Best UK Architects
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is often said, and never more so than when it comes to buildings.
Thirty buildings have been nominated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for its inaugural RIBA International Prize but some people will consider them ugly.
They range from a kindergarten in Vietnam to a mosque in Turkey and more than 20 countries are represented on the list.
Every year RIBA presents the Stirling Prize for the best building in the UK and last year it was awarded to Burntwood School in Wandsworth, south London.
But RIBA's president Jane Duncan said: 'We have an international reputation so it's an obvious next step to introduce a prize that rewards the best architecture in the world.'
A panel of judges led by Lord Rogers (Richard Rogers) will choose the winner, who will be announced in December.
The Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, was designed by Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, who died earlier this year. The cultural centre, which hosts concerts and exhibitions, is named after the former President of Azerbaijan
PARKROYAL on Pickering is a hotel in the heart of Singapore. The hotel, which opened in 2013, has 15, 000 square metres of 'skygardens', expanses of lush greenery and cascading plants that run along balconies and walkways across four floors
Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies is an academic building in the centre of the Qatari capital, Doha. Qatar is currently undergoing a massive building boom, driving by oil wealth and the 2022 football World Cup
There are 960 apartments in Sky Terrace, an apartment complex in the Soo Khian Chan area of Singapore. The five residential towers were designed with energy-efficient living and social interaction in mind. There is a rainwater harvesting system, drip irrigation and solar panels
Culture House Rozet in Arnhem, Netherlands contains a library, heritage centre and community college. The Dutch town is best known as the scene of a famous battle in World War II but it is trying to reinvent itself as a cultural centre and now has this landmark building
Ciudad Casa de Gobierno is a new city hall in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. The buidling, spanning an entire city block in Parque Patricios, houses the offices of the Mayor and 1, 500 employees. The environmentally efficient design is by British architect Norman Foster
The Arquipelago Contemporary Arts Centre is in a former drinks and tobacoo factory in the Azores Islands. The architects sought to reinvent the building in Ribeira Grande, making it a 'meaningful space in a peripheral region in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean'
Angdong Hospital in China's Hunan province has been nominated because it is a rarity - a quality hospital in rural China. It was commissioned by a Hong Kong charity, the Institute for Integrated Rural Development, and is designed to be public-friendly
VIA at West 57th is a shockingly modern apartment block deep in midtown Manhattan, New York. Danish architect Bjark Ingels, who is only 41, has designed it with stunning views of the Hudson river and says he sees it as a 'visual gateway' to Manhattan
UTEC (Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia) in Peru is a new academic building for students of engineering and mining technology. The site sits next to a busy motorway which heads into a ravine and at the rear of the building is the middle class neighbourhood of Barranco
Tula House was designed as a home for a married couple in Heriot Bay, six hours' drive north of Vancouver in Canada. It also doubles as the home for their charitable foundation. The remote clifftop location is surrounded by stunning scenery
It does not look like a church as we know it. But this is Saint Trinitatis Catholic Church in Leipzig, Germany. It was built on the site of a church which was bombed in 1943 during World War II
Sankaclar mosque is located in Büyükçekmece, a suburb of Istanbul. The 700 square metre structure is set into a natural depression in the landscape. 'The building blends in completely with the topography, ' said architect Emre Arolat
This is one of three residential blocks which make up the Rundeskogen project in Stavanger, Norway. The architect was given an additional problem in his brief - trying to avoid encroaching on an ancient Viking graveyard
The Jockey Club Innovation Tower in Hong Kong was also designed by the late Zaha Hadid. The building in the Hung Hom district is home to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a school of design
British architect David Chipperfield designed this office building in Moganshan Road in the city of Hangzhou, China with a first - a facade made entirely of copper
The Fulton Center in New York is a major transport hub and shopping centre. The £1billion project was commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to revitalise the Fulton Street subway station area
Invisible House in Australia was voted House of the Year in 2014 by the Australian Institute of Architects. The building, designed as a 'rugged retreat' for a film-maker, overlooks the Megalong Valley in the foothills of the Blue Mountains near Hampton
The Fine Arts Museum of Asturias in Oviedo, Spain houses 10, 000 works of art with up to 400 on display at any one time. The museum houses paintings by Spanish artists, as well Flemish painters and Italians like Umberto Pettinicchio.
The Farming kindergarten in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam is designed for the 500 children whose mothers work in the shoe factory next door. The building was conceived as a continuous green roof, providing food and agriculture experience to children, as well as an extensive 'playground to the sky'
