Learn about the projects recognized by the 2021 RIBA International Award for the best architecture in the world

(CNN) – A German art gallery, a vehicle-free bridge in Denmark, and a remote hospital in Bangladesh have been shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA International Award which recognizes the best architecture new to the world.

Of the three projects, selected from 16 finalists from 11 countries, one will receive the RIBA International Award in early 2022.

The award, which honors buildings or structures that demonstrate “excellence in design and social impact”, is organized every two years by the UK’s Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The organization’s president Simon Allford said in announcing the shortlist Tuesday in a press release that the three projects displayed “sensitivity to their environment and local cultures, inclusive design and sustainable solutions.”

The Satkhira Friendship Hospital in southwestern Bangladesh was the only shortlisted building outside of Europe. Built with local bricks, this 80-bed community center is organized around a series of shaded courtyards. An angular channel runs through the center of the room and separates the inpatient wings from the outpatient wings.

RIBA praised the project for its assimilation with the surrounding landscape, adding that the design is intended to withstand the threat of rising water levels in the typhoon-prone region. Eco-friendly design features include reservoirs to collect rainwater and wall openings that provide natural ventilation.

The Friendship Hospital. Credit: Asif Salman / Courtesy of Urbana

“It is truly a great moment when such an important recognition helps to draw attention to a remote corner of our incredibly connected but unknown world, to a project born out of limited resources, for the care of people and the community destined to live in the fragile environment of a changing climate, “architect Kashef Chowdhury of the Dhaka-based Urbana studio, designers of the project, said in a press release.

The Lille Langebro Bridge in Copenhagen is among the three finalists for the 2021 RIBA International Award. Credit: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Another finalist is Lille Langebro, a curvilinear bridge in Copenhagen designed by WilkinsonEyre with the Urban Agency. The 160-meter-long structure crosses the central port of the Danish capital and offers pedestrians and cyclists a vehicle-free alternative to the parallel road bridge.

Highlighting the project’s “light and slender visual profile”, the RIBA also drew attention to the engineering hidden in the fluid design: when larger vessels need to pass, the two central sections of the bridge rotate dramatically to form an opening.

The third shortlisted project is James-Simon-Galerie, an art gallery that serves as the entrance and visitor center for Berlin’s Museum Island, a huge cultural complex on the River Spree. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the long-awaited building opened in 2019, two decades after its initial proposal.

James-Simon-Galerie, on Berlin’s historic Museum Island. Credit: Simon Menges

Built on a narrow strip of land on the historic island, the elegant design offers a contemporary contrast to its significantly older neighbors. The RIBA praised the way the project “mixes the neoclassical with the modern.”

“The imposing temple-like entrance, the colonnaded walkway that surrounds the building and projects towards the city and the elevated space of the interior lobby are monumental in scale and stature,” the organization wrote in a press release.

Allford said the three projects are “linked by having the human experience at the center.” The award jury is made up of experts from Europe, the United States, Asia and South America, and is chaired by French architect and urban planner Odile Decq.