Class Favorites: Best Projects of 2015

Six superlatives and a dozen of the year’s best features.

**3XN Offices** | 3XN Architects | Copenhagen, Denmark
Architects' offices demonstrate a sensitivity to the historic setting in which they are located.
*Photo © Adam Mørk*

**Facebook Building 20** | Gehry Partners | Menlo Park, California
Channeling Facebook's startup culture, Frank Gehry creates a mammoth, vibrant warehouse for the social-media company.
*Photo © Jeremy Bittermann*

**Taschen** | Taschen Design Team | Milan
A renowned publisher curates the design of his imprint's first Milanese bookshop, creating an intimate salon that celebrates style.
*Photo © Mark Seelan*

**Valentino** | David Chipperfield Architects | New York City
An Italian sense of craft and detail is brought to New York City's major shopping street by David Chipperfield's design for Valentino.
*Photo © Santi Caleca*

**Fondation Vincent van Gogh** | Fluor Architecture | Arles, France
Fluor Architecture's renovation of a 15th century building for the Fondation Vincent van Gogh d'Arles exploits the city's brilliant sunlight.
*Photo © Hervé Hôte*

**Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz** | Max Dudler Architect, Licht Kunst Licht | Leipzig
Sixty feet under the inner city of Leipzig, the architect created the impression that this public space is flooded with daylight.
*Photo © Christian Günther*

**THREAD: Artists' Residence & Cultural Center** | Sinthian, Senegal | Toshiko Mori Architect
A light-filled artists' residence in a remote Senegalese village encourages dialogue while serving its community.
*Photo © Iwan Baan*

**GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center** | MASS Design Group | Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A small project with a big program sets a holistic design standard for health care in Haiti.
*Photo © Iwan Baan*

**Konokono Vaccination Center** | SelgasCano | Turkana, Kenya
A desert clinic shifts notions about traditional materials and becomes a gathering place for a nomadic population.
*Photo © Iwan Baan*

**One Central Park** | Ateliers Jean Nouvel | Sydney
With a dramatic cantilever and carefully coordinated sets of mirrors, a design team brings sunlight into a new development in Sydney.
*Image courtesy Ateliers Jean Nouvel*

**Muckleshoot Smokehouse** | Mahlum | Auburn, Washington
A communal space celebrates a Native American tribe's identity and helps keep age-old rituals alive.
*Photo © Benjamin Benschneider*

**Shanghai Tower** | Gensler | Shanghai
China's tallest building puts a new spin on high-rise design and asserts itself in a cluster of giants.
*Image courtesy Gensler*

Surveying the last 12 issues, RECORD editors present a dozen “class favorites”—the best projects of the year, split among a smattering of superlatives. Flip through our top picks, including office, retail, lighting, humanitarian, and mixed-use projects, and read more about each one by clicking the building name.

Most Likely to Succeed (Offices)

3XN Offices | 3XN Architects | Copenhagen, Denmark
Architects' offices demonstrate a sensitivity to the historic setting in which they are located.

Facebook Building 20 | Gehry Partners | Menlo Park, California
Channeling Facebook's startup culture, Frank Gehry creates a mammoth, vibrant warehouse for the social-media company.

Best Dressed (Retail)

Taschen | Taschen Design Team | Milan
A renowned publisher curates the design of his imprint's first Milanese bookshop, creating an intimate salon that celebrates style.

Valentino | David Chipperfield Architects | New York City
An Italian sense of craft and detail is brought to New York City's major shopping street by David Chipperfield's design for Valentino.

Brightest Bulb (Lighting)

Fondation Vincent van Gogh | Fluor Architecture | Arles, France
Fluor Architecture's renovation of a 15th century building for the Fondation Vincent van Gogh d'Arles exploits the city's brilliant sunlight.

Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz | Max Dudler Architect, Licht Kunst Licht | Leipzig
Sixty feet under the inner city of Leipzig, the architect created the impression that this public space is flooded with daylight.

Most Likely to Save the World (Humanitarian)

THREAD: Artists' Residence & Cultural Center | Sinthian, Senegal | Toshiko Mori Architect
A light-filled artists' residence in a remote Senegalese village encourages dialogue while serving its community.

GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center | MASS Design Group | Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A small project with a big program sets a holistic design standard for health care in Haiti.

Konokono Vaccination Center | SelgasCano | Turkana, Kenya
A desert clinic shifts notions about traditional materials and becomes a gathering place for a nomadic population.

Biggest Overachiever (Mixed-Use and Community Centers)

One Central Park | Ateliers Jean Nouvel | Sydney
With a dramatic cantilever and carefully coordinated sets of mirrors, a design team brings sunlight into a new development in Sydney.

Muckleshoot Smokehouse | Mahlum | Auburn, Washington
A communal space celebrates a Native American tribe's identity and helps keep age-old rituals alive.

Head in the Clouds (Tallest)

Shanghai Tower | Gensler | Shanghai
China's tallest building puts a new spin on high-rise design and asserts itself in a cluster of giants.

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Miriam Sitz was a staff writer and editor for Architectural Record from 2015 to 2020, during which time she served as the web editor, then senior news & web editor.