Architecture in 2012, Buildings of the Year, Architects, Designs, Images
Building Designs of 2012 : Architecture of the Year
e-architect Selection of Key Architecture from 2012
Major Buildings from 2012
e-architect have selected some key buildings and designs from 2012.
Our parameters? Architecture that stimulates, buildings that question, designs that show innovation.
We aren’t saying these are the ‘best’ building designs of 2012, simply they are a selection of ones that have interested us at e-architect.
We asked a selection of architecture critics to pick out the key buildings of the year but we’re deliberately not considering the complex task of selecting ‘winners’.
Adrian Welch, e-architect editor
Buildings of 2012 – Part 1
Building Designs of 2012 – Part 2:
Menis Arquitectos, Canary Islands
Sacred Museum & Plaza, Adeje

photo ® Simona Rota
Casa Syntes Pinto, Madrid, Spain
Design: dosmasuno arquitectos

photograph : Miguel de Guzmán
MAAVC, Portugal
Design: Camilo Rebelo and Tiago Pimentel

photo © Cláudio Reis
Easter Sculpture Museum, Albacete, Spain
Design: Exit Architects

photograph : Fernando Guerra
University Senate Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Design: Chyutin Architects

photograph : Ardon Bar Hama
Iglesia de la Consolacion Cordoba, Spain
Vicens + Ramos, Architects

photo : Vicens + Ramos
Kilden Performing Arts Centre, Norway
ALA Architects with SMS Arkitekter

picture : Tuomas Uusheimo
Spira Performing Arts Center, Sweden
Wingårdh Arkitektkontor

photograph : Ulf Celander
City Hall Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
3XN Architects

image © Adam Mørk
Victoria Tower, Kista, Sweden
Wingårdh Arkitektkontor

photograph : Tord-Rickard Söderström
Mestia Buildings, Georgia
J. MAYER H. Architects

photo from architects
Sandworm, Wenduine coastline, Belgium
Marco Casagrande / C-Laboratory

photograph : Nikita Wu
The Scarab Building, France
SAREA Alain Sarfati Architecture

photo © Philippe Ruault
La Maison Hermès Dosan Park Seoul, Korea
RDAI

picture © Masao Nishikawa
Olive Oil Factory Marmelo Mill, Portugal
Ricardo Bak Gordon

FG + SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra
Vila Tugendhat Renovation, Czech Republic
originally Mies van der Rohe

image : Colin Eaton
Hatert Tower, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
24H>architecture

photograph © Boris Zeisser
New York by Gehry, NYC, USA
Frank Gehry

picture : dbox
House in Juso, Portugal
ARX Portugal + Stefano Riva

photograph : Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
OASIS voestalpine, Linz, Austria
xarchitekten

photo : David Schreyer
Sumatrakontor, Hamburg, Germany
Erick van Egeraat

photo : J Collingridge
Military History Museum, Dresden, Germany
Daniel Libeskind

photo © Hufton+Crow Photography
Hansar Bangkok, Thailand
WOHA

photograph © Patrick Bingham-Hall
Jameson House, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Foster + Partners

photograph : Nigel Young, Foster + Partners
Origami Building, Paris, France
Manuelle Gautrand

© photoVincent Fillon
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Design: Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW)

© Nic Lehoux / Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Timmelsjoch Experience, Austria
Werner Tscholl

photo : Alexa Rainer
Oshikamo House, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates

photograph : Toshiyuki Yano
Natural History Museum of Utah, USA
Ennead Architects, LLP with GSBS

photograph © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Roca London Gallery, England
Zaha Hadid Architects

image from architects
London 2012 Velodrome, England
Hopkins Architects

photo from fd
Central Saint Martins, London, UK
Stanton Williams

photo © Hufton+Crow
Busan Cinema Centre, South Korea
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU

photo © Woochang Choi Korea
Evelyn Grace Academy, south London
Zaha Hadid Architects

picture : Luke Hayes
Museum of Liverpool, England
3XN Architects

photo © Philip Handforth
Universiade in Shenzhen, China
von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp)

photo © Christan Gahl
Hotel Lone, Rovinj, Croatia
3LHD architects

photo : 3LHD
Porta Fira Hotel, Barcelona, Spain
Toyo Ito & Associates / b720 Fermín Vázquez

photo from FCC
Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
Zaha Hadid Architects

photograph © Tom Manley Photography
Cais das Artes Project, Brazil
Paulo Mendes da Rocha + Metro Arquitetos

picture : Metro Arquitetos
The Hepworth, Wakefield, UK
David Chipperfield Architects

photograph © Iwan Baan
Harpa, Reykjavik, Iceland
Henning Larsen Architects + Olafur Eliasson

picture Courtesy of Harpa © Hörður Sveinsson
Museo Soumaya, Mexico
FREE | Fernando Romero EnterprisE

photograph : Adam Wiseman
Bitexco Financial Tower, Vietnam
AREP Architects

image : AREP Architects
One Hyde Park, London, England
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

picture © mattchungphoto.com
Guangzhou Opera House, China
Zaha Hadid Architects

photograph : Virgile Simon Bertrand
Las Arenas Barcelona, Spain
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

picture : Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Future Buildings
One World Trade Center, NY, USA
SOM Architects

photo : Wrightstyle
Peruri 88 Jakarta, Indonesia
Design: MVRDV / Jerde / Arup

image from architects
Kasumigaoka National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
Zaha Hadid Architects

