9 modern architectural marvels worth traveling for

26.03.2024 - 23:31 / lonelyplanet.com / Art

All built within the last 150 years, these stunning buildings around the world are monuments that will stand the test of time.

From the Taj Mahal and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, architectural landmarks form some of travelers’ most indelible memories.

Indeed, buildings are endlessly intriguing: as aesthetic objects, as reflections of their time, as cultural artifacts, as emblems of human endeavor and – yes – as backdrops for memorable photos to post to social media. As we started thinking about the works of architecture worthy of their own trip, we found ourselves focused less on iconic sites like Petra, the Giza Pyramids, Notre Dame and the temples of Kyoto, and more on structures of a more recent vintage.

Below, you’ll find a selection of buildings – some well known, some more off the beaten track, all begun within the last 150 years – that we think will stand the test of time.

Here is a list of nine modern architectural marvels to plan a trip around.

Architect: Louis Kahn
Year completed: 1972

The staggering collection of old masters contained within this small museum’s walls – including famous works by Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Velázquez and Cézanne – is alone worth the trip to Fort Worth. But so is the austere and surprisingly moving building that contains them. With its barrel vaults, porticos and elegant landscaping, the building – by the famous modernist Louis Kahnm a veritable poet of poured concrete – takes inspiration from the architecture of ancient Rome. Yet the building’s smooth finishes, free of ornament and awash with light thanks to ingeniously engineered skylights, let the art take center stage. The result is an architectural masterpiece that recedes, hiding in plain sight.

Planning tip: Make a (full) museum day of it by visiting the Museum of Modern Art across the street. Its large-format galleries of works by the Abstract Expressionists and contemporary creators form a lovely counterpart to the Kimbell’s works, which reward close inspection.

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Architect: Jørn Utzon
Year completed: 1973

The jewel of Sydney’s skyline and one of the greatest works of 20th-century architecture, the Sydney Opera House enjoys a plum setting on a peninsula facing Sydney Harbor. The iconic structure consists of a series of eight sail-like roofs that were highly technical to engineer. (This difficulty caused a falling-out between Danish architect Jørn Utzon and his client, with another architect brought in to finish the job. Innovation ain’t easy.) Like flower petals fanning out over the building, the roofs are made of more than a million concrete roof tiles held in place by 217 miles of tensioned steel