Several avant-garde and ground-breaking architectural and design projects were completed and proposed worldwide in 2022. The Architect’s Newspaper was one of the periodicals that covered notable architectural projects taking on all around the world in 2022. These books and articles feature a recap of architecture and design imaginative work from leading architectural firms and provide information on recent developments in architecture and design. Snøhetta, Foster + Partner, Bjarke Ingels Group, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, and Zaha Hadid Architects are just a few of the companies that have pushed the limits of what it means to build.
January 2022: The ReefLine, Miami Beach, by OMA | Architecture and Design
OMA and Shohei Shigematsu created a plan for Miami Beach‘s first underwater sculpture park and the artificial reef. The project will be an artificial reef to safeguard Miami’s coastal resilience and marine life. ReefLine is a new 7-mile underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail, and artificial reef that will be built off the coast of Miami Beach.
February 2022: Museum of the Future, Dubai by Killa Design
The Dubai Future Foundation established it. The UAE government inaugurated the museum in February 2022. The Museum of the Future was designed to create a form that would embody the client’s image of the future, with the physical structure’s exhibition levels standing in for our current idea of the “future” as we know it.
March 2022: Istanbul Modern, Turkey by Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Istanbul Modern, Turkey‘s first modern and contemporary art museum, is getting ready to move to Karaköy. The new building designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop is getting ready to host visitors in 2022. The beachfront of the new structure looks out over the Bosphorus and the historical peninsula. It occupies 10,500 square metres of usable space.
April 2022: Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, USA, by Studio Gang | Architecture and Design
The public was invited to the Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in April 2022. The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, designed by Studio Gang creates a vibrant atmosphere for social interaction, education, and appreciation of the arts, transforming this outstanding cultural institution into a recognisable municipal asset. Moving from the inside out, the plan mixes new buildings and renovations, clarifying the building’s interior and extending to AMFA’s presence into illustrious MacArthur Park, opening the museum to the community of Little Rock and attracting visitors inside.
May 2022: Museum of Ethnography, Budapest, by NAPUR Architect
Hungarian architectural design NAPUR Architect has completed the new Museum of Ethnography in Budapest City Park, Hungary. The 34,000-square-metre building was formally opened to the public in May 2022. The Museum of Ethnography’s new location is thanks in part to the Liget Budapest Initiative, which is Europe‘s largest urban cultural development initiative. The project’s dynamic yet subtle lines communicate with the nearby metropolis while blending in with the park’s surroundings.
June 2022: Xi’an Cultural Centre, Xi’an China by Zaha Hadid Architects
British architecture firm Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled images of the Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre, which will be built in Xi’an, China, in June 2022 and span an eight-lane highway. The Jinghe New City Culture & Art Center will be composed of a network of wavy volumes, courtyards, and outdoor spaces for leisure and cultural pursuits. The curving forms were created to reference the Jinghe River and the mountain valleys it has carved out in the region.
July 2022: Disappearing Walkway on Traelvikosen Scenic Route, Norway by Snøhetta
The Traelvikosen Scenic Trail, a network of tide-dependent stepping stones, was built by Snøhetta off the Norwegian coast. Fifty-five stepping stones are used in the design, laid out in a row along the sandy ocean floor so that their accessibility and visibility change in response to the increasing and falling water levels. The stepping stones that allow walkers to cross the river and ascend to a large rock can only be seen during low tide.
August 2022: Taipei Performing Arts Center, Taiwan, by OMA | Architecture and Design
Before its debut in August 2022, the eagerly anticipated Taipei Performing Arts Center in Taiwan, designed by the Dutch studio OMA, was completed. Three auditoriums protrude from a core cuboid structure in the 59,000 square metres cultural landmark, which the Taipei City Government commissioned in 2009. The structure was designed by Rem Koolhaas, wanting it to stand out from other “standardised” contemporary theatres being constructed in major cities worldwide.
September 2022: CapitaSpring, Singapore by Bjarke Ingels Group
The newest building to grace Singapore’s skyline is CapitaSpring, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati. The biophilia skyscraper aligns with “the city’s pioneering vertical urbanism” and Singapore’s status as a garden city. The 280-meter-tall high-rise oasis is a mixed-use building comprising office space, a serviced dwelling, a hawker centre, restaurants, and public areas. It is one of the city’s highest buildings.
October 2022: Progreso Museum of Geology, Mexico by Estudio MMX
The Mexican architectural firm Estudio MMX has unveiled the Progreso Museum of Geology, which consists of many buildings covered with chukum, a Mayan-era finish. The Mexico City-based Estudio MMX Constructed the museum for its beachfront site in Progreso, a town near Mérida on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. For the benefit of the people of Progreso, the museum intentionally mixes traditional Mayan knowledge with contemporary architectural concepts.
