Ambitious Architecture

Ten buildings with fantastic form and fabulous function from the last ten years.

New Year's Eve 2009 ended one of the most politically charged and aesthetically challenging decades in human history. What easier way to make sense of the endless ricochet of event and analysis than with a list?

Our contributors have chosen their top ten creative works of the decade, from artworks to albums, which we will publish on a daily basis.

Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind (Berlin, Germany, 2001)
One of the rare occasions when a building is so profoundly linked to its purpose that there is debate over whether or not to even fill it with exhibitions. As an empty structure, its memorial abilities were overwhelming. Now, filled with exhibitions, the museum as a whole continues to deepen its mandate to the history of the physical ground on which it stands.

Ontario College of Art and Design by Will Alsop of Alsop Architects with Robbie Young + Wright (Toronto, Canada, 2004)
Whimsical, inspirational, and smart, this project played a transformative role for its neighbour, the Art Gallery of Ontario (contributing in kind to the urban park the two share), and for the city as a whole. Traditionalists, move over: what building designed to look like a spaceship balancing on coloured pencils wouldn’t be fabulous?

Apple Store, Fifth Avenue by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architects (New York, U.S., 2006)
A sparkling glass temple to contemporary technology welcomes its adoring, hip congregation to the wittily hidden treasure chest store below street level.

Musée du Quai Branly by Ateliers Jean Nouvel (Paris, France, 2006)
A collage of unexpected forms that overlook Paris’s Seine River. A colossal vertical garden spills off part of the façade and continues through the rambling site, all behind Nouvel’s signature glass wall (echoing his earlier Cartier Foundation design of 1994) separating the street from the building.

Ravine Residence by Cindy Rendely Architexture (Toronto, Canada, 2007)
One of those rare moments where site, architecture, client, and neighbourhood context come together in perfect harmony. This house radiates its volumes into the ravine and orients its views to the seasons of nature. The two linked units were conceived of as an intergenerational home for the family – the grandparents’ unit is semi-independent but organically integrated into the whole through shared common spaces in the main house. Unpretentious, graceful, and functional all in one.

Hospes Palacio de los Patos by EQUIP (Granada, Spain, 2007)
Lattice screens of paper-thin marble squares form the façade of the new building that converses with the historical 19th century villa. Spare yet ornamental, this complex of old and new echoes Granada’s elaborate Moorish splendor and the role of the decorative integrated into everyday life.

Citroën 42 (C42) by Manuelle Gautrand (Paris, France, 2007)
Wedged into the classic architecture of the Champs Elysees, Citroen’s flagship car showroom (“C” at No. 42) is a luna-park ride of slick surfaces and fun. It cleverly integrates the signature bug-eyed nose of the car and iconic chevron logo into the façade of the building.

Art Gallery of Ontario by Frank Gehry (Toronto, Canada, 2008)
Unlike other Gehry buildings, this “transformation AGO” is a holistic unit where spaces complement the art they hold. The loopy central staircase spices up the more subdued aspects of the project. It is a place for art and an artful place.

Wychwood Barns (Artscape) by Joe Lobko of The Planning Partnership and ERA Architects, Inc. (Toronto, Canada, 2008)
A spare and thoughtful adaptive reuse of the historic Toronto Transit Commission streetcar repair barns – the oldest existing car houses from the Toronto Civic Railway. In its new life, the barns house artists, non-profit arts and environmental organizations, and one of the best organic markets in the city.

Punta della Dogana by Tadao Ando of Tadao Ando Architects & Associates (Venice, Italy, 2009)
Jutting out into the water at the end of Venice’s Dorsoduro district, this warehouse turned museum has been fittingly restored back to its brick and timber structure to house French business magnate Francois Pinault’s incredible collection of contemporary art. Crushingly gorgeous views of the canals connect the visitor back to this deeply Venetian site.

(Photos courtesy of Goodnight London, ivanx, andruby, laurenatcemson, EQUIP Xavier Claramunt, Lorkan, torontodailyphoto, Artscape Toronto, and tiseb)