metal trunks, and an undulating floor resembling small stepped hills, this is sure to be one of the most spectacular reading rooms anywhere in the world. As an added bonus, the canopy/roof contains photovoltaic cells to generate energy (sort of like trees do).
Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre, China – Zaha Hadid
In a nutshell: Flight of fantasy
There’s a lot to be said for going back to nature, clearly, and this geometric riff on the patterns of migratory birds – an obvious place to start, I’m sure you’ll agree – proves that simple is so last decade. Making the most of a spectacular setting in the middle of an artificial lake, the folded roof of perforated steel shelters a theatre, multifunctional hall, science centre and art museum around a central plaza. Murmurations of appreciation are sure to follow.
A district Tower, Tokyo, Japan – Pelli Clarke & Partners
In a nutshell: Height of sophistication
There’s always room on the list for a crisply beautiful skyscraper, despite the dubious politics that usually accompany tall buildings, and this 330m tall sculpture is one of the most elegant to be constructed in recent years. Now Japan’s tallest building, if not structure (that honour goes to the 634m Tokyo Skytree, a broadcasting tower nearby) the snappily-named A district Tower contains office space, luxury residences, a medical research centre and a university campus, all while shrugging off the earthquakes that plague this part of the Pacific Rim. An engineering masterpiece, certainly.
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