November 2022: Sydney Modern, Sydney, by SANAA
The Sydney Modern Project, the transformation of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW), was completed in November at a heritage site overlooking Sydney Harbour. The project features a new structure built by SANAA, which doubles the exhibition area. Architectural highlights include a double-height atrium over 11 metres tall at its greatest point, 250 metres of rammed earth walls on two levels, and three limestone-clad art pavilions that gently slope down to the port.
![Sydney Modern, Sydney by SANAA. [Visualization] _©World Architecture Community](https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/A9664-Recap-of-Architecture-and-Design-2022-Image-11.jpg)
December 2022: Kharkiv Reconstruction Masterplan, Ukraine, by Norman Foster | Architecture and Design
On a visit to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, British architect Norman Foster revealed the specifics of the redevelopment plan, including a “landmark building”. The concept is developed through several pilot projects to enhance characteristics, including heritage, infrastructure, and waterways, in cooperation with a local advisory board.
Conclusions
Overall, 2022 has been a successful year for the architectural sector as numerous companies have kept pushing the envelope of innovation, sustainability, and creativity in architecture and design. The designs are evidence of the diligence and originality of the top architectural industries around the globe. Diverse and forward-thinking architectural concepts, from soaring skyscrapers to eco-friendly residences, have been unveiled, applauded, and are expected to continue influencing architects and designers for years to come.
References:
Abdel, H. (2022) Museum of Ethnography Budapest / napur architect, ArchDaily. ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/983318/museum-of-ethnography-budapest-napur-architect (Accessed: March 14, 2023).
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (no date) Studio Gang. Available at: https://studiogang.com/project/AMFA (Accessed: March 15, 2023).
Baldwin, E. (2020) OMA designs Miami Beach’s first Underwater Sculpture park, ArchDaily. ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/951804/oma-designs-miami-beachs-first-underwater-sculpture-park (Accessed: March 15, 2023).
Dege, S. (2022) Ukraine: How architect Norman Foster aims to rebuild Kharkiv – DW – 12/23/2022, dw.com. Deutsche Welle. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-how-architect-norman-foster-aims-to-rebuild-kharkiv/a-64195981 (Accessed: March 17, 2023).
Dennehy, J. (no date) Shaun Killa: The architect who dreamt up the design of Dubai’s Museum of the Future, The National. Available at: https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2022/09/02/meet-shaun-killa-architect-of-dubais-museum-of-the-future/ (Accessed: March 16, 2023).
First look at Istanbul modern by Renzo Piano (2022) Archilovers. Archilovers.com. Available at: https://www.archilovers.com/stories/29978/first-look-at-istanbul-modern-by-renzo-piano.html (Accessed: March 16, 2023).
Florian, M.-C. (2022) Studio Gang’s redesigned Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, US, is set to open to the public, ArchDaily. ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/989098/studio-gangs-redesigned-arkansas-museum-of-fine-arts-in-little-rock-us-is-set-to-open-to-the-public (Accessed: March 14, 2023).
Katsikopoulou, Myrto (2022) Sanaa-designed ‘Sydney modern’ art gallery expansion opens to the public, designboom. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/sanaa-sydney-modern-art-gallery-expansion-opens-public-11-29-2022/ (Accessed: March 14, 2023).
McLaughlin, K. (2022) Bjarke Ingels Group’s new Singapore skyscraper has 80,000 plants, Architectural Digest. Architectural Digest. Available at: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/step-inside-bjarke-ingels-groups-biophilic-skyscraper-in-singapore (Accessed: March 16, 2023).
Ravenscroft, T. (2022) Rem Koolhaas designs Taipei Performing Arts Center to “contribute to the history of the theatre”, Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/13/taipei-performing-arts-center-completes-rem-koolhaas-oma/ (Accessed: March 15, 2023).
Stathaki, E. (2022) Estudio MMX’s geology museum on the Yucatán Peninsula is a big hit, wallpaper.com. Wallpaper*. Available at: https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/geology-museum-yucatan-estudio-mmx-yucatan-mexico (Accessed: March 16, 2023).
Tucker, E. (2022) Snøhetta has designed a disappearing walkway in Norway, The Spaces. Available at: https://thespaces.com/snohetta-has-designed-a-disappearing-walkway-in-norway/ (Accessed: March 17, 2023).
Zaha Hadid architects (ZHA) winner of the competition to design the jinghe new city culture & art centre (no date) Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) winner of the competition to design the Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre | The Strength of Architecture | From 1998. Available at: https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/zaha-hadid-architects-zha-winner-competition-design-jinghe-new-city-culture-art-centre (Accessed: March 18, 2023).
