The famous buildings of the world are more well-known than other buildings of the world based on their special architectural features or monuments.
Some of these buildings are familiar to all of us, but others are less known. If you are interested in getting to know the famous buildings of the world, come with us.
1- Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Although the Taj Mahal is in India, it has an Iranian name. This building is the tomb of the Iranian wife of the fifth Gorkani king, which was built by combining Iranian and Gorkani architectural styles.
Tajmahal is one of the most amazing and famous buildings in the world, which is made of white marble and ivory.
This building was built by 20 thousand artists under the supervision of Iranian architect Ahmad Lahori in 1647 AD. Taj Mahal has about 8 million visitors a year and is one of the seven wonders of the world.
2- Lotus Temple, New Delhi, India
The Lotus Temple is one of the famous buildings in the world, the Bahai’s place of worship, which was built in 1986.
The doors of this temple, like other Baha’i places of worship, are open to all religions. It is noteworthy that the architect of the building is an Iranian individual named Fariborz Sohba.
This temple has a flower-like structure that includes 27 petals made of white concrete and is covered with three clusters of white marble.
The central hall of the temple with a height of more than 40 meters has a capacity of 2,500 people and 9 large doors of the temple open to this central hall.
3- Hagia Sophia Church or Mosque, Istanbul, Türkiye
Hagia Sophia was built in 537 AD by the order of the Eastern Roman Emperor as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral.
After the conquest of Istanbul, Turkey by Muslims, in the Ottoman Empire, this building became a mosque, and in 1935 it became a museum.
Hagia Sophia’s prominent dome made it the largest, most impressive building of its time and one of the most famous buildings in the world.
By using Byzantine architecture, this building is considered a turning point in the history of architecture.
4- Saint Basil’s Church, Moscow, Russia
Saint Basil’s Cathedral is located on Red Square in Moscow. This church is one of the famous buildings in the world and a symbol of Russia.
This building was built from 1555 to 1561 by the order of Ivan the Terrible, and until 1600, before the bell tower was built, it was considered the tallest building in Russia.
The architecture of this building is designed with the influence of large flames. The main church was the Trinity Cathedral, and later nine churches were built around it.
5- Tower Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tower Khalifa or Tower Dubai, the tallest man-made skyscraper in the world, was opened in 2010.
The design of this tower was done by Adrian Smith from the American company Skidmore Owings Merrill, inspired by nature and Islamic architecture.
This building, as a symbol of the international identity of the city of Dubai, with 163 floors and a height of 828 meters, has hotel uses, residential apartments and commercial offices.
6- Tower of Pisa, Italy
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the famous buildings in the world and the main symbol of the city of Pisa, which is registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
This tower is about 55 meters high and its construction took about 200 years between the 12th and 14th centuries.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa with 296 steps is actually the bell tower of the Cathedral of Pisa, which deviated by 4 degrees during construction due to the presence of spongy sand under the foundation, and the deviation continued to increase until the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, despite the great efforts to excavate the foundation.
7- Colosseum, Rome, Italy
The Colosseum is an amphitheater with an oval plan and one of the modern 7 wonders of the world. This building with a height of about 48 meters was built in 80 AD.
The Colosseum, with a capacity of between 50,000 and 80,000 people, was used in the past as a gladiator battlefield for the entertainment of the spectators and the display of some executions by the emperors.
Parts of it that were destroyed due to pollution and earthquakes are being restored today and have more than 7 million visitors annually.
8- Pantheon, Rome, Italy
The Pantheon Temple, which later became known as the Pantheon Church, is considered one of the famous buildings in the world due to its architectural features.
This building was built in the 2nd century and its huge dome is still one of the most beautiful historical domes in the world.
This temple has been preserved throughout time and all its parts have been used.
The exact date of construction of this temple is not known, although it is said that it was built by Emperor Hadrian, but the inscription in the temple dates back to the reign of Augustus.
9- Casamilla, Barcelona, Spain
Milla House or Lapdrera is one of the masterpieces of Antoni Gaudi and his most magnificent non-religious work in the modernism architectural style, which was built for the residence of the Milla family between 1905 and 1910.
This building was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, and in 2013 it became the headquarters of the Catalonia La Pedreira Foundation.
This building is one of the best tourist attractions in Barcelona, which has about 1 million visitors a year due to its unusual architecture.
10- Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
The Guggenheim Museum or Bilbao Contemporary Art Museum is one of the most famous works of modern architecture in the world. Its architect and designer is Canadian-American Frank Gehry and it was opened in 1997.
International experts consider this building to be one of the most important works of modern style, and the Basque government has paid the construction cost of 100 million dollars.
The facade of this building is designed with titanium sheets and displays the works of art of the modern era. This museum has revolutionized Bilbao tourism since it was built.
11- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
The construction of the Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church, was started in 1882 by Francisco de Paula Dilar.
But it was left unfinished halfway through, then Gaudí completed less than a quarter of the project before his death in 1926.
In the 1950s, after the Spanish Civil War, a large part of the church was restored.
Today, advanced technology has significantly advanced the project, but there are still 10 minarets left, which are expected to be completed by 2026.
12- Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Twin Towers are a symbol of the development of Malaysia and are among the tallest skyscrapers in the world that were built from 1993 to 1999.
These towers were designed by Cesar Poly in the postmodern style.
These two 88-story towers are connected by a bridge on the 41st and 42nd floors, with the antenna above them, they have a height of 452 meters and 78 elevators.
13- Cologne Cathedral, Germany
Cologne Cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and the third tallest church in the world.
The construction of this church started in 1248, stopped in the middle of 1473, then resumed in 1800, and finally finished in 1880.
There are many works of art and tombs of 12 archbishops in this church. This church is one of the famous buildings in the world that has thousands of visitors every year.
14- Villa Sava, Paris, France
Villa Sava in Poissy suburb of Paris is a classic example of international architectural style.
Its architects were the Swiss Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, which was first built as a pleasure villa for the Sava family in 1928, but it was declared a historical monument in 1965.
This building has the 5 main features of modern architecture that were proposed by Le Corbusier, including pilot house, roof garden, open plan, open view and elongated windows.
15- Louvre Museum, Paris, France
The Louvre Museum in Paris, the largest art museum in the world, was opened in 1793 and developed in different periods.
Today, this museum has more than 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art, the most popular of which is Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
This museum is located in the center of the city and on the right side of the river Seine. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, with 10 million visitors a year.
16- The Shard Tower, London, England
The Shard Tower, or the Glass Pyramid, is a pyramid-shaped tower near the Thames River and Tower Bridge, designed and built by the Italian architect Renzo Piano between 2009 and 2012.
This 95-story skyscraper with a height of 310 meters is the tallest tower in the European Union and the 46th tallest building in the world.
In this tower, there are restaurants, offices, apartments, and between the 68th and 72nd floors, there is an observatory with a 360-degree view of the city of London.
17- Lloyds Building, London, England
Lloyd’s building is one of the famous buildings in the world located in City neighborhood.
This building has 14 floors and was built between 1986 and 1978 by the famous British architect Richard Rogers.
The height of this building is 95 meters, the height of its floors is higher than usual and it has 12 external elevators.
Due to its futuristic structure, this building is more like a science fiction movie.
18- Cascade House or Falling Water, Pennsylvania, USA
Cascade House is one of the outstanding works of the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the famous buildings in the world.
This house, called the Kaufman residence, was designed for the weekend of Lillian Kaufman and her husband Edgar Kaufman in 1935.
One of the important features of this building is compatibility with the surrounding environment or organicity and vertical and horizontal lines in its exterior.
In 1966, The Times announced the Cascade House as Wright’s most beautiful work, and this building became a national register.
19- Empire State, New York, America
The Empire State Building, a 102-story commercial tower in Manhattan, was once the tallest building in the United States.
The construction of this building began on St. Patrick’s Day in 1930 and was completed 410 days later.
This building has been introduced by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the 7 modern wonders of the world.
20- Opera House, Sydney, Australia
Sydney Opera House is one of the famous buildings in the world, which was opened in 1973.
The Danish architect Jørn Utzonps received the gold medal of the Royal Australian Institute of Architecture for the design of this building.
This building is one of the most distinctive buildings of the 20th century in terms of architecture, which has more than 8 million visitors per year to watch more than 1,500 annual performances.
The Opera House was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007.
The last word
In this article, some of the famous buildings of the world were introduced, which have become famous based on their special architectural features, architects or memorial features.
In between, private buildings, such as houses, and public buildings, such as museums, commercial towers, churches, temples, and mosques, which were built in different times and in different styles, can be seen.
It may seem that some of the world’s famous buildings are not included, but note that it was not possible to introduce all the famous buildings in this article.
