The 10 Best Architectural Worlds in Video Games

BY Cliff Kuang

Following-up its ranking of the best Star Wars architecture, The Architect's Journal ranks the best virtual architecture.

The Architect's Journal, which last week brought us the fun list of the 10 best buildings from the Star Wars universe, has followed up with a ranking of the best architecture to be found in video games. The list includes clever write ups, noting the applicable real-world parallels. Here's the list, and images of a few winners:

1. Azeroth, World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft was pretty much a no-brainer. As AJ writes:

"The stunning diversity of buildings of Azeroth secures it the top spot. Towering Gothic structures recall the 'dreaming spires' of Oxford given a subversive geometrical revamp. The architecture of the Blood Elves, on the other hand, has softer, more organic influences. Similar to Gaudi's Parc Guell or Sagrada Familia, nature is expressed in stylised form--the very essence of Art Nouveau."

2. The City, Sim City

3. Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto IV

AJ:

Liberty City is Richard Rogers' worst nightmare: a city designed for those in love with cars. The former adviser to the London Mayor, should he visit, is more likely to be mowed down by an out-of-control automobile than sip an overpriced latte in a pedestrianized piazza peppered with parasols. Yet, despite the evident dangers, people flock to live here. Perhaps its the dramatic sunsets, the coastal location or Liberty City's aesthetic affinity with the Big Apple. Just don't call it an Eco-town!

4. Halo, Halo II

5. Scumm Bar, The Secret of Monkey Island

6. The House, Jet Set Willy

7. Architecture Island, Second Life

Architecture Island, which is run by Keystone Bouchard, was intended as a place for actual architects to explore ideas--they have even held design seminars there. But as AJ writes:

"The only real let-down of this eccentric architectural smorgasbord is a couple of randomly placed wind turbines that expose Bouchard as falling into the trap of sustainability-as-afterthought."

8. Tetris

9. Castle Wolfenstein, Return to Castle Wolfenstein

10. Marioland

As AJ notes, there's a perfect parallel to the architecture of Marioland--with its bright colors and chunky geometries--in the architecture of F.A.T., a brilliant London firm whose made its name propounding fantasy-land whimsy. For example, here's their design for a housing project in England:

The 10 Most Creative People in Architecture

BY Cliff Kuang

Which architects have the most unusual, influential visions for the field?

1. Will Alsop, ALSOP Architects
Few architects have been so dedicated to such an unusual design aesthetic as maximalist Will Alsop. And fewer still have been as successful at building their designs. His nearly completed "Chips" building was inspired by piled french fries; his extension for the Ontario College of Art and Design is one of the strangest, most exciting buildings in recent memory:

2. Yansong Ma, MAD architects
Chinese architecture has often lived in the shadow of the west--copying its ideas, importing its talent. MAD is changing that, and representing the avant-garde of a new generation of homegrown Chinese talent. Here's their design for the China's Erdos Museum, which is currently nearing completion:

3. Minsuk Cho and Kisu Park, MASS Studies
MASS Studies is South Korea's own locally produced, internationally recognized success story. Working at a variety of scales--from city plans to galleries and boutiques--they've distinguished themselves with a refinement that's rare in go-go Asian architecture. Here's their design for the Korean Pavilion of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, which integrates the Korean alphabet into its structure:

4. Rem Koolhaas, OMA
You can't talk about contemporary avant-garde architecture without mentioning Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture, which introduced a rigor--and weirdness--to design; they've always been at the forefront of pondering what design can be, and how it fits in modern society. The firm's crowning glory is, of course, the CCTV tower in Beijing, set to open soon (current construction photo here):

5. Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, MVRDV
MVRDV--whose name is an acronym for the founding members--made its name with wacky ideas, like a high-rise pig farm. But they've since matured into an astonishingly elegant style. Here's their "Book Mountain" project, which just broke ground. The entire building turns the books into a structural, symbolic element:

6. Shigeru Ban, Shigeru Ban Architects
Ban is a genius with unconventional materials. For many year's, he's created architecture using paper; he made his name with a house whose facade was simply a massive, billowing curtain. Here's his design for the Centre Pompidou Metz, which is inspired by the shape of a Chinese farmer's hat:

7. Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Mueron, Herzog & De Meuron
The duo made their names introducing surface decoration into modern architecture--which used to be taboo, thanks to stern modernists like Mies van der Rohe. They made international headlines with their "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium. But they've always been hard to pin down. Here's their design for the CaixaForum arts center in Madrid, which was built upon the walls of an old power station:

8. Thom Mayne, Morphosis Architects
Thom Mayne made his name with aggressive, hyper-angular buildings. But his designs show more range than that. Here's his sinuous design for the Phare Tower, set to rise above Paris's La Defense business district, with groundbreaking to begin in 2010:

9. Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects
Oh, Zaha. You design hideous, insanely expensive furniture, but still, we can't quit you because no one has been as successful making such an unabashedly futuristic vision of architecture into reality. Here's her just-unveiled design for a business district in Cairo:

10. Norman Foster, Foster + Partners
And who could forget Lord Foster, the man who parlayed high-tech architecture into a design firm with dozens of projects, with budgets ranging into the billions, all across the world. The firm has never had anything less than a masterful stroke with building logic and cutting-edge technical innovations. Here's their design for Terminal 3 of the Beijing International Airport, completed last year, which is easily the biggest, most technically advanced building in the world: