2012 in architecture

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 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 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.

  Buildings and structures

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 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 – Belfast MAC 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.
• 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.
• 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, 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
• 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 17 – Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City, designed by Louis Kahn.
• October 24 – :nl:Boekenberg|Boekenberg 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 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.
• 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 in Calgary, Alberta
• * Soleil, the tallest building in Brisbane, Australia 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.
• * 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
• 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
• Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture – Michael Graves
• 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
• January 8 – John Madin, English architect
• March 21 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect
• June 4 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect
• June 15
• * Francis Bonaert, Belgian architect was a Belgian architect.
• * Günther Domenig, Austrian architect
• June 19 – Gerhard M. Kallmann, German-born American architect
• July 2 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and industrial designer
• August 20 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese architect and Prime Minister
• August 26 – Peter L. Shelton, American architect and interior designer
• October 6 – Ulrich Franzen, German-born American architect
• October 26 – John M. Johansen, American architect
• October 30
• * Wayland Tunley, British architect associated with Milton Keynes
• * Lebbeus Woods, American architect and artist
• November 1 – Gae Aulenti), Italian architect, interior and lighting designer
• December 5 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect
• December 14 – Alan Colquhoun, British architect