The year 1985 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

• The Inman Report is released, with major implications for the architecture of United States embassies.
• International architectural firm Aedas is established by Keith Griffiths in Hong Kong as Hackett and Griffiths.

Buildings and structures

Buildings opened

• January 15 – The Tashkent Tower in Tashkent, Uzbekistan begins operation after six years construction.
• March 2 – Columbia Center (formerly the Bank of America Tower) in Seattle, Washington, United States.
• June 4 – Farø Bridges, Denmark.^[1]
• July – The DLI 63 Building in Seoul, South Korea.
• August 10 – St. Paul's Cathedral, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, designed by Aldo Spirito, is consecrated by the Pope.
• September 7 – The first concert is held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.^[2]

Buildings completed

• November 18 – HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong.
• Central State Museum of Kazakhstan.^[3]
• The Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, Texas, United States.
• Several notable buildings in Manhattan, New York City, United States:
  • The first tower in the World Financial Center.
  • New York Marriott Marquis.
  • Tower 49.
• Amarin Plaza in Bangkok, designed by Rangsan Torsuwan.
• Pak Sha O Youth Hostel in Hong Kong, designed by Rocco Design Architects.
• Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna.
• The Sender Eifel-Bärbelkreuz in Hellenthal, Germany.
• Tyholttårnet in Trondheim, Norway.
• Calgary Municipal Building in Calgary
• Spiral in Tokyo, Japan.
• Mjøsa Bridge, Norway.
• Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, Nanjing, China.
• Reconstruction of Basilica of St. Cunibert, Cologne, after bombing of Cologne in World War II.
• Thematic House (remodeled structure) by Charles Jencks, Terry Farrell, Michael Graves and others in Holland Park, Kensington, London, United Kingdom. ^[4]

Awards

• AIA Gold Medal – William Wayne Caudill (posthumous)
• Alvar Aalto Medal – Tadao Ando
• Architecture Firm Award – Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown
• Grand prix national de l'architecture – Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat
• Pritzker Prize – Hans Hollein
• RAIA Gold Medal – Richard Johnson
• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Richard Rogers
• Twenty-five Year Award – General Motors Technical Center

Births

Deaths

• September 30 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer and architect (born 1900)
• November 13 – William Pereira, American architect of Portuguese ancestry^[5] (born 1909)
• November 22 – Gudolf Blakstad, Norwegian architect (born 1893)
• Dewi-Prys Thomas, Welsh architect (born 1916)