Photo: Courtesy of Herzog and de Meuron/Iwan Baan

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (2017) by Herzog & de Meuron (Hamburg)

In its most basic form, Herzog & de Meuron's design for the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg is physical evidence that adaptive reuse can be done to stunning, head-turning effect. Glass completely covers the upper portion of the structure, making it appear more like an avant-garde ship than a space for musical performances. Completed in 2017, the bottom half of building (on which Elbphilharmonie Hamburg sits atop) has a history that actually dates back further than that. The foundation of Herzog & de Meuron's design is a brick building that was a former warehouse built in 1963. The location of this warehouse was significant, as it sat along the mouth of the Elbe river in the geographical heart of the city. When the warehouse, along with many other older 19th-century brick buildings, became derelict, a plan was put in place to transform these industrial spaces into popular waterfront developments. No one could have predicted the popularity of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Tickets are constantly sold out for its musical performances (due in part to the affordable value of tickets in comparison with other philharmonics around the world). The interior of the venue is also democratic in layout, meaning that all 2,100 seats are situated around the main stage, making each of them equal in status and in their quality of experience. Adding to the buildings all-people-being-equal ethos, in March 2017, during the height of what many referred to as the refugee crisis in Europe, the Elbphilharmonie used its popularity in a positive way: by presenting a festival dedicated to Syrian music and culture that brought together residents and new arrivals to the city.

Photo: Getty Images

Apple Park (2017) by Foster + Partners (Cupertino, California)

For some, Apple Park will always be remembered as the final vision of the firm's inimitable founder, Steve Jobs. For countless more, however, Apple's latest headquarters will be considered the crowning architectural achievement for how the campus of a forward-thinking company should be designed. Created by the firm Foster + Partners, the 175-acre campus was the culmination of a dream that Jobs had in 2004 while walking through London's Hyde Park. It was while there that the iconic founder decided to house his company in a new environment where the barrier between building and nature seamlessly disappeared. To fulfill that lofty ambition, Jobs turned to Pritzker Prize–winning architect Norman Foster. "In my first meeting with Steve Jobs in 2009, he recalled the region [of central California] being the fruit bowl of America and the idea was born of re-creating such a landscape as an integral part of the concept," says Foster. "In this approach the buildings and their setting are inseparable and specific to the needs of Apple. Steve and I shared a vision for the project; Apple Park is the result of the coming together of two teams to ultimately become one." This vision includes a main, ring-shaped building that runs on fully sustainable energy, much of which comes from the solar panels that line the top of the spaceship-like structure. For a company as cutting-edge as Apple, solar-energy almost seems archaic. That's why it pushed Foster and his team further to create a building that actually breathes. Between each floor is a canopy that slightly sticks out, its main purpose being to protect employees from the intense California sun. Tucked within each canopy is a ventilation system that funnels air in and out of the building. Jobs (who was not a fan of air conditioning) wanted his employees to feel any passing breeze as if they were sitting outside. Through a variety of sensors, the building maintains a temperature of 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, all by using an intake and release of natural air. The campus also houses 9,000 trees, many of them apple, plum, apricot, and other fruit trees. The verdant setting is not merely for aesthetics, however: They're all drought-tolerant varieties, planted to withstand climate change.