Buildings and structures
Buildings opened
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- 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, restored for the Landmark Trust by Witherford Watson Mann (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.