2012 in architecture

The year 2012 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Events

 * April 30 – 1 WTC surpasses the height of the Empire State Building to become the tallest building in New York City.
 * July – Mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu (Mali) are deliberately attacked by rebels, a war crime for which Ahmad al-Mahdi in 2016 pleads guilty before the International Criminal Court.
 * July 20 – A fire at the newly-opened Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, leads to its closure for more than a year.
 * October
 * The fifth World Architecture Festival is held in Singapore.
 * Second hurricane survival of 1 WTC.
 * It is announced that the Opera House, Wellington, is below 34% of the earthquake code and may have to close for strengthening work to be carried out.
 * November – The Japanese government announces plans for a new National Olympic Stadium (Tokyo) for the 2020 Summer Olympics based on a design by Zaha Hadid; these will be abandoned in 2015.
 * December 11 – 1 WTC's spire comes to New York City.
 * Assemble (collective) begins working in Granby Four Streets, Liverpool.

Buildings opened

 * January
 * Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum extension in Boston, Massachusetts, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
 * JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, the tallest hotel in the world, in Dubai.
 * January 1 – Ada Bridge, one of the tallest bridges in Europe, in Belgrade, Serbia.
 * January 5 – Baluarte Bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in Latin America.
 * February – Extension to Städel art gallery in Frankfurt, Germany, designed by schneider+schumacher.
 * January 6 – Porta Macedonia, Skopje, designed by sculptor Valentina Stefanovska.
 * February 28 – Halley VI Research Station, designed by Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects, becomes operational in the Antarctic.
 * March – Jerwood Gallery on The Stade in Hastings, England, designed by Hana Loftus and Tom Grieve of HAT Projects.
 * March 18 – Bharati (research station) in Antarctica.
 * March 19 – Western concourse, London King's Cross railway station, designed by John McAslan + Partners.
 * March 24 – Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge, Warsaw, the eighth road bridge in the capital of Poland.
 * March 29 – Refurbished Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney with new Mordant Wing, designed by Sam Marshall.
 * March 31 – Sandworm by Marco Casagrande, in the Beaufort04 Triennial of Contemporary art in Wenduine, Belgium. The work is both architecture and environmental art.
 * April 4 – Twin Sails Bridge, Poole, England, by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.
 * April 10 – SeaCity Museum, Southampton, England, with extension by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.
 * April 20
 * Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, Tokyo, designed by Kengo Kuma.
 * Belfast MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) in Northern Ireland, by Hackett Hall McKnight.
 * May 10 – Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan, designed by Zaha Hadid.
 * May 11 – ArcelorMittal Orbit observation tower and sculpture in Olympic Park, London, designed by Anish Kapoor with Cecil Balmond and Ushida Findlay Architects.
 * May 22 – Tokyo Skytree in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan.
 * June 29 – Cloud Forest and Flower Dome Bay South Conservatories at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects (landscape design by Grant Associates).
 * July 3 – Giant's Causeway Visitors' Centre in Northern Ireland designed by Heneghan Peng for the National Trust.
 * July 5 – The Shard, designed by Renzo Piano, the tallest building in the European Union at the time.
 * July 18 – Tate Modern, London, opens The Tanks performance art/installation space, refurbished by Herzog & de Meuron.
 * July 27 – Opening of 2012 Summer Olympics based at Olympic Park, London, England, with site design by the EDAW Consortium (including EDAW and Buro Happold), working with Arup and WS Atkins; taken over by LDA Design in conjunction with Hargreaves Associates. Individual buildings include
 * Olympic Stadium, designed by Populous
 * London Aquatics Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid
 * London Velopark, designed by Hopkins Architects, Expedition Engineering, BDSP, and Grant Associates
 * ArcelorMittal Orbit tower, designed by Anish Kapoor (see above)
 * August 3 – Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, Brisbane, Australia.
 * September 21 – Islamic art gallery at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, designed by Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti.
 * September 23 – Renovation and new wing for Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, designed by Benthem Crouwel Architekten.
 * October 11 – Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum, India, built by B.G. Shirke Construction Technology Pvt. Ltd.
 * October 17 – Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City, designed by Louis Kahn.
 * October 24 – Boekenberg ("Book mountain") public library in Spijkenisse, Netherlands, designed by MVRDV.
 * December 3 – United States Courthouse, Austin, Texas, designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam.
 * December 11 – Le Louvre-Lens art gallery in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France, designed by SANAA.
 * date unknown
 * Flame Towers, Baku, Azerbaijan, designed by HOK.
 * ME Hotel, London, designed by Foster and Partners.
 * Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art new buildings are opened in Oslo, Norway.
 * Statoil (now Equinor) Regional and International Offices, Oslo, Norway, by A-Lab Architects, winner of 2012 WAN Award for best office building

