World's Coolest New Attractions
Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi
Dubai typically hogs the limelight with its ambitious projects,
but now Abu Dhabi is defying gravity with this glassy 35-story landmark—the
world’s furthest-leaning man-made tower. The glinting 18-degree tilt (four
times more than that of Pisa’s leaning tower) catches your eye among the city’s
jumble of skyscrapers and cranes. You can’t miss it on the drive to the Grand
Mosque, but to get a peek inside, book a stay at the Hyatt Hotel slated to open
in mid-to-late 2011.
Cheetah Hunt Roller Coaster, Busch
Gardens, Tampa, FL
Theme parks invested heavily in new attractions during the
recession’s staycation trend, and 2011 sees fruits of those efforts. No new
ride has more daredevil spirit than the Cheetah Hunt: a multilaunch coaster
that jettisons riders from 0 to 60 mph, corkscrews up 100 feet into a
skyscraping figure eight, narrowly grazing over the cable lines for the
Skyride, and clips a waterfall before plummet-torqueing into a trench in the
park’s Serengeti area. Can we do it again, please?
Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain
If you want to know what Alice felt like in Wonderland, head to
Seville, where a trippy new pavilion has sprung up in the Plaza de la Encarnacíon.
Undulating blonde timber structures with a honeycomb roof make up the world’s
largest wooden building, known by locals as “Setas de la Encarnación,” or the
Mushrooms of Incarnation. It’s home to an archaeological museum, a farmers’
market, and an elevated plaza with bars and restaurants.
11 11 Lincoln Road Parking Garage,
Miami
Car culture gets the starchitect treatment at this garage. The modernist
open-air structure designed by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron opened in 2010
and has become a hot spot for events, while hip shops and restaurants like
Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack draw daytime crowds. Developer Robert Wennett refers
to the trapezoidal house of cards as a “parking sculpture,” complete with an
adjacent water garden and a Dan Graham–designed glass pavilion. The mixed-use
venue was a winner of the 2011 T+L
Design Awards.
Orbit Tower, London
Imagine the Eiffel Tower on acid or a roller coaster that’s
survived a hurricane. These are the kinds of images that London’s twisted,
blood-red, 377-foot-high sculpture brings to mind. Artists Anish Kapoor and Cecil
Balmond collaborated on the controversial skyline addition, which is being
designed for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The tubular steel tower will feature a
platform nested at the midway point and become London’s latest must-see
attraction when completed in December 2011.
Cancún’s Underwater Museum,
Mexico
The world’s largest underwater museum opened three
miles offshore in November 2010 with hundreds of sunken life-size human figures.
Artist Jason deCaires Taylor used pH-neutral
concrete to create these sculptures, which double as a home for peacock
flounder, white telestra coral, and other aquatic life that have becoming
increasingly threatened by the 750,000-plus annual divers who visit the
National Marine Park’s coral reefs.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York City
There’s a new reward for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge: this
necklace of six leafy plots that stretches along the waterfront between the
neighborhoods of DUMBO and Cobble Hill. The initial two segments opened in
spring 2010 and were heralded as Mayor Bloomberg’s most important legacy by the
New York Times architecture critic. An expansion of Pier 6 debuts this summer along with
a restored 1920s carousel in a pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel. Time your
visit to catch the sunset over the Statue of Liberty, then linger to witness
Manhattan light up at night.
Nanjing
Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China
Not many people are familiar with Nanjing, whose population of
7.7 million somehow ranks as “small” by Chinese city terms. But that’s
beginning to change as the local art scene outpaces that of Beijing and
Shanghai and welcomes a high-profile museum of contemporary architecture.
Several years in the making, the Nanjing Sifang Art Museum rises from the
quiet, shaggy hills of the Jiangsu like a postmodern Star Wars vehicle. U.S.
architect Steven Holl collaborated with international architects on the
abstract, stilt-supported design and factored in eco-friendly features like a green
roof and a geothermal heating and cooling system.
Ritz-Carlton
Hong Kong
In a year of Asian hotel one-upmanship, Hong Kong emerged a quiet victor with its cloud-grazing Ritz-Carlton on the upper 16
floors of the 118-story International Commerce Centre (the world’s eighth
tallest building). The heavenly property is fitted with crystal fire pits, sun-dappled
pools, and a chocolate library. After all, it’s one thing to jostle with
tourists for a view from a sky-high building—it’s quite another to wake up in a
600-thread-count, down-feathered bed at 1,600 feet in the world’s highest
hotel.
Strings Bridge, Jerusalem, Israel
In an ancient, tradition-bound city famous for its Wailing Wall,
Temple Mount, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Strings Bridge provides a
much-needed jolt of modernism—and a chance to relieve traffic congestion.
Santiago Calatrava’s bridge will be used for Jerusalem’s light rail, which has
overcome construction delays and some opposition to finally open in Summer
2011. Made of gleaming Jerusalem-stone and glass, the bridge resembles the
shape of a set of chords, inspired by King David’s harp.
