Next week, fashion guru Wayne Hemingway unveils his first-ever housing project – a 700-home estate in Gateshead for Wimpey. Proper architects have pooh-poohed the scheme, which has normal-looking houses set in car-free, landscaped gardens – but the avalanche of enquiries from would-be buyers suggests that the punters love it.
Selfridges in Birmingham
Later this month, the plastic sheeting comes down to reveal Future Systems' wierd, windowless store, which resembles a sagging loaf of bread covered in aluminium discs. Wonder or blunder?
Swiss Re, City of London
Foster's cigar-shaped tower in the City – already one of the most photographed projects of all time – reaches structural completion this summer. This will be the finest addition to London's skyline for decades – and with the downturn in the commercial sector, it may be the last for a while.
Maggie's Centre, Dundee
Frank Gehry's first UK project – a tiny cancer care unit – opens in April. Eschewing the billowing titanium first used in the Bilbao Guggenheim, this gem has a rendered turret, plywood walls and a saw-tooth roof clad in stainless steel.
Graz
Austria's second city is this year's European City of Culture, and has commissioned a slew of projects – including an airport and a town hall – to celebrate. Highlights include Ben van Berkel's bulging glass "Mumuth" music hall, and the extraordinary art gallery by British duo Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, which looks like a giant blue internal organ.
World Trade Centre
Expect a shortlist of designers by the end of the month, but the arguments about this one will run and run. Ground zero will remain poignantly empty for some time yet.
The year ahead
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Projects to watch
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