Buildings completed

 * January 6 – Porta Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia.
 * February 29 – Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world, is completed in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan.
 * June – Airport Link, a 6.7 km road tunnel in Brisbane, the longest in Australia.
 * September – NEO Bankside apartments in London, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
 * November 1 – Mercury City Tower, in Moscow, topped-out to become the tallest building in Europe (2012–2014).
 * date unknown
 * Abraj Al Bait in Mecca, the tallest buildings in Saudi Arabia.
 * Absolute World in Mississauga, Ontario, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Studio.
 * Church of Pentecost, Vinkovci, Serbia, a replica of the 18th century church that was destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence.
 * Princess Tower, the world's tallest residential building, is completed in Dubai.
 * The Bow (skyscraper) in Calgary, Alberta
 * Soleil, the tallest building in Brisbane, Australia (until 2014) designed by DBI Design.
 * Community in a Cube, RiversideOne, Middlesbrough, England, designed by FAT.
 * Astley Castle in North Warwickshire, England, refurbished for the Landmark Trust by Witherford Watson Mann Architects (winner, Stirling Prize, 2013).
 * University of Limerick Medical School in Ireland designed by Grafton Architects.
 * Sarajevo City Center.
 * The Wilson art gallery and museum extension and refurbishment in Cheltenham, England, designed by BGS Architects.

Awards

 * AIA Architecture Firm Award – Vincent James Associates Architects
 * AIA Gold Medal – Steven Holl
 * Carbuncle Cup – Cutty Sark Renovation
 * Alvar Aalto Medal – Paulo David
 * Driehaus Architecture Prize for New Classical Architecture – Michael Graves
 * Emporis Skyscraper Award – Absolute World in Mississauga designed by Burka Architects and MAD Studio
 * Lawrence Israel Prize – Diller Scofidio + Renfro
 * LEAF Award, Overall Winner – Sou Fujimoto Architects
 * Praemium Imperiale Architecture Laureate – Henning Larsen
 * Pritzker Architecture Prize – Wang Shu
 * RAIA Gold Medal – Lawrence Nield
 * RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Herman Hertzberger
 * Stirling Prize – Stanton Williams, for Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University
 * Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture – Rafael Moneo
 * Twenty-five Year Award – Frank Gehry for Gehry Residence, Santa Monica
 * Vincent Scully Prize – Paul Goldberger

Deaths

 * January 4 – Rod Robbie, Canadian architect (born 1928)
 * January 8 – John Madin, English architect (born 1924)
 * February 6 – Norma Merrick Sklarek, African American architect (born 1926)
 * March 21 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect (born 1907)
 * June 4 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect (born 1925)
 * June 15
 * Francis Bonaert, Belgian architect (born 1914) was a Belgian architect.
 * Günther Domenig, Austrian architect (born 1934)
 * June 19 – Gerhard M. Kallmann, German-born American architect (born 1915)
 * July 2 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and industrial designer (born 1929)
 * August 20 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese architect and Prime Minister (born 1916)
 * August 26 – Peter L. Shelton, American architect and interior designer (born 1945)
 * October 6 – Ulrich Franzen (born 1921), German-born American architect
 * October 26 – John M. Johansen, American architect (born 1916)
 * October 30
 * Wayland Tunley, British architect associated with Milton Keynes (born 1937)
 * Lebbeus Woods, American architect and artist (born 1940)
 * November 1 – Gae Aulenti), Italian architect, interior and lighting designer (born 1927
 * November 4 – David Resnick, Brazilian-born Israeli architect and town planner (born 1924)
 * December 5 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect (born 1907)
 * December 14 – Alan Colquhoun, British architect (born 1921)