These are the 30 Most Spectacular Buildings in the World

The brilliant musician Frank Zappa once said, "Writing about music is as absurd as dancing about architecture" (although some attribute the quote to Elvis Costello or Thelonious Monk). We have decided to twist this well-known statement a bit in this article, because sometimes, it's not necessary to write about architecture to be mesmerized by an impressive building.

After all, many are true works of urban art, and art shouldn't need to be explained but rather contemplated, admired, and interpreted in each person's own way. As architect Rem Koolhaas said: "A building has two lives: the one its creator imagines and the one it actually has. And they are not always the same." Therefore, on World Architecture Day, we have limited ourselves to selecting what we believe are the most spectacular buildings on the planet. We present them with just their names and locations. From there, we leave everything to your senses.