© Zaha Hadid Architects
Sliced Porosity Block, Chengdu, China
Design: Steven Holl Architects

image : Steven Holl Architects
425 Park Avenue, New York, USA – news
Designs by the four shortlisted Architects

image from architects
House for Naomi Campbell, Moscow, Russia
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects

picture from architects
PHTV International Media Center, Beijing
BIAD UFo

photo from architects
Elbphilharmonie concert hall, Hamburg, Germany
Herzog and de Meuron

© José Campos josecamposmoreira(at)gmail.com
Cross Towers Seoul, Korea
BIG

image : MIR
Scotts Tower, Singapore
UNStudio

picture © UNStudio
Duo Towers, Paris, France
Jean Nouvel

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel
V&A Exhibition Road Project, London, UK
AL_A

render © Amanda Levete Architects
Stonehenge Visitor Centre, England
Denton Corker Marshall Architects

image from architects
Copenhagen Arena, Denmark
Architects: 3XN

image © 3XN
Addis Ababa Stadium, Ethiopia
LAVA with JDAW

picture from architect
Diagonal Tower, Seoul, South Korea
SOM

image © SOM/Crystal CG
MÉCA Bordeaux, France
BIG + FREAKS freearchitects

image from architects
Mineirão Stadium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
BCMF Arquitetos

image : BCMF Arquitetos
Design Museum, London, UK
John Pawson / Rem Koolhaas

photo © Luke Hayes
Columbia University Medical Center, NY, USA
Design: Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler

image from architects
Musée des Beaux-arts Rheims, France
David Chipperfield Architects

image © David Chipperfield Architects
Yongsan Tower Building, South Korea
REX

image : Luxigon
The Leadenhall Building, London
RSH+P

image : Cityscape
Birmingham Library, England
Mecanoo

courtesy BCC
SFMOMA Expansion, San Francisco, USA
Snøhetta – news

image © Snøhetta
Vejle Harbour development, Denmark
Studio Olafur Eliasson + others

image © Olafur Eliasson
Yingkou Convention and Exposition Center
2DEFINE Architecture

picture from architects
Angkasa Raya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ole Scheeren

image © Buro-OS
Emmen Theatre and Zoo, The Netherlands
Henning Larsen Architects

picture from architects
Chicago Navy Pier Competition, USA
James Corner Field Operations

photograph Courtesy Navy Pier, Inc.
Expo Yeosu Pavilion, Korea
soma architecture

image from architect
Yuan Ze University Buildings, Taiwan
Santiago Calatrava

rendering courtesy of Santiago Calatrava, LLC
Hôtel de Police Charleroi, Belgium
Ateliers Jean Nouvel / MDW Architecture

© Ateliers Jean Nouvel / MDW ARCHITECTURE
Museum of Bihar, Patna, India
Maki and Associates

image from competition organisers
Dancing Dragons, Seoul, South Korea
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

image © AS+GG
Scitech Redevelopment Beijing, China
UNStudio

image : UNStudio
Green Climate Fund Bonn, Germany
Design: LAVA

image : MIR
The Blade, Seoul, South Korea
Dominique Perrault Architecture

image : 2012 © Luxigon / DPA / Adagp
Beach and Howe Tower, Vancouver, Canada
BIG

picture from architects
Union Station Masterplan, Los Angeles, USA
UNStudio + EE&K

image : UNStudio
Dancing Towers, Seoul, South Korea
Studio Daniel Libeskind

picture © Crystal
Harmony Tower, Seoul, South Korea
Studio Daniel Libeskind

picture © Crystal
VCU Institute for Contemporary Art, VA, USA
Design: Steven Holl Architects

image courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
Datong Art Museum, China
Foster + Partners

image : Foster + Partners
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Velo Towers Seoul, South Korea
Asymptote Architecture

picture © Asymptote Architecture
Maggie’s Centre in Aberdeen – building news
Design: Snøhetta, Architects

picture from architects
The Rock Stadium, Al Ain, UAE
Design: MZ Architects

image from LA
DUO Towers Singapore
Ole Scheeren – building news

image © Buro-OS
International Music & Dance Centre, NL
Neuteling Riedijk Architects

© Neutelings Riedijk Architects
Neubau FOM Hochschule Düsseldorf, Duesseldorf
Design: J. MAYER H.

image from architects
Buildings of 2012 – Part 1
Architecture News – current global building news highlights
World Architectural News
Architectural News is added on the site daily. We cover completed buildings, new building designs, architectural exhibitions and architecture competitions across the globe. High profile buildings + projects appear on this page. Additions and comments welcome.
Key Architectural Links – Major International Architects
Comments / photos for the Building Designs of 2012 page welcome