Great architecture is always Iconic. Looking at some of these marvellous buildings reminds us of the strides in architecture as a profession that always shows an Avant-garde definition of what a structure should look like. These buildings are concepts that have influenced the city they were built in and has the power to drive tourism and a lot many inspirational forces. 

An architect is influenced by a number of forces while envisioning a building. The culture and authentic values of the place he resides in, the purpose that the building would serve, cost price analysis, common materials that are generically found and a lot more. These factors come into play and uniquely define every architecture of the world. 

Every era in history has its architectural marvels from the victorian era to new age modern skyscraper buildings. The innovation in design after the 20th century has defined what that modern architecture presides over. 

modernism would become the dominant architectural form in the aftermath of the devastation of the Second World War. It is characterized by its heavy use of new technologies. with particular emphasis on the use of glass, steel, and, of course, reinforced concrete. Many also define it as the rejection of the old traditional neoclassical style and Beaux-Arts that were popularised during the latter half of the previous century.

Modern architecture would remain the dominant architectural form throughout most of the 20th century until it was deposed in the 1980s by the appropriately termed postmodernist style.

As various sensations and the perception of space are directed by the aesthetic and physical quality of the given element. For this reason, we have gathered ten buildings that highlight the quality of their materials:

JEWISH MUSEUM, BERLIN

Daniel Libeskind, in 1988 won the government initiated competition that was planning on opening the museum again after world war II. His design was chosen as the winner among several other internationally renowned architects as it was the only one that paid its homage to Jewish architecture and culture in a well-structured zig-zag pattern. One of the most emotional and powerful spaces in the building is a 66’ tall void that runs through the entire building. The concrete walls add a cold, overwhelming atmosphere to the space where the only light emanates from a small slit at the top of the space.  The ground is covered in 10,000 coarse iron faces. A symbol of those lost during the Holocaust; the building is less of a museum but an experience depicting what most cannot understand.

BIRD’S NEST STADIUM, BEIJING 

Beijing National Stadium is also known as Bird’s nest was created during the 2008 summer Olympics held in China. The structure is made by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The stadium has a capacity of 80,000 people, it is one of the most iconic stadiums of the world. The design was inspired by the use of Chinese ceramics, implemented by steel beams to hide the supports of the retractable roof to give a seamless top. Its pattern of intertwined beams gives it the appearance of a bird’s nest.

AQUA TOWER, CHICAGO 

Aqua is an 82-story residential skyscraper established in the lakeshore est, Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by a wonderful team of architects led by Jeanne Gang with James Loewenberg. This building has been awarded The Emporis skyscraper award as the 2009 skyscraper of the year. 

This is an 82 storied building with five levels of parking below ground. building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality. the striated limestone outcroppings are a common topographic feature of the Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs. Aqua is the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. Strategic Hotels & Resorts

LOUIS VUITTON FOUNDATION

The Louis Vuitton Foundation is a French art museum The building site is designed after the founding principles of 19th century landscaped gardens. It connects the building with the Jardin d'Acclimatation at the north, and the Bois de Boulogne to the south.

The two-story structure has 11 galleries of different sizes, a voluminous 350-seat auditorium on the lower-ground floor and multilevel roof terraces for events and art installations. Gehry had to build within the square footage and two-story volume of a bowling alley that previously stood on the site, anything higher had to be glass. The resulting glass building takes the form of a sailboat's sails inflated by the wind. These glass sails envelop the "iceberg", a series of shapes with white, flowery terraces.

THE BROAD MEUSEUM, LA, USA

The Broad is a new contemporary art museum built by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. The broad has a modern connotation of museums to pose an eco-conscious and sustainable facilities like With its electric car charging stations, bike parking spaces, rooftop drains routed to street level gardens that filter runoff, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures that help reduce water use by 40 per cent, and its easy access to public transit including adjacency to the new Metro Regional Connector station. It is truly a landmark modern architectural marvel.

APPLE PARK , CALIFORNIA

Apple Park is the company's second campus built in Cupertino, California. It's one of the final products pitched by the late CEO, Steve Jobs. The massive ring-shaped building is now an iconic symbol of Apple's dedication to design, green energy, and the future of technology. The Ring uses base isolation to protect against earthquakes. The isolation system consists of 692 large steel saucers located two stories underground. 

This system is a modified version of Japan's and will protect the campus from all but the most severe earthquakes. The Ring's interior hosts large rooms with glass walls and entryways, including wide-open spaces that can be collapsed into smaller sections as needed. The Ring is divided into eight identical segments and surrounded by a hallway roughly three-quarters of a mile around.

LOUVRE, ABU DHABI

If the past decade can be viewed as a modern Arab Renaissance for the oil-rich nation of United Arab Emirates, then the Louvre Abu Dhabi is most certainly the centerpiece of this movement. Completed in 2017, the estimated $650 million building located in Abu Dhabi is, if nothing else, a milestone for a city that, as of the 1950s, didn't have paved roads, electricity, or running water. The 258,333-square-foot structure, which was designed by Jean Nouvel, features a stainless-steel and aluminum dome that's been cut and layered to dazzling affect. When the intense Middle Eastern sun beats down on the dome, light beams come through in the form of star-shaped patterns. It took eight years of construction for the stars to align in this building, which is the largest art museum in the Arabian Peninsula.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Sydney Opera House, opera house located on Port Jackson Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Its unique use of a series of gleaming white sail-shaped shells as its roof structure makes it one of the most-photographed buildings in the world. Each hall was topped with a row of sail-shaped interlocking panels that would serve as both roof and wall, to be made of precast concrete. The Opera House is Sydney’s best-known landmark. It is a multipurpose performing arts facility whose largest venue, the 2,679-seat Concert Hall, is host to symphony concerts, choir performances, and popular music shows. Opera and dance performances, including ballet, take place in the Opera Theatre.