Jonathan Glancey picks his highlights of the year ahead
Tate oil tanks
The cavernous old underground oil tanks beneath Tate Modern, the former Bankside power station, are due to reopen as performance and installation spaces in time for the Olympics. Connected to three new galleries, the tanks are the first phase of a £215m extension by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. July. tate.org.uk
Shard London Bridge
Designed by Renzo Piano for property developer Irvine Sellar, the Shard, towering over the capital at 310 metres, is now the tallest building in western Europe. Rising from London Bridge station, this steel and glass-clad spire houses offices, restaurants, hotel, flats and four floors of public viewing galleries: on a clear day you will be able to see for 40 miles. May. the-shard.com
ArcelorMittal Orbit
Britain's tallest and biggest sculpture, the bright red Orbit – designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, with engineers Arup and architect Katherine Findlay – is made of complex, calligraphic loops and whirls writ in steel. As a public viewing gallery overlooking the 2012 Olympics site, this is London's 21st-century answer to the Eiffel Tower. May. london.gov.uk
Caro goes to Chatsworth
In a move that will no doubt provoke widely differing reactions, 15 steel sculptures by Anthony Caro will be set against the restored south front of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, as well as gathered beside its sensational Emperor Fountain, designed by the great Joseph Paxton (creator of the Crystal Palace). Caro has often been inspired by powerful architecture, and there's no denying William Talman's baroque Chatsworth is a supremely confident building. 28 March to 1 July. chatsworth.org
Room for London
Imagine spending the night in an intriguing and isolated temporary house, designed by artist Fiona Banner and architect David Kohn, sitting atop the brutalist Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank. The tugboat-like building's first six months are already taken; bookings for July to December will be available in January for this project by Artangel and Alain de Botton's Living Architecture. January 2012. Details: living-architecture.co.uk
National 9/11 Museum, New York
A lofty, glazed atrium, sheltering two of the trident columns that once supported one of the twin towers, marks the entrance to the museum at the site of Manhattan's ground zero. Designed by Oslo-based Snohetta with local firm Davis Brody Bond, much of this long-awaited museum is underground. September. 911memorial.org/museum