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Brett Whiteley.

Designed by Sydney’s arbiters of style, Engelen Moore, Altair was voted the world’s best apartment building in 2001. The coup was clinched by its environ-mental performance and sleek lines. Mechanical louvres on the building’s façade open to catch the breeze.

The ethereal white glass skin and sails atop Renzo Piano’s office block and apartment buildings, built in 2000, echo the Opera House’s shells and the spinnakers of yachts on the harbour. They also regulate the temperature, making the skyscraper one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the CBD.

The roof of this stadium is a low-slung “Mexican hat” which allows tantalizing glimpses of sports crowds from nearby Fox Studios. Designed by local architect Phillip Cox, it was built to coincide with Sydney’s Bicentenary in 1988.

Built in the 1960s, this structure was a revisioning of Sydney’s downtown, combining office, retail and public space. Today the build- ing is still revered as a marvel of concrete construction. Architect Harry Seidler cham-fered the building’s corners to reduce its shadow, giving the tower its iconic round form.

Nigel Helyer. Whimsical structures play with the tides.

Janet Laurence and Fiona Foley. Symbolizes reconciliation with Aborigines (see Museum of Sydney).

Alexander Tzannes and Imants Tillers. Built for the Bicentenary celebrations.

Part of a large development on a historic site, the base of this elegant high-rise carefully slopes over several 19th-century terrace houses. The neighbouring Museum of Sydney preserves the footings of the first Government House. In Mission Impossible 2 , Tom Cruise abseiled through the roof’s steel blades.

Not often is a station so architecturally interesting: this one is a rare beast. Supporting a delicate membrane roof, 18 vaulted arches hover over the rail platform and provide an impressive gateway to the extensive Homebush sporting complex (see Sporting Venues & Olympic Sites).