Respectively from different angles and levels in fields of design, construction, technology, architectural form and urban context (nature, humanity and society), these projects present the significance of cultural architecture to urban development, providing a tasty tour of buildings relating to culture and art.

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris: the latest creation of Frank Gehry enters the heart of Paris with its explosion of forms, giving shape to the building in a planted landscape, finding there its ideal dimension.

The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York: Renzo Piano’s most recent work in Manhattan is meant to become a new “big factory” for the city. By making the ground floor public and accessible from the street, he honours the strong civic value of this building dedicated to culture and art.

Aga Khan Museum, Toronto: the first museum in North America devoted to Islamic art and culture. The Japanese master Maki proposes a strong geometry for the building to celebrate light in all its meanings.

Fan Zeng Art Gallery, Nantong, China: the first museum for the exhibition and discussion of the art works from the Fan Family. Focusing on the theme of “courtyards”, the relations spontaneously generated from different parts are connected in sequence. Together, they write this prose of architecture in oriental philosophy and aesthetics.

Hongkun Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China: located on a busy street in Beijing, with a monolithic facade, the building initiates a dialogue between ancient and modern times with its rich sense of rhythm brought by the multiple arch-like curves, whilst revealing an exploration of the essence of life and nature from a dynamic perspective.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Yinchuan, China: the largest museum in the northwest region of China, with its exterior being like fossil engraved during the thousands of years of Yinchuan, has become a meeting place for community, pulling the fine arts and the ordinary people closer.