Buildings of 2012 : Architecture of the Year
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’ buildings of 2012, merely a selection of ones that have moved us.
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
Views of our selected architectural critics: most significant Architecture of 2012
We’ve divided up completed buildings and designs.
Buildings / designs are listed in chronological order, most recent first:
Major Buildings completed in 2012
Lazika Municipality Building, Georgia
Design: Architects of invention
photo : Nakanimamasakhlisi
The young UK-Georgia-based practice Architects of Invention has completed a new municipality building for a city which is yet to come into being – Lazika. This marine, economic and commercial centre was intended to be one of the largest cities in Georgia.
DNB Bank Headquarters Oslo, Norway
Design: MVRDV
photo : Jiri Havran
This new building by MVRDV sits within an exuberant new group on the Oslo waterfront. Each building is in a contemporary style and there is a dense urban grain to the development.
Louvre Lens Museum, France – building news
SANAA / Imrey Culbert / Catherine Mosbach
photograph © Iwan Baan
The museum consists of five pavilions–low one-story structures, connected at their corners, that grace, enhance and dissolve into the landscape rather than overpower it. Aside from the entrance glass pavilion, the buildings are clad in a reflective aluminum, creating blurred reflections of the surroundings, changing with the scenery, the weather and the position of the person viewing it.
Nanterre Apartment Block, Nanterre, France
Design: X-TU Architects
photo : Luc Boegly
The volumes are intersected vertically by faulting planted. These ‘traits cuts, the organization structure of the plan and provide transparency between the terraces and promenade French Provinces.
Bicentennial Civic Center in Córdoba
Design: GGMPU Arquitectos + Lucio Morini
photo : Claudio Manzoni
The Bicentennial Civic Center will be the first administrative complex to have been designed specifically for that end by the Province of Córdoba, Argentina. It is located on the edge of the historic center of the city, on a lot that used to belong to the railway tracks.
Tower of Ring, Tianjin, China
EASTERN design office + Kawaguchi & Eng
image from architects
SICEEP Darling Harbour, NSW, Australia
HASSELL + Populous
image : HASSELL + Populous
Battersea Power Station, London
Design: various architects
picture of proposals
Phoenix Observation Tower, Arizona, USA
BIG
image from architect
Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, Sydney
Frank Gehry
image : Gehry Partners, LLP
Tanmen Fishing Museums, Hainan, China
Design: Office for Architectural Culture (OAC)
picture from architects
The Grove at Grand Bay residences, Miami
Design: BIG + others
image from BIG
Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, USA
Design: Herzog & de Meuron
Parrish Art Museum
House Yamasaki, Hyogo, Japan
Design: Tato architects
photo : Ken’ichi Suzuki
Bing Concert Hall, San Francisco, CA, USA
Design: Ennead Architects
photo © Jeff Goldberg
Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Holland
Benthem Crouwel Architects
photo : Jannes Linders
Blue Planet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Architect: 3XN
photo from architects
Swanston Academic Building, Melbourne
Lyons
image : John Gollings
Urban Collage, Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Maison Edouard François
photograph © Paul Raftery
House on the Cliff, Alicante, Spain
Design: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
photo : Diego Opazo
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, USA
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects
photo © 2012, Eli Broad
Malopolska Garden Arts Krakow, Poland
Design: Ingarden & Ewy Architekci
photo © Krzysztof Ingarden
Bodrum Houses, Yalikavak, Turkey
Design: Richard Meier & Partners
Richard Meier & Partners
Louvre Lens Museum, France – building news
SANAA / Imrey Culbert / Catherine Mosbach
image © architects
Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China – launch news
Design: Zaha Hadid Architect
photograph : Iwan Baan
Observation Tower at Circuit of the Americas
Design: Miró Rivera Architects
Paul Finkel | Piston Design
Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland
Design: Farshid Moussavi
photo : Dean Kaufman
La Muna, Aspen, Colorado, USA
Design: Oppenheim Architecture + Design
photo : Laziz Hamani
UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Saucier + Perrotte / HCMA
photograph : Marc Cramer
Nakahouse, Hollywood Hills, California, USA
Design: XTEN Architecture
photograph : Steve King
O-14 tower building, Dubai, UAE
Reiser + Umemoto – RUR Architecture
photo : Nelson Garrido
JKC1 Singapore
Architect: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd
photo from architects
Plaza of Spain in Adeje, WAF New & Old win
Menis Arquitectos SLP
photograph ® Simona Rota
Book Mountain, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
MVRDV
picture : Jeroen Musch
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Design: BenthemCrouwel Architects with Arup
photograph : John Lewis Marshall
Aberdeen Library University, Scotland – news
Design: Schmidt Hammer Lassen
photograph : Adam Mørk
SADAR+VUGA – Latest Design : Vander Urbani Resort, Slovenia
photo : Miran Kambi
Yurihonjo City Cultural Center building, Japan
chiaki arai urban and architectural design
photograph copyright 2012 Taisuke Ogawa
OCT Clubhouse, Shenzhen, China
Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP
photo courtesy of Roland Halbe
Wuxi Grand Theatre Building, China
Architect: PES-Architects
photograph : Pan Weijun
Pierrevives, Montpellier, France
Zaha Hadid Architects
photo © Hélène Binet
Toblerone House, São Paulo, Brazil
studio mk27
photograph : Nelson Kon
V4 House, São Paulo, Brazil
studio mk27
photograph : Nelson Kon
Autofamily House, Poland
KWK PROMES Robert Konieczny
picture from architects
Barin Ski Resort, Tehran, Iran
RYRA Studio
picture from architects
Stacking Green, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vo Trong Nghia Architects
photograph : Hiroyuki Oki
Cloud House North Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
Architect: McBride Charles Ryan
photo : John Gollings
De Kameleon, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NL Architects
photo : Marcel van der Burg
London Aquatics Centre, UK
Zaha Hadid Architects
photo : Hufton + Crow
Steelband Project, Vannes, north west France
Atelier Arcau
photo from architects
Platforma Artes Guimarães, Portugal
Pitágoras Architects
photograph : Joao Morgado
Conservatories Bay South Garden, Singapore
Wilkinson Eyre Architects / Grant Associates
picture © Craig Sheppard
King’s Cross Concourse, London
John McAslan & Partners
image : Hufton + Crow
BAF Building, Atizapan de Zaragoza, Mexico
ARQme
image : Jacob Sadrak
CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, China
OMA
photograph : Iwan Baan
Bilbao Arena, Spain
Idom UK
photo : Jorge Allende
We feature selected buildings below that have recently appeared on the architecture news. A wider selection can be found in the monthly architectural news pages. We try to choose major buildings / designs that have created the most interest for our readers.
