World's Top Luxury Apartment Buildings

Where: 14 Rue La Fontaine, Paris, 1890
Style: Art Nouveau

A stunning example of an early Art Nouveau style with some rustic elements still remaining. This apartment building comprises 36 luxury apartments - each one is different. It is Hector Guimard at his best. French magazine Le Figaro awarded the architect with a prize for the best facade in Paris. There is something to the facade - it is a protest against flatness and symmetry. Guimard was also renowned for his interior design. Many of the fancy features of the Castel Beranger are his own design.

Pic by Photos Lonzac

Where: 40, Linke Wienzeile, Vienna, Austria, 1899
Style: Art Nouveau

If you like majolica pottery, you will understand what I mean! This for 1899 was a complete and utter outrageous surprise! Before Otto Wagner, the only place you could see majolica would be stove tiles or pottery. He tried to use the tiles of a façade and voila! it worked beautifully. After this, many architects started using coloured tiles and bricks in façades of apartment buildings.

Pic by alissalea

Where: Alberta street 8, Riga, Latvia, 1903
Style: Art Nouveau (with a bit of Neoclassicism)

The "Historic Centre of Riga" was added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 1997 and Riga has a huge amount of Art Nouveau buildings. It is really worth going there and having a good look around. Mihail Eizenstein along with Konstantin Pekshen is the genius of early 20th century Latvian architecture. He has allegedly found inspiration in German and Finnish architecture but the result of his work is truly original. You won't find many houses like this anywhere in the world. It is so bold and sumptuous, it combines the best from Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism.

Where: 25b, Rue Franklin, Paris, France, 1904
Style: Early Modernism

The Belgian architect Auguste Perret once said: "One must never allow into a building any element destined solely for ornament, but rather turn to ornament all the parts necessary for its support." Apparently he thought that pure Art Nouveau is not functional enough. He was more of a structure person, not a shape person. Both his father and brother were builders and actually Perret brothers pioneered an advanced concrete technique that allowed them building sophisticated houses quickly. The Rue Franklin Apartments is built almost entirely in concrete, which is very unusual for the early 20th century. It is then finished in sandstone tiles with an occasional inlay of ceramic tiles. The large windows of this building is totally amazing.

Pic by kranthmadh

92, Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona, Spain, 1912
Art Nouveau

The mother of all bimorphic buildings. If you think that Gaudi's style is crazy, consider the fact that when the house was being built, the local government objected to some design elements and Gaudi had to reluctantly "simplify" the sumptuous elements of the new building. Functionality is not exactly the top priority in this apartment building, however, it is so inspiring and daring that we can forgive it any faults, if it ever had any.

Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1968
Urban Modernism

A little spot of German architectural beauty in the heart of Chicago. Both architects are the students of guru Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Actually vad der Rohe was an admirer of boxy shapes, whereas his students have gone further. It is hard to believe that this apartment building was build in the 60s. Apartment skyscrapers are unusual for an European mind but there are some in the USA. The Lake Point Tower is one of the greatest. It consists of 720 luxury apartments - all with tremendous views.

Pic by Daniel Schwen

Camden, Abbey Road NW8, London, 1969
Urban Modernism

Although this looks like a big and busy housing estate, actually, each flat has only one immediate neighbour with which an entrance and basement are shared. So actually, it is a very talented building - it offers a great deal of privacy. Inspired by a water dam, this building is less intrusive, though. Despite of its size and the strange shape, it blends well within the surrounding environment. There are 520 apartments, a community centre and a youth club on the site. Not only it is a design success, it also shows how it is possible to win some of the urban building challenges. The estate is close to a railway line. Its outer concrete wall shields the estate from the noise while special giant rubber pads under the foundation ensures there is no vibration.

Pic by filipeb

9500 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD, USA, 1973
Functional Modernism

Famous for his earth form architecture, he works with the landscape instead of against it. His award winning buildings (including his own home) show concern for the earth, and use it as a dramatic element of design.

The Ocean City Pyramid contains 171 one and two-bedroom apartments, with the bedrooms on the west or land side, and the living-dining spaces opening to the east or ocean side, each provided with a spacious balcony. As you can see from the floorplan, this is a very fair building where nobody has the superiority. Each flat has an ocean view! It is one of the greatest luxury apartment buildings, drawing its inspiration from the ancient world.