Fifty of today's leading architects—answering the call of the Now Institute and its director, Thom Mayne—were convened to assess the architectural legacy of the last century. Their goal? To compile a definitive list of 100 buildings that represent, in their view, the 100 most remarkable architectural achievements of the 20th century. Prominent figures such as Tadao Ando, Steven Holl, Richard Rogers, Kazuyo Sejima, Toyo Ito, Rafael Moneo, Kengo Kuma, and Denise Scott Brown, among others, formed the voting panel.
This list of architectural masterpieces forms a canon, ‘100 Buildings of the 20th Century’, which has just been translated into Spanish by Editorial Gustavo Gili. This group of fifty contemporary masters offered no surprises when it came to choosing the most outstanding figure: Le Corbusier was a foregone conclusion. Indeed, one of his masterpieces, the Villa Savoye—co-designed with the often-overlooked Pierre Jeanneret—claims the top spot. Beyond the hundred well-known buildings, the book's most compelling feature is the individual selection of 100 works by each of the invited architects, compiled in the appendix. These thousands of works map out the lesser-known, outstanding architecture of the 20th century.
The count confirms Le Corbusier as the absolute standout across all his facets: the rationalism of the Villa Savoye (first place), the brutalism of the Ronchamp Chapel or La Tourette (second and ninth), and the social vision of Marseille's L’Unité d’Habitation (twentieth). He is followed by Mies van der Rohe with two entries: the Barcelona Pavilion in third place, and the Farnsworth House in sixth. Fourth place goes to the spaceship that Piano and Rogers landed in Les Halles in 1977: the Centre Pompidou. Frank Lloyd Wright’s highest-ranking project is not a residence, but his Johnson Wax Headquarters. Kahn takes seventh place with his Salk Institute. Pierre Chareau, an architect who built very little, places his Parisian Maison de Verre in eighth; and, surprisingly, Eero Saarinen, often overlooked in 20th-century architectural theory, clinches tenth place with his TWA Terminal in New York.
The first project by a Spanish architect on the list is by the late Enric Miralles. His Igualada Cemetery, co-designed with Carme Pinós, ranks 49th. This is followed by Rafael Moneo's National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida at 61st, and Antoni Gaudí’s legendary 'La Pedrera' or Casa Milá at 63rd. The Yokohama Port Terminal, by Madrid-born Alejandro Zaera and British architect Farshid Moussavi, rounds out the list of the 100 best works.
The fact that several deconstructivist works, such as the aforementioned Thom Mayne's Diamond Ranch High School or Peter Eisenman’s House VI, were chosen over the Chrysler Building clearly indicates where the Now Institute's leanings lie. It also shows that Álvaro Siza is either overlooked or unknown; that Lina Bo Bardi has finally become a widely recognized architect; and that, with enough talent, one does not need to be an architect to create great architecture: furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld's house ranks 23rd. In Latin America, Barragán and Niemeyer are barely recognized. The United States is the most represented country, while Africa… will have to wait for the next century.
This article was written by Borja Fernández. The translation is powered by AI.
