23 architectural masterpieces everyone should see in their lifetime

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Interior of la Sagra Família in Barcelona, Spain.
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Truth is, buildings can be just as expressive as songs, poems, or paintings. 

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But buildings are a form of art you can actually walk through.

And live in. 

In honor of our architectural heritage, Tech Insider has selected 24 buildings that push the boundaries of structural expression — and we think you'll love them.

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The oldest building we know of is Göbekli Tepe in present-day Turkey. Built somewhere around 9500 BC, archaeologists aren't certain of its function, but it was probably religious.

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Teomancimit / Wikimedia Commons

Since then, humans have built some pretty rad structures. In the past year, we've seen futuristic openings like the Fulton Center in New York ...

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Spencer Platt / Getty
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and the Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia.

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World Architecture Festival

The modernist architect Antoni Gaudí didn't live to see his Sagrada Familia completed — in fact, it's still being built. The exterior looks like something out of Narnia...

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... and the interior is even more surreal.

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The Flatiron Building in New York was one of the first skyscrapers...

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Mario Tama / Getty
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... as was the moody Woolworth Building, which was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930.

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Ludovic Bertron / Flickr

Chicago's Marina City apartments are, to say the least, uniquely designed. Built in 1964, they were one of the first mixed-use buildings and the first to be built with a crane in the US.

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cdelmoral / flickr
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But not all buildings need to scrape the sky — the Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki is built into a rock underground, and still gets lots of sunlight.

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Jorge Láscar / Flickr

Some of the most beautiful buildings integrate into their landscape. The Turninn building in Reykjavík reflects the wild beauty of Iceland.

Turninn Reykjavík, Iceland
Courtesy of Architizer.
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The modernist master Mies van der Rohe used minimal lines and open space to create buildings that seemingly float in the air around them, like the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, built in the 1960s.

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seier+seier / flickr

Integrating into the environment is one of the oldest ideals of architecture. The old Japanese capital Kyoto features the breathtaking Golden Pavilion ...

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Freedom II Andres / Flickr
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... and the more subtly stunning Silver Pavilion.

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Reginald Pentinio / flickr

The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali is the largest mud-built structure in the world — it can hold 3,000 worshippers.

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37degrees/flickr
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The whimsical Pompidou Center in Paris is a postmodern masterwork — it gleefully displays the guts of the building.

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Built around 1200, the Chartes Cathedral in northern France is a primary example of Gothic architecture. Notice the ornate "portals" that you enter into the building through ...

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... and the stunning organ inside.

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Perhaps the only house of worship that can match its grandeur is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, built in the early 1600s at the height of the Ottoman Empire.

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Its interior features over 20,000 handmade tiles.

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The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, is the center of the Sikh Faith, and it's lustrous at night.

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Munish Sharma / Reuters
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Neuschwanstein castle in the German state of Bavaria reportedly inspired Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty's castle. It's easy to see why.

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Sean Gallup / Getty

Trinity College in Dublin is a gem of a university ...

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Chris Jackson / Getty
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.... it has the prototypical library, the most stunning section of which is called, fittingly enough, the Long Room.

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Tony Webster / Flickr

The Imperial Palace — aka the Forbidden City — is the ultimate form of high Chinese architecture.

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Lintao Zhang / Getty
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It was the seat of government from 1420 to 1912.

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See-ming Lee / Flickr

The interior remains epic...

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Feng Li / Getty
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... as do the details.

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Drolexandre / Wikimedia commons

Today, some of the most experimental modern archicture in the world is being built in Beijing, like the CCTV Tower, locally known as "The Trousers."

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Perched high in the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu is the best example we have of Incan architecture.

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Wikimedia Commons

Archaeologists say it was built around 1450.

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Wikimedia Commons
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Here's a closer look at the residential section.

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Christophe Meneboeuf / Wikimedia Commons

Opened in 2007, the Parque Biblioteca España in Medellín, Colombia, was designed by the Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzanti. The three buildings are meant to look like stones ...

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Dr EG / Flickr
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From inside the library, located in the Santo Domingo Savio neighborhood, the view is of Medellín itself, in a valley surrounded by the Andes.

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Kevin Loria / Tech Insider

Sydney's Opera House is the rightful ambassador of Australian architecture.

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Daniel Munoz / Reuters
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Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and opened in 1973, it's become a literal canvas of public expression ...

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Tim Wimborne / Reuters

... and the interior is stunning, too.

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Jason7825 / Wikimedia Commons
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