Harpa, Reykjavík
Times have been rough for Iceland, where the economy imploded and
Eyjafjallajökull volcano exploded. But from the ashes of ruin comes the
magnificent 1,800-seat Harpa Concert Hall. The postmodern venue is a luminous
and kaleidoscopic glass-and-steel cage designed by artist Olafur Eliasson and
Copenhagen-based Henning Larsen Architects. The inaugural season kicks off in
May and includes performances by Cyndi Lauper, Jamie Cullum, and emerging Icelandic
musicians like Ólöf Arnalds (Múm) and Skúli Sverrisson.
Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
It won’t open until June 2011, but already this
transport museum on the site of an old shipyard has been nicknamed the “Steel
Tsunami.” Credit goes to Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who gave the
exterior her signature futuristic look: a glass façade, a zigzag-shaped roof.
The interior is a soaring space big enough for historic trams and trains. Exhibitions
also include three re-created Glasgow shopping streets, dating from 1890–1930,
and the Tall Ship, which is berthed in the harbor alongside the gleaming new
structure.
EdgeWalk at the CN Tower, Toronto
Move over, Spider Man: skyscraper scaling is the domain of
non-superhuman beings now. In August 2011, Toronto celebrates the 35th
birthday of the city's CN Tower with EdgeWalk, a new program that
invites visitors to undertake a death-defying course in acrobatics by
stepping out onto the narrow five-foot ledge that rings the iconic
116-story tower's circular pod—there's an overhead safety harness, but
no railing. Guides will encourage pushing your personal limits to really
experience the vertiginous 30-minute rush, which promises to thrill
even the most blasé of tourists.
"Rhythms of Life" Sculpture, Kenya
Aussie sculptor/artist Andrew Rogers has constructed 47 stone
sculptures (geoglyphs) in 14 countries on all seven continents for his
ongoing "Rhythms of Life" series. This involves corralling boulders,
marble, and stones into gigantic iconic shapes of animals, runic
characters, or quasi-cryptic symbols, often visible from space. (It's
more likely you'll view them from about 5,000 feet in a hot-air balloon
or on Google Earth.)
For his latest geoglyph, Rogers employed 1,300 local Masai at Camp ya
Kanzi in the volcanic Chyulu Hills, located in eastern Kenya. The
community chose the two projects—a colossal lion's paw and a shield—as a
nod to environmental conservation and the preservation of their
traditional lifestyle.
Substation Curaçao
Curaçao, one of the world’s newest countries, is now making waves for
creating the world's first mini-submarine for tourists. The Substation
excursion takes you 1,000 feet below the crystalline Caribbean Sea at
Bapor Kibra, where you can view coral, shipwrecks, and if lucky, pods of
dolphins, at a visibility of 300 feet. The hour-long excursion isn't
cheap ($650), but after all, you're truly experiencing life under the
sea—not an animatronics ride like the Little Mermaid one slated to open at Walt Disney World.
Museo Soumaya, Mexico City
The richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, has moved 66,000 pieces of
his personal art collection into a brilliant new museum designed by his
architect son-in-law Fernando Romero and named for Slim's beloved late
wife. Though Mexico City's art scene has exploded with contemporary
works stealing the stage, until now the country lacked a catalogue of
art history's masters. This collection fills that gap with works by
Picasso, da Vinci, van Gogh, and El Greco, as well as homegrown artists
like Diego Rivera. It caters to a broad audience by keeping admission
free.
Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom
This 182-room hotel on the banks of the Danube Canal could have
simply relied on its appealing views of St. Stephen's Cathedral, the
Prater Ferris Wheel, and the leafy Vienna woods. But instead, a talented
trio conspired to make the hotel look equally impressive. Architect
Jean Nouvel designed the structure's floating roof and slanted glass
walls, while contemporary Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist projected
permanent interior art installations onto the ceilings. No design hotel
would be complete these days without a green angle; here landscape
architect Patrick Blanc cultivated an extensive and lush "living wall"
draped with 20,000 plant species.
Witch Monument, Vardø, Norway
Norway wasn't always known for its peace politics. In the 16th and
17th centuries, 135 "witches" were indicted and 91 were burned (many of
them indigenous Sami) in Vardø, the easternmost town of Norway. Today
the victims are being memorialized as part of an ongoing $400 million
architecture and design development project along Norway's 18 designated
National Tourist Routes, which includes roadside lookouts and new
design hotels. This particular monument—designed by artist
Louise Bourgeois and Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter
Zumthor—is a chair enveloped in flames and enclosed in a 125-meter-high
building, with a window built for each victim of the witch hunt.
Norway's Queen Sonja is scheduled to unveil the monument in summer 2011.
