( CNN ) -- Baku has been a citadel amidst potentially destabilizing forces for centuries , routinely blasted by gale-force winds , seismic activity and positioned near one of the world 's largest and most coveted oil reserves . But , having declared independence and with the establishment of a lucrative oil pipeline , Azerbaijan now has its sights set firmly on urban renewal in its capital . This year , the astonishing Flame Towers project was completed by global architecture giant HOK , creating a building that developers hoped would become an icon for Baku 's coastal skyline . Texan-born Barry Hughes , Vice President of HOK , says building an `` icon '' is one of the most intimidating briefs for an architect . `` It 's probably dangerous to try to do something iconic . The biggest challenge a designer faces is that blank sheet of paper , '' he says , `` and if you pile on the idea that you want something iconic ... '' UNESCO World Heritage : Historic buildings in peril . HOK ultimately created three flame-shaped towers , clad in orange and blue-tinted glass , encircling a honeycomb-roofed podium . This is Hughes ' favorite building , although he is reluctant to take all of the credit . `` I feel guilty because I get to take a bow for the work of 150 people who worked on this project , '' he says . The towers ' shape was inspired by the city 's history of Zoroastrian fire worship and its ongoing connection with natural gas . `` The client absolutely latched onto the idea of the flame , and then it became an interesting conversation about how literal that would be . '' View a hi-res gallery of Barry Hughes ' favorite buildings . Whether your tower looks like a flame , or merely evokes the concept , comes down , it seems , to how much it flickers at the roof line , and Hughes says a dedicated team worked exclusively on refining the towers ' quiffs . `` They had long conversations about that moment when a candle is burning , the gestural moment when it catches the wind . Somebody drew that a hundred times in the computer , and once that 's drawn it gets passed through different programs , and the contractors have to further rationalize it . '' Watch 'Great Buildings ' on Connect the World . The towers posed numerous other challenges . They had to be weighted to withstand potential earthquakes , and parts needed to be constructed without the use of cranes , due to Baku 's harsh winds . The site is large , but dense , containing offices , a hotel and residential apartments above a shopping mall , above a parking lot . `` Making all those spaces work in tandem was the biggest engineering challenge of all , '' Hughes admits . But , standing at the top of one tower shortly before the building was completed , Hughes found himself marveling at another unexpected feat . `` Rare is the place in the world where you can stand in one tower ... and have two other towers that seem to form a space that I was n't clever enough to anticipate , '' he says . `` Maybe I was just drunk on the accomplishment but that space up there is really magical . '' 'Marilyn Monroe ' towers shape city 's future . `` Somebody will have a hotel room or office where they 'll look across and be part of those three objects in the sky and that , for me , is kind of spiritual . '' The building Hughes most wishes he 'd designed is the Notre Dame du Haut , a concrete Catholic chapel in Ronchamp , France , designed by Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier . Completed in 1954 , long before the advent of computer-aided design , the chapel 's roof and walls curve and slope in response to the hill on which they sit . Today , many architects would find such complexity impossible to execute without the aid of computer , Hughes says . `` Within the context of that period , I think it 's really a piece of sculpture . '' He particularly admires the approach to the chapel , which winds up a hill and past some trees . `` When I went there , it was one of those charmingly underdone things . That 's true of a lot of Corbu 's work -- you have to work to get there . That processional route is special and comes from Corbusier looking at the Parthenon . '' Hughes believes the inflection of humanity in Corbusier 's work is what makes him relevant today . `` Modernists were really fascinated with the machine , and buildings as machines for living . I find that idea compelling but at the same time , machines can be soulless , and we 're now in an age where we expect our machines to have a little spirit , '' he said . `` Corbusier was starting to do that in his later work . Mid-Corbusier was very angular , but Ronchamp is more gestural and evocative . You walk up and go 'oh , wow ! ' You get that lump in your throat . Which goes back to what everybody 's trying to do when they start with that blank sheet of paper . '' CNN 's special coverage sometimes carries sponsorship . CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports . Read the policy .
Texas-born architect Barry Hughes picks the Flame Towers in Baku as his favorite building . Building towers was a challenge says Hughes and had to be weighted to withstand earthquakes . Hughes wishes he had designed Notre Dame du Haut , a concrete Catholic chapel in Ronchamp , France . Designed by Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier , the modernist building was completed in 1954 .