The Eiffel Tower . The Colosseum . The Taj Majal . The Pyramids . Massive architectural marvels from times past , they are often stopping points on a tourist 's journey . Although these grand sites are n't always why globe-trotters say they 're going on vacation , some of history 's great works of architecture star in the returning traveler 's photos . Did you get that smiling shot in front of Buckingham Palace or the photo `` pushing '' the Leaning Tower of Pisa upright ? Despite a tight economy , a new generation of architects is giving the traveler reasons to jump on a plane to see modern masterpieces . Many of the new structures are public projects , designed to welcome the resident and tourist alike . `` There 's been a lot of emphasis on public architecture , using it to really bring vitality to a place , '' says Justin Davidson , New York magazine 's architecture and classical music critic . `` Whether people are traveling a great distance to see one thing or it 's creating a market for the regeneration of a place that really needs it , those things get merged . '' Here are six great spots for ogling modern marvels : . New World Symphony ( Miami Beach ) . The New World Symphony , which brought vitality to Miami Beach 's Lincoln Road when it moved into the Lincoln Theater many years ago , is having the same impact at its new location nearby . The symphony , which prepares graduates of major music schools for roles in leading orchestras around the world , hired architect Frank Gehry to design its $ 160 million New World Center campus in collaboration with symphony founder and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas . The campus , which hosted its inaugural concert in January 2011 , has an adjacent 2.5-acre public space designed by Dutch architecture firm West 8 . Free and affordable events are often scheduled at the outdoor space . For the architecture geek : Miami Beach is also attracting the world 's architects to its parking structures . Noted architect Zaha Hadid was recently selected to design a municipal garage . She follows on the heels of New World Center architect Gehry , Mexican architect Enrique Norten and Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron , all with innovative parking garages in Miami Beach . Natural History Museum of Utah ( Salt Lake City ) . Appearing to be hewn out of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains , the Natural History Museum of Utah 's new $ 140 million Rio Tinto Center looks like Utah . Unlike designers of many natural history museums in urban locations , Ennead Architects and GSBG Architects could take advantage of the 17-acre site 's location at the edge of Salt Lake City . The building is above ancient Lake Bonneville 's shoreline , with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail cutting through the site . For the architecture geek : Tucked away in a Salt Lake City block behind homes and businesses , Gilgal Sculpture Garden is one of the city 's best-kept secret treasures . Dating back to the late 1940s and designed by Thomas Battersby Child Jr. , a contractor and former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , `` it 's a funky and relatively obscure public sculpture garden located in Salt Lake that has many fans among architects and University of Utah students , '' says Bob Herman , a local architect and past president of the Utah Center for Architecture . Times Square , the High Line and more ( New York ) . Since the banishment of vehicular traffic from parts of Time Square , the neon and digital people `` have gone nuts '' with signage in Times Square . It creates an almost performance art-like scene for the pedestrians taking a break from their walks , says Bloomberg Media architecture critic James Russell . After a walk through Times Square , head south to an innovative urban park built atop an unused elevated train line in Manhattan 's Chelsea neighborhood . The High Line has been a hit since it opened in phases over the past three years . Unencumbered by moving vehicles or traffic lights , landscape architect James Corner Field Operations and the architecture firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro designed a garden oasis above the hustle and bustle of the West Side . For the architecture geek : Continue downtown to 8 Spruce St. , where New York by Gehry ( another Gehry design ) is reportedly the tallest residential structure in the Western Hemisphere . `` It has a rippling stainless steel façade , and it 's near Brooklyn , so you can walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to see it , '' Russell says . `` The other side is the Brooklyn Bridge Park , which is an absolutely stunning place to be in and from which to look at Manhattan . '' Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh designed the park . Clyfford Still Museum ( Denver ) . After gaining national fame and attention for his work into the 1940s , abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still withdrew from the commercial art world and kept most of his work rather than selling it . Although his work was discussed along with peers such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock , he shunned the public eye . He died in 1980 , and his will stipulated that his estate be given to an American city that would create a permanent space solely for studying and exhibiting his work . Denver accepted the challenge ; Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture designed the structure , and the Clyfford Still Museum opened in November . The museum houses 94 % of the artist 's known work , most of which has never been on public display before now . With a series of skylights designed to bring in natural light to illuminate the collection , `` the quality of light in this museum is one of the best I 've ever seen , '' Russell says . For the architecture geek : After visiting the Still museum , look beyond the art to appreciate the Denver Art Museum 's 2006 addition by noted architect Daniel Libeskind , who famously won the World Trade Center design competition . There is a daily architecture tour at 1 p.m. Oslo Opera House ( Norway ) . Part of a redevelopment project to reconnect the cutoff waterfront to the rest of the city , the Oslo Opera House has an incredible amount of public space that allows people to walk up the outside of the structure to its rooftop plaza . The building , which houses the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet , was designed by the internationally renowned Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta . It opened in 2008 . If you 'd like to attend any of the artistic performances , make sure to purchase tickets in advance online . For the architecture geek : If you think the outside of the Oslo Opera House would be an excellent skate park , it 's no accident . Skateboarders were consulted about the exterior design and surfaces and have enjoyed the results , according to Wired magazine . The magazine lists some suggested moves . Parque Biblioteca España ( Medellín , Colombia ) . For the adventurous architecture traveler , try visiting Medellín , Colombia , where a renaissance in design and infrastructure is taking place . Former Medellín Mayor Sergio Fajardo made the development of public architecture to revitalize poor areas and connect them to the rest of the city a central tenet of his administration . `` Our most beautiful buildings must be in our poorest areas , '' Fajardo has frequently said . Designed by architect Giancarlo Mazzanti of Bogota , Parque Biblioteca España , in the Medellín neighborhood of Santo Domingo , is the most famous of a half-dozen libraries designed with park space in the city . Along with improvements in roads and schools , the city has built a system of gondola-like public transit to transport residents of the poorest hillside communities down to the city 's public rail system . Although Medellín is much safer than it was during the height of the drug wars , check with local officials and the U.S. State Department before heading to Santo Domingo . The libraries are part of the city 's commitment to its poorest residents . `` It represents an investment in the whole urban fabric , using culture , architecture and design to improve people 's lives and connect them to transit , architecture and culture , '' says Davidson , the New York magazine critic . `` It 's a showy piece of new architecture that represents something broader that a place is trying to accomplish . One building does not do that in isolation . ''
New World Symphony offers free and reduced price music at new Norway campus . A hiking trail runs through New World Symphony 's outdoor space . Skateboarders and music lovers alike are welcome outside Miami Beach 's the Natural History Museum of Utah . Medellín , Norway 's libraries are part of the city 's commitment to its poorest residents .