Panama City can be read through its architecture. Colonial churches and restored mansions share the capital with glass towers, residential skyscrapers and one of Frank Gehry’s most recognizable works. Few cities in Latin America place so many architectural periods within such a compact urban landscape.
The contrast is particularly visible between Casco Antiguo, founded in 1673 after the destruction of Panamá Viejo, and the modern districts stretching along Avenida Balboa and the Pacific waterfront. Casco Antiguo has been part of Panama City’s UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997, while the newer skyline reflects the country’s transformation into an international financial, logistics and services hub.
These are some of the buildings that best explain that architectural evolution.
YOO PANAMA
Inspired by French designer Philippe Starck, YOO Panama is a sophisticated masterpiece that overlooks the ocean, right on Panama City’s most sought-after street, Avenida Balboa. The building, which was awarded Best Interior Design Apartment in Central and South America at the International Property Awards for the Americas in 2014, offers spectacular panoramic views over the bay and the Panama Canal.
The 56-story apartment complex is made up of finely decorated apartments and lofts. It also features a giant rooftop pool surrounded by bungalows and two restaurants: the Chinese Chin Chin on the bottom floor, and the Mediterranean Cabana above.
YOO Panama | © YOO Panama
THE METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL
Rising over Plaza de la Independencia in Casco Antiguo, the Metropolitan Cathedral is one of the most emblematic buildings in Panama City. Its façade, built with stone blocks brought from the ruins of Panamá Viejo, combines sobriety with grandeur. The twin bell towers, inlaid with mother-of-pearl from the Pearl Islands, reflect the ingenuity of colonial craftsmen who integrated local resources into Spanish baroque tradition. Inside, the high ceilings and carved wooden altarpieces remind visitors of the role the church played as both a spiritual center and a symbol of resilience for a city that had to rebuild itself after fire and invasion.
Beyond its religious function, the Cathedral has become a focal point in Panama’s urban narrative. Restorations over the last decades preserved its historical character while adapting it for cultural events and civic gatherings, turning it into a living monument rather than a relic. Surrounded by narrow cobblestone streets, cafés and restored houses, it anchors the dialogue between the city’s colonial past and its 21st-century transformation. For architects and design enthusiasts, the Cathedral stands as a testament to how built heritage can shape identity and continue to inspire even in the shadow of modern skyscrapers.
The cathedral in Casco Viejo, Panama | © Lapping/Pixabay
IGLESIA DEL CARMEN
Few buildings in central Panama City create as immediate a visual contrast with their surroundings as Iglesia del Carmen, on Vía España.
Its pointed arches, narrow towers and elaborate façade can suggest a much older European church, but the structure belongs to the 20th century. Construction began in 1947, and the church was completed during the following decade. Its architectural language is strongly Neo-Gothic, a style rarely seen on this scale in Panama City.
The location makes the building particularly striking. Modern offices, hotels, shops and heavy traffic surround a church designed with references to medieval Gothic architecture.
That contrast has made Iglesia del Carmen one of the city’s most recognizable religious landmarks. It is also easily accessible by public transport, with the Iglesia del Carmen Metro station nearby.
Its stained-glass windows, vertical proportions and twin towers continue to make it one of the most distinctive buildings outside the historic center.
BIOMUSEO
If Casco Antiguo represents Panama City’s historical architecture, the Biomuseo provides its most recognizable contemporary counterpoint.
Located on the Amador Causeway at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, the museum was designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 2014. It remains Gehry’s first and only completed building in Latin America.
Its overlapping roofs in red, yellow, blue and other vivid colors make the building immediately recognizable against the sea and the city skyline. Gehry used irregular forms and strong colors to evoke Panama’s biological and cultural diversity, while the large metal canopies also respond to the tropical climate by providing protection from heavy rain.
The architecture is inseparable from the museum’s subject. Its permanent exhibitions explain how the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama connected North and South America, separated two oceans and transformed global biodiversity. The museum currently has eight principal permanent galleries, including Panamarama, Building the Bridge, Worlds Collide, Oceans Divided and The Living Web.
The setting adds another architectural dimension. From the Amador Causeway, visitors can see the Bridge of the Americas, ships approaching the Panama Canal, Cerro Ancón, Casco Antiguo and the modern city skyline.
As of 2026, the Biomuseo is open Tuesday through Sunday, with different weekday and weekend schedules, and remains one of Panama City’s principal museums and architectural attractions.
A CITY DEFINED BY CONTRAST
The most interesting feature of Panama City’s architecture is the proximity of buildings that belong to completely different moments in the country’s history.
A visitor can move from the colonial streets of Casco Antiguo to the towers of Avenida Balboa, continue toward the Neo-Gothic Iglesia del Carmen and finish beside Gehry’s colorful Biomuseo on the Amador Causeway. Together, these buildings show how Panama City expanded from a fortified colonial settlement into one of Latin America’s most recognizable high-rise capitals.
Its architecture works as a record of that transformation. Churches, restored colonial blocks, luxury residential towers and contemporary cultural buildings coexist within the same urban landscape, giving Panama City a visual identity that is difficult to confuse with any other capital in the region.
Photo of the portrait: Depositphotos
