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ICON Magazine’s 2021 roundup featured 11 projects—not a ranked list—that explored how architecture could respond to climate, community needs and changing uses. From a community-led library renovation in Mexico to a raw-earth 3D-printed house prototype in Italy, the selection brought together adaptive reuse, passive design, new materials and social infrastructure.
What made these buildings notable?
The projects did not share a single architectural style or a common performance assessment. Their connecting thread was design shaped by context: some reused buildings or materials, some incorporated climate-responsive strategies, and several involved communities in the design process. The descriptions below reflect ICON Magazine’s editorial account, published on 14 December 2021; they are not independent evaluations of environmental performance or a ranking of the buildings.
The 11 projects in ICON’s 2021 selection
Héctor Caballero Library — Mexico
Proyecto Reacciona transformed an existing library in north-east Mexico into a community hub. ICON places the work within the organisation’s Crear Comunidad programme, which rehabilitates under-resourced libraries through citizen participation. It is one of the roundup’s examples of adapting an existing building while involving local residents.
Sara Cultural Centre — Sweden
Designed by White Arkitekter in Skellefteå, the timber civic complex brings together an art gallery, museum, theatre, public library and hospitality venues. ICON said the building sequesters more than twice the carbon emissions associated with its operational energy and embodied carbon, and anticipated that it would become carbon-negative within 50 years. Those are claims reported in the 2021 article, not independently verified lifecycle findings here.
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Burkina Institute of Technology — Burkina Faso
Kéré Architecture designed the educational hub in Koudougou around technology and entrepreneurship. Its modular layout is intended to allow expansion. ICON describes thick clay walls, eucalyptus screens, chimneys and natural ventilation as part of a passive-cooling approach. Rainwater is stored for irrigating mango plantations on campus.
REWE Market of the Future — Germany
ACME’s supermarket concept pairs a shop with a rooftop farm intended to supply produce to the store below, alongside local produce. The proposal aims to reduce emissions across food growing, transport, storage and distribution; ICON also notes its glulam timber structure. The article presents the project as a concept, not as evidence of measured emissions reductions.
Rank #2
Forma HQ — United Kingdom
In south London, Sanchez Benton Architects adapted a disused 1960s garage complex into a hub for arts organisation Forma, working with artist Gabriel Kuri and horticulturist Nigel Dunnett. ICON lists offices, five affordable artist studios, an international artist residency space, event space, a café and bookshop, and a public rooftop garden. The project shows how an existing building can be repurposed for cultural and community uses.
Mosque of the Late Mohamed Abdulkhaliq Gargash — United Arab Emirates
Designed by Saudi architect Sumaya Dabbagh for the Al Quoz community in Dubai, the mosque uses natural light to shape an intimate spiritual atmosphere. ICON described it as one of the first UAE mosques designed by a female architect. Dabbagh reflected on the project’s completion: “There is a defining, magical moment when the building is born and claims a life of its own,” she said. “For this, my first mosque, that moment was particularly moving.”
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Philippine Pavilion — Venice Architecture Biennale
Led by Sudarshan V Khadka and Alexander Eriksson Furunes of Framework Collaborative, the wooden library space grew from long-term collaboration and co-design with 32 members of the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm community north of Manila. ICON said the pavilion was intended to return to the Philippines after its Venice showing and serve that community; the article does not establish its subsequent status.
TECLA prototype — Italy
Mario Cucinella Architects developed TECLA (“Technology + Clay”) with 3D-printing specialists WASP as a raw-earth house prototype. ICON described it as low-carbon, biodegradable, self-supporting and zero-waste. The article suggested possible applications in low-income housing or emergency shelters, but these were prospective uses—not established deployments or independently verified performance results.
Rank #4
Alhambra’s Cross — Colombia
Colab-19 installed this temporary church structure in Bogotá for Easter during the Covid-19 pandemic. ICON describes recycled and recyclable formwork and mosquito-net partitions in an open-air arrangement designed to accommodate socially distanced gatherings. It is another example in the selection of temporary architecture responding to a specific public-health context.
Anne Street Garden Villas — Australia
On the Gold Coast, Anna O’Gorman Architects arranged seven social housing dwellings around a communal garden. ICON says the design followed stakeholder workshops and incorporated passive climate responses, solar energy, water storage, pedestrian-oriented circulation and affordable materials. The project connects housing provision with shared outdoor space and resident input.
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Tambacounda Hospital extension — Senegal
Manuel Herz Architects designed a maternity and paediatric wing in eastern Senegal, built with local craftsmen. ICON describes a façade of U-shaped bricks intended to support airflow while shading the interior. Its inclusion completes the article’s set of 11 named projects.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the selection suggests about architecture in 2021
- Reuse was one route to new public value. The Héctor Caballero Library and Forma HQ adapted existing buildings; Alhambra’s Cross reused and recyclable materials in a temporary structure.
- Climate response took different forms. The projects included timber construction, passive ventilation and cooling, rainwater storage, rooftop food growing and solar energy. ICON did not provide a shared measurement framework for comparing their environmental results.
- Participation shaped some of the work. Community involvement is explicit in the library rehabilitation, the Philippine Pavilion’s co-design with 32 community members, and the stakeholder workshops for Anne Street Garden Villas.
- Social purpose was part of the brief. The roundup included cultural venues, education, a mosque, a hospital extension and social housing—not only buildings judged by their appearance or materials.
Read as a historical editorial selection, these projects show a range of design responses rather than a definitive list of the year’s “best” buildings. ICON’s article records their stated aims and features as of 2021; it does not establish current access, operation, later alterations or updated outcomes.
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