Five new buildings to look out for in 2017

With a number of impressive buildings now close to completion, 2017 is set to be a fabulous year for architecture and design projects around the world.

From stunning urban gardens to curvy music halls, here's our pick of exciting buildings to look out for this year:

Seoul Skygarden, South Korea, by MVRDV

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Ever since New York's High Line elevated park opened in 2009, there have been many similar proposals in the works. One of the first to reach completion will be this one by architecture firm MVRDV, which has transformed an elevated road in Seoul into a public park.

The 3,000ft-long Seoul Station Overpass, in the heart of the South Korean capital, will create a new pedestrian route that will boast 254 species of trees, shrubs and flowers.

Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany

"It's a project on an unparalleled scale of ambition," The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright wrote of his visit to the Elbphilharmonie in the German city of Hamburg. Set on top of a warehouse, this curvy, crystalline music hall harks back to the city's architectural heritage, with its own red-brick base structure and unashamedly sculptural facade.

At a cost of €789m (£693), the project is "wildly over-budget". It remains to be seen if Herzog & de Meuron's striking design can win over sceptics of the inflated price tag", says Curbed.

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Thomas Heatherwick's London-based studio has created a museum in Cape Town by hollowing out sections of an historic grain silo – no mean feat considering it's "a structure containing 42 vertical concrete tubes", notes Dezeen.

The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa will contain no less than 80 galleries and will form part of the V&A Waterfront complex. "This was a chance to do more than just appropriate a former industrial building to display art, but to imagine a new kind of museum in an African context," said Heatherwick.

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Saudi Arabia

One of Norwegian architect group Snohetta's biggest projects so far, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture features an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive.

An initiative of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company designed to promote cultural development in Saudi Arabia, the pebble-shaped structure has already won over critics given a sneak preview of the project. The building won't be open to visitors until the second half of this year.

Apple Campus, Cupertino, California

The tech giant's new headquarters will finally open its doors to employees this year. "The shape is as stylish as the company's products," says Curbed, with the development comprising a huge 2.8m-sq-ft four-storey tall doughnut, designed by Norman Foster. It will house more than 13,000 employees.

The impressive structure will contain research and development facilities and offices, a company fitness centre, a cafe and a 1,000-seat auditorium, all expected to promote creativity and collaboration among staff.