The Five Best Modern Architectural Feats

Many regard the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain as one of the world’s most amazing modern architectural feats. The contemporary art museum was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and built by Ferrovial. Gehry left his architectural signature via the building’s circular shapes that he designed to showcase the museum’s pieces in a unique way.

Built in China, the Bird’s Nest stadium served as the host for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Designed primarily by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the marvel boasts a bowl-shaped composite of a red concrete seating area and an outer steel frame that encloses it.

Arguably the most incredible modern architectural feat, the Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building as it soars over 2,500 feet in the sky. Designed by Adrian Smith and engineered by Bill Baker, the multi-billion dollar structure officially opened in 2010 and features the world’s longest-traveling elevator and five million square feet of floor space. Fun fact: Tom Cruise hung out of its side in the latest Mission Impossible.

1986 marked the year that construction on India’s famous Lotus Temple was completed. As the name suggests, the temple was inspired by–and resembles–the lotus flower. Composed of 27 freestanding marble “petals,” the building has nine entrances that open onto a central hall. A truly sweeping sight, the vast temple covers 26 acres of land and also has nine surrounding ponds and gardens.

An amazing example of sustainable architecture, the California Academy of Sciences is considered to be the “greenest museum on the planet.” Located in San Francisco, the building’s roof blends in seamlessly with the landscape.