The world’s coolest buildings

Before man learnt how to build a three-bedroom semi with off-street parking, he lived in caves. While this was a good way of escaping the rain, prehistoric estate agents would often have trouble marketing a ‘one-room cavern, isolated location, bears for neighbours’ to prospective buyers.
So man left the cave and started building. First, he tried mud: good for a summer retreat, bad for weekends on the Welsh coast. Eventually, he began to make things that could not only withstand the weather, but also won him praise for his “modern yet functional twig usage”. Cool architecture was born. Since that pivotal moment, man has looked for more inspiring ways of designing his surroundings. So, here at ShortList, we looked quizzically into the middle distance and wondered, “What are the 10 most awe-inspiring buildings in the world?”
Many buildings were considered, several clever-looking people were spoken to, we even went to Preston in search of our ultimate top 10. But now we can safely say, after seven stern conversations and three head-in-hands moments, the list is complete. We invited world-renowned architect Chris Wilkinson, who designed Gateshead Millennium Bridge, to lend his expert eye to our selection. Commence drooling now.