The Best of the Decade 2010-19: My Favorite Architecture

Since I was 4 years old, I have loved architecture.

That may sound young, but in 1973--when I was 4--The Sears Tower opened in Chicago as the tallest building in the world. (A title it would hold for many years; it is now officially known as The Willis Tower.)

This was after many great skyscrapers had risen in Chicago, including the signature John Hancock Center.

So tall buildings have always fascinated me, and cool structures of all types. I've long been a fan of the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright and saw and even toured several houses he designed again during this decade.

In 2013, I even stayed in the Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa, a hotel he designed which was beautifully restored after decades of various changes for differing uses.

The restoration was completed in 2011, so it could theoretically qualify among my favorite architecture of the decade, but instead I'll focus on:

The Coolest New Buildings I Noted Over the Past 10 Years
These aren't all works I've seen in person and most photos are not by me.

1. The Louis Vuitton Foundation - Paris - Designed by Frank Gehry

2. WTC Hub (The Oculus) - New York - Santiago Calatrava

3. The Shard - London - Renzo Piano

4. National Museum of African American History and Culture - Washington, DC - Freelon Group/Adjaye Associates/Davis Brody Bond

5. The Broad - Los Angeles - Diller Scofidio + Renfro

6. Shanghai Tower - Jun Xia

7. Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum - MSU, East Lansing, MI - Zaha Hadid

8. One WTC (Freedom Tower) - New York - David Childs

9. VIA 57 West - New York - Bjarke Ingels Group

10. Louvre - Abu Dhabi - Jean Nouvel

11. Writers Theatre - Glencoe, IL - Studio Gang Architects