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Some of the most beautiful cities in the world get the style points they deserve for many different reasons, but most noticeably is architecture. Towering high above city streets, massive bodies of water and long stretches of highway, some of the most thrilling and jaw-dropping skyscrapers make several cities around the world worth going to time and time again.

In 2014 has seen an architectural, with several new buildings and structures being erected in cities all around the world. From Sydney and Dubai to Hong Kong and Vienna, skyscrapers that have been in the making for many years, and now the final products are finally ready for viewing.

1. 8 Chifley, Sydney

(8 Chifley)

Bright red, X-shaped steel structural braces mark the sides of 8 Chifley, a 35-story tower in Sydney, which was designed for a local real-estate company by London’s Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and local firm Lippmann Partnership.

2. Cayan Tower, Dubai

(Cayan Group)

Spiraling some 1,000 feet over Dubai, Cayan Tower—devised by SOM for a real-estate investment and development concern—twists a full 90-degrees from base to crown, reducing solar heat gain and increasing wind resistance.

3. DC Tower I, Vienna

(Vienna DC)

Vienna’s new tallest building (measuring roughly 820 feet high) is DC Tower I, the first of two planned structures by Paris-based architect Dominique Perrault, and Perrault’s first realized structure in Donau City. The multiuse development will include residences, office buildings, and event venues. The glass-and-steel tower looks out onto the Danube River.

4. Jockey Club Innovation Tower, Hong Kong

(Zaha Hadid Architects)

At Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Zaha Hadid Architects applied its trademark dynamism to a new center in the institution’s School of Design and Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation. Named the Jockey Club Innovation Tower and rising 15 stories, the concrete, steel, and glass edifice is shaped like a ship’s prow, encompassing classrooms, lecture halls, and other instructional spaces.

Check out more sky high architecture from 2014.

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