To kick off the new year, here’s a look at 12 exciting architecture projects expected to open in 2025, including a giant domed skyspace and an earth-covered sports complex.
Expo 2025 Osaka masterplan, Japan, by Sou Fujimoto
One of the most highly anticipated openings of 2025 is the World Expo in Osaka, which is being masterplanned by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.
Fujimoto has designed a 60,000-square-metre wooden ring to encircle the expo site and its mass of architect-designed pavilions, serving as a symbol of international unity.
Among the pavilions inside will be the Blue Ocean Dome by Shigeru Ban and a fragmented wooden structure by Lina Ghotmeh.
Find out more about Expo 2025 Osaka masterplan ›
The Next Level, Denmark, by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
In Denmark, the long-awaited subterranean extension to ARoS Aarhus Art Museum by Schmidt Hammer Lassen will finally open.
Its centrepiece will be The Dome (above), which is being developed with American artist James Turrell to be “the largest skyspace in the world within a museum context”.
“The Dome at ARoS, with its 40 metres in diameter, will form one of the most spectacular spaces ever built into an art museum,” said the studio.
Find out more about The Next Level ›
Zayed National Museum, United Arab Emirates, by Foster + Partners
Nearly 15 years after Foster + Partners revealed its design, Zayed National Museum will open in Abu Dhabi in 2025.
The project forms part of Saadiyat Island – a cultural district under development off the coast of the UAE capital with a cluster of landmark buildings by an illustrious roster of architects.
Among them is the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry, which is also rumoured to be opening in 2025.
Find out more about Zayed National Museum ›
The Benin National Parliament, Benin, by Kéré Architecture
A late arrival in 2025 will be The Benin National Parliament by the studio of Diébédo Francis Kéré, which also featured on our list of buildings to look forward to in 2024.
The government building in Porto-Novo is modelled on palaver trees, a species that has been used by generations of communities in West Africa as meeting points for public gatherings.
Kéré said the project illustrates “the importance of indigenous forms of governance and what contemporary African architecture can be on a national scale”.
Find out more about The Benin National Parliament ›
Quzhou Sports Campus, China, by MAD
MAD fans will be excited to hear that the studio has several projects opening in 2025, but its most unusual is Quzhou Sports Campus.
It comprises a group of sports facilities with green roofs, which appear to emerge from the ground like volcanoes. According to the studio, it is “the largest earth-sheltered complex in the world”.
The first phase of the project, a stadium with a halo-like roofscape, opened in 2022.
Find out more about Quzhou Sports Campus ›
Google King’s Cross, UK, by BIG and Heatherwick Studio
In London, the studios of architect Bjarke Ingels and designer Thomas Heatherwick will wrap up work on the new Google campus.
Widely known as London’s landscaper, the building will stretch 330 metres in length, making it longer than the Shard – the UK’s tallest building – is tall.
Find out more about Google King’s Cross ›
New Museum extension, USA, by OMA
This year will see the completion of OMA’s extension to SANAA’s sculptural New Museum in New York, doubling the size of the contemporary art gallery.
OMA’s intervention will have an angular silhouette that juxtaposes the irregularly stacked form of its neighbour, but the two structures will be unified by metal mesh detailing on their facades.
Find out more about New Museum extension ›
Wadden Sea World Heritage Center, Netherlands, by Dorte Mandrup
The Wadden Sea World Heritage Center by Dorte Mandrup will open in April, welcoming visitors to learn about the intertidal zone, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
According to the studio, its design draws on “the endless cycle of the tide”, with a gradual spiralling incline that provides panoramic views of the surrounding fishing village.
“It almost gives you the feeling of being one with the sea,” said Dorte Mandrup.
Find out more about Wadden Sea World Heritage Center ›
Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum, China, by Zaha Hadid Architects
Another late arrival on the list is Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, which was originally due to open in 2023.
Its pebble-shaped form will centre around a large atrium and is hoped to become a landmark for Shenzhen’s new district called Guangming Science City.
“The museum will be a key destination to learn and explore the power of science and technology and understand their impact on our life and future,” the studio said.
Find out more about Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum ›
Kvarter 7 in Wood City, Sweden, by White Arkitekter
The only housing project to make this list is Kvarter 7, designed by White Arkitekter to place children’s needs at the forefront and be built almost entirely from timber.
It forms the first part of the upcoming Wood City in Stockholm – the world’s largest mass-timber development that White Arkitekter is creating with Henning Larsen to have the feel of a forest.
Find out more about Wood City ›
Fondation Cartier, France, by Jean Nouvel
For Jean Nouvel, 2025 will see the unveiling of the new home for the Fondation Cartier, which his studio is creating in the heart of Paris for the contemporary art museum’s 40th anniversary.
It will occupy the Hôtel du Louvre, a Haussmannian-era luxury hotel in the Palais-Royal district, and provide 6,500 square meters of flexible exhibition space.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Australia, by Snøhetta
Buildings due to open in Australia this year include this performing arts centre in Brisbane by Snøhetta, which will be used for ballet, opera, theatre and musicals.
This centre will be distinguished by its undulating glass shell, which pays homage to the Brisbane River and celebrates its place in the indigenous land known as Meanjin, originally inhabited by the Turrbal people.
