This fantastical approach to design is not new – famous Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi was at it 100 years ago, and visionary designers in the 1960s were playing with ideas that they often couldn't build. But now with sophisticated computer design software and advances in structural engineering, it's possible to treat buildings more like sculptures. And there's been another development: exciting buildings attract tourists, and smaller cities or those with flagging economies can reverse their fortunes with a design classic. This is what happened to Bilbao in Spain after LA architect Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum was built there. Now cities and corporate patrons look for unusual, eye-catching designs so that they can be associated with some of that magic. The three recent buildings shown here will give you an idea of the strange goings-on in the architecture of the 21st century.
An alien invasion: Selfridges, Birmingham
Selfridges
- location: Birmingham
- architect: Future Systems
- covered in 15,000 aluminium discs
- six storeys but almost no windows
- no straight lines and no corners
Rockin' out loud: Experience Music Project, Seattle, USA
Experience Music Project
- location: Seattle
- architect: Frank Gehry
- stainless steel shingles with a range of finishes – gold, red, blue, purple
- sub-woofers shake the floors so you can feel the music
- showcases American pop music
Buzz of the fruit fly: The Esplanade cultural centre, Singapore
The esplanade
- location: Singapore
- architects: Michael Wilford and Partners, and DP Architects
- modelled on the exotic durian fruit
- has a concert hall, theatre and mall
- spiky armour shields the glass roof from the sun
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