ArtScience Museum, Singapore
Singapore has gone on a recent building spree, rolling out a casino, a
river safari, rooftop sky-parks, lush beer gardens, eco hotels, and
even a floating Louis Vuitton Island. Even so, Marina Bay Sands'
ArtScience Museum, which opened in February 2011, stands out among all
the glitz and hype. Designed by Moshe Safdie to illustrate the symbiotic
relationship of art, science, and technology, the lotus-shaped museum
has a roof that transforms rainwater into a central atrium waterfall and
pond, plus 50,000 square feet of glimmering gallery space for exhibits
like "Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine" that attempt to bridge art and
science.
The Antilia Tower, Mumbai
Not since Hearst's San Simeon and Louis XIV's Versailles has a
single-family home generated so much global curiosity and scorn.
Businessman Mukesh Ambani commissioned the billion-dollar, 27-story
tower for himself, his wife, three kids, mother, and 600 staff. It's got
all the necessities: 400,000 square feet of living space, a parking
garage for 168 vehicles, nine elevators, a health spa, a yoga studio, a
50-person theater, swimming pools. When it's really hot, the ice room's
snow flurries are a superior way to cool down. One potential redeeming
antidote to all that mind-boggling excess is the three floors of hanging
gardens, which makes this the largest and tallest "living wall" in the
world—and a green mini-lung for polluted, slum-filled Mumbai.
The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL
The latest art buzz out of Florida isn't from Miami. In January 2011,
96 works by surrealist Salvador Dalí found a new home in this
appropriately extraterrestrial-like building with a "melting geodesic"
dome. The building has bright galleries, a concrete helix staircase, and
a coquina grotto draped with bromeliads—almost enough eye candy to
distract you from the collection. Major Dalí works are set off by a few
fun, lesser-known works like Lobster Telephone and Basket of Bread and screenings of surrealist films by Dalí and Buñuel. It's an easy way to add a splash of culture to your beach getaway.
The Domus Romane, Rome
There's always more to dig up in the Eternal City. Excavations in
Piazza Venezia (a modern traffic hub) revealed a few second-century
villas decorated with intricate mosaics, fountains, and frescoes in
2007. The ancient ruins opened to the public in October 2010, and
multimedia tours in English have recently been added. Look for the
preserved bathing complex and its mostly intact plumbing, and a colorful
mosaic made of nearly 100,000 stone tiles.
Toro Verde, Orocovis, Puerto Rico
By now, zipline courses have become so ubiquitous that your first
instinct might be to roll your eyes at another opening. But Puerto
Rico's new nature park, about an hour outside San Juan, injects some
needed audacious thrills into the eco-adventure genre. The cloud forest
park was designed by Costa Ricans, who admit it's better than any in
their own country. One reason? La Bestia, a two-minute face-down zipline
that glides you across a misty 4,745-feet-long, 853-feet-high
rainforest valley.
Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, England
Hamlet, Macbeth, Puck, and Juliet have a mod new $185 million crib in
Stratford-on-Avon, where the Royal Shakespeare Company's round theater
opened in April 2011—nicely timed to its 50th-anniversary season. The
gem is the 1,040-seat, thrust-stage Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which
includes four bars, a riverside café, and a rooftop restaurant; a new
118-foot-high tower offers panoramic views of Warwickshire and the three
adjacent counties. The inaugural season features new productions of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Merchant of Venice, starring Patrick Stewart as Shylock.
Im Viadukt, Zurich
The Swiss famously love their cheese and chocolate, but also love
making old things new again. Enter Zurich's Im Viadukt, a former 1894
railroad embankment built of stone mason arches that's been converted
into a series of shops, galleries, and boutiques capped by a fantastic
food market. The urban renewal project is located in scruffy Kreis 5,
part of the evolving Zurich West area near iconic Freitag Tower. The
Viadukt's markhalle, which opened in September 2010, is the
highlight and a food forager's paradise, offering obscure, locally made
artisanal Swiss products like smoked barley whiskey from Elfingen,
raw-milk butter, and Ticinese popcorn—often doled out in generous free
samples.
Fogo Island Arts Corporation, Fogo Island, Newfoundland
This sleepy, secluded fishing community off the northeast coast of
Newfoundland is suddenly becoming a cultural destination, thanks to a
series of modernist art studios on stilts. These studios, converted from
rugged saltbox houses and churches overlooking the Atlantic, are
welcoming artists and writers as part of an international residency
program—as well as tourists for tours. A mod 29-room hotel is slated to
open in 2012 and will add to the island's appeal.
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, Washington, D.C.
President Obama is invited to speak at the August 2011 dedication of
D.C.'s first nonpresidential memorial, which occupies several acres of
the Tidal Basin. Visitors approach the site through a narrow channel of
boulders called the Mountain of Despair, which opens to a larger plaza,
meant to suggest the difficult challenge of civil rights. Inside the
plaza, a crescent-shaped inscription wall is emblazoned with MLK's
iconic sermons and writings. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National
Memorial Project Foundation has been the driving force behind the
project for 15-plus years and enlisted architects from McKissack &
McKissack, an African American, female-owned firm.
