Shifting skylines: The 9 new buildings set to define cities in 2016

This year is a big one for the United Arab Emirates, not least because of the opening of the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. The museum, dedicated to the history and culture of the UAE, is modeled on a bird's wings. It was designed by Pritztker Prize-winning British architect Norman Foster of Foster+ Partners.

Also opening in the region this year is the the hotly anticipated Louvre Abu Dhabi, masterminded by French architect Jean Nouvel (also a Pritzker Prize-winner). The highlight? A lattice steel roof intended to create the illusion of a "rain of light" for those walking underneath. It's meant to be reminiscent of walking through a semi-covered souk.

Since Santiago Calatrava revealed his plans for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, part of an area regeneration with contributions from the likes of Daniel Libeskind and Bjarke Ingels, the project has been beset by rising financial costs and numerous delays. But it looks as though, 12 years on, the breath-taking station could finally open.

Calatrava likens the design to a bird being release from a child's hands, with the wings supported by "columns of light," according to a statement.

"At night, the illuminated building will serve as a lantern in its neighborhood," explains Calatrava.

Vincent Callebaut, a self-proclaimed "archibiotect" made waves when he first put forward his designs for the Tao Zhu Yin Yuan tower -- also known as the Agora Garden tower -- in 2010. The twisting tower aims to be one of the world's most eco-friendly structures. It has several of its own gardens and forests to sustain those who reside within, recycles all organic waste and used water and is heated using solar power.

Also coming soon in Taipei: Rem Koolhaus and David Gianotten of OMA's theatrical performing arts center. The experimental design sees a skeletal frame supporting a massive orb.

Thanks to Art Basel Miami Beach, the Floridian city has become a contemporary art and design hotspot. How better to cement that than through the launch of a beautiful new museum? The 90,000 square foot Latin American Art Museum, designed by Fernando Romero of FR-EE (whose "El Sol" was a highlight from this year's Design Miami fair) has been conceived as a series of overlapping terraces to "blur the border between indoors and outdoors" and encourage pedestrians to visit.

The Tate Modern -- London's preeminent contemporary art museum -- is already a local architectural favorite, located in the former Bankside Power Station. The new addition from Swiss duo Herzog & de Meuron (also Pritzker Prize-winners) could elevate it to another level. Though it looks ultra modern compared to the original building (which was built in the 1950's), it uses the same brick palette and, if all goes according to plan, should blend somewhat seamlessly into the original structure.

Tanzanian-born David Adjaye had a landmark year in 2015, with exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cooper-Hewitt museum. This year, he'll open the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

The museum's exterior will be covered in intricate bronze mesh, recalling the ironwork done by freed slaves in the South following emancipation.

When it opens, the 100-floor Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates-designed Ping An Financial Center will be Shenzhen's tallest structure to date, and the fourth tallest building in the world. Impressively, the building has also been LEED gold pre-certified, a high certification of green architecture.