EYE Dutch Film Museum, Amsterdam
Delugan Meissl Associated Architects
photo copyright Rene den Engelsman
Biomedical Research Centre Pamplona
Vaillo & Irigaray + Galar
photo © Ruben P. Bescós, rubenbescos(at)gmail.com
Maggie’s Southwest Wales, Wales
Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates
photograph : Thore Garbers
House in Gloucestershire, England
Found Associates
photo © Hufton & Crow
Shelter byGG, Guimarães, Portugal
Gabriela Gomes
photograph : Joao Morgado
Olympic Stadium Kiev, Ukraine
gmp – von Gerkan, Marg & Partners
photograph : Marcus Bredt
National Stadium Warsaw, Poland
architects consortium gmp International
photo : Marcus Bredt
AAMI Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
Cox Architects & Planners with Arup
photo : John Gollings
Hen House Building, Sweden
Architect: Torsten Ottesjö
photograph © David Relan
BMW Guggenheim Lab in Berlin, Germany
Atelier Bow-Wow
Christian Richters © Solomon R. Guggenheim F.
Xieira House Leiria, Portugal
Design: A2+ ARQUITECTOS
photo : FG+SG fotografia de arquitectura
Raif Dinckok Cultural Center, Turkey
Design: EAA-Emre Arolat Architects
picture Courtesy of Emre Arolat Architects
Municipal Auditorium Teulada, Alicante, Spain
Francisco Mangado
photo : Juan Rodríguez
Major New Architecture from the first part of the year
We feature selected buildings below that have appeared on our architectural news page, forming significant interest for our readership.
JOH 3, Berlin, Germany
J Mayer H Architects
photo © L Paffrath
Knoll Ridge Cafe, New Zealand
Harris Butt Architecture
photograph : Simon Devitt
The Oct Design Museum, Shenzhen, China
Studio Pei-Zhu
photo : Studio Pei-Zhu
Building Academy Salzburg, Austria
soma architecture
photo © Florian Hafele, Innsbruck, Austria
Daeyang Gallery and House, South Korea
Design: Steven Holl Architects
photograph : Iwan Baan
Pousada de Cascais, Portugal
Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos
photograph : Joao Morgado
Crystal Hall Baku, Azerbaijan
gmp Architects
photograph © Marcus Bredt
Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain
Jürgen Mayer H Architects
picture : David Franck
Casa La Peña, Valle de Bravo, México
R-Zero Studio
picture from architects
Baku Flame Towers, Azerbaijan
HOK International
picture from architect
Madrid Architects’ Association, Madrid, Spain
Gonzalo Moure
photo : Jorge Crooke Carballal
Yale University Art Gallery, CO, USA
Ennead Architects
photo © Christopher Gardner, 2012
Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, Modena, Italy
Architect: Jan Kaplický
photo © Andrea Morgante
Arnhem Central Platforms, The Netherlands
UNStudio
photo : Tim Snoek
Expo Yeosu Pavilion, South Korea
soma architecture
photo © soma architecture
One Raffles Place Tower 2, Singapore
SAA
photo : SAA Architects
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012, London
Herzog & de Meuron & Ai Weiwei
image © Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei
Titanic Belfast, Northern Ireland
TODD Architects / Eric R Kuhne & Associates
picture : Christopher Heaney
Dream Downtown Hotel, New York City, USA
Handel Architects
photo : Bruce Damonte
Reflections at Keppel Bay Singapore
Studio Daniel Libeskind
photograph © Courtesy of Keppel Bay Pte Ltd
Domkyrkoforum Visitor Centre, Lund, Sweden
Carmen Izquierdo
photograph : Åke E:son Lindman
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
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