Merging the work of architects, engineers, manufacturers, product designers, academics and artists, Prototyping Architecture explores the importance of prototypes in the delivery of high quality contemporary design. The exhibition, which runs at The Building Centre from January 11 to March 20, places an emphasis on research and experimentation to illustrate how trial assemblies can inform architecture with maquettes, models and full-scale sample productions on show from around the world.

Professor Michael Stacey, Director of Architecture at the University of Nottingham stated: “Prototyping Architecture celebrates vital methods of design development with new technologies that potentially herald the beginning of a second industrial revolution. The exhibition forms a bridge between architecture, engineering and art – with exhibits that are truly beautiful.”

More on Prototyping Architecture after the break.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued the following statement in reaction to the House and Senate votes approving the “Fiscal Cliff” deal negotiated by Congressional leaders earlier this week. The statement should be attributed to AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA:

“On the plus side, the agreement prevents a tax increase on millions of Americans and small businesses. It also extends several business tax incentives that help create jobs and promote design and construction, including for schools and energy efficient homes.”

More after the break…

Eleven Zaha Hadid projects are currently being constructed in China, however one of them has the international architecture mogul seeing double. Unfortunately, Hadid has found herself in a race to finish the Wangjing SOHO office and retail complex in Beijing before pirates complete their doppelgänger version in Chongqing, a megacity near the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

As reported on Spiegel Online, the Dame claimed that the pirates are currently in the lead and building faster than SOHO. The original, which is set for completion in 2014, features three curved towers whose “shimmering”, metallic skin unifies the complex as each volume appears to “dance” around each other.

Hadid is not the first to be mimicked in China. Last year, a small UNESCO-protected village in Austria, Hallstatt, was recreated, brick for brick, in the subtropical district of Guangdong, China. You can find the complete story here.

This minimalist elementary school, located in Kumamoto and designed by Japanese architects Kazuhiro Kojima and Kazuko Akamatsu (CAt), is designed to seamlessly connect the indoor and outdoor space. Within the building, individual classrooms and spaces are loosely formed by L-shaped walls that feature foldable doors and flexible components. An abundance of courtyards and airy walkways are just some of the highlights, along with a wood deck activity space found on top of the roof.

Video via JA+U.

The New Year is almost here! Before you head out to celebrate, check out the most retweeted articles of 2012. From the world’s first underwater hotel to a list of the most helpful apps for architects, this round up will not disappoint. Cheers!

The complete, top ten list after the break. 

The Principles just recently completed an interactive project, titled the “Workshop”, for the clothing brand Everlane in the Meatpacking district of New York. As part of the Everlane’s “Not-a-Shop” series, which focuses on selling only online, “the space was a physical manifestation of their primarily digital presence; replacing coded interaction with physical interaction,” described The Principals co-founder Drew Seskunas.

As the 2012 Jencks Award winner, Rem Koolhaas charts the evolution of his ideas and built projects in this lecture provided by RIBA. He describes a double life split between practice and theory, two ventures reflected by his studios, OMA and AMO, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture and the Architecture Media Organization. Enjoy!

Before we welcome the new year, lets take a look back at ArchDaily’s most popular articles of 2012. From inspiring projects to influential editorials, this top ten list illustrates some of the year’s most important moments. Review them all, after the break.

With both Heathro and Gatwick pushing their limits, it is imperative that the UK begins to move forward with expanding their global aviation capacity. Over the years, multiple proposals have been presented, including Norman Foster’s “London Britannia Airport”. Now, Beckett Rankine has unveiled an inventive, offshore proposal located on the Goodwin sands in UK territorial waters nearly three kilometres off the east coast of Kent.

Continue after the break to learn more.

Three influential groups have been chosen by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to receive the 2013 Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement. The award recognizes and encourages distinguished achievements of allied professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities, and others who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession.

This year’s award goes to: the Chicago Architecture Foundation for DiscoverDesign.org, the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom), and the DC Preservation League. Continue reading to learn how these three programs have had a positive impact on the profession.

Claiming to be the most progressive, sustainable, and cost effective courthouse in the nation, NBBJ’s shortlisted proposal for the New Los Angeles Federal Courthouse serves as a model for future GSA development. The contrast between the free and informal spirit of Los Angeles with the formal structure and societal role of the Federal Courts illustrates an important duality that openly coexists throughout their phased design. At a larger scale, the structure becomes a mediator within the skyline, rising to a comfortable 256 feet tall to help transition the steep, urban high-rise topography of Bunker Hill and the mid-rise, ordered context of downtown.

Read the architects’ description after the break to learn more about this high performance, multifaceted design.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced two recipients of the 2013 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. In category one, the institute recognized Michael Pyatok, FAIA, of Oakland’s Pyatok Architects, as an architect who has dedicated his career to the theory and practice of public housing design. And, in category three, Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian and Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Libraries, has been honored for spearheading the recent renaissance in library construction and renovation in the nation’s capital.

This year’s award recipients will be honored and receive their awards at the 2013 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver.

On the advice of English Heritage, architecture minister Ed Vaizey has listed Norman Foster’s first major public building: the 1977 Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, in the United Kingdom. According to BDOnline, the popular public art museum, which houses the collection of Lord and Lady Sainsbury, was granted grade II* protection for its innovative engineering, fine design, historic association, flexibility and group value. Its revolutionary design features an innovative, prefabricated modular structure that is cleverly designed to allow for subsequent extension.

Vaizey described: “Norman Foster’s design for the Sainsbury Centre is recognized around the world as a high point of the British ‘high-tech’ movement and, by any standards, a modern classic.”

Read Foster’s response after the break.

Practitioner, author and celebrated educator Robert Greenstreet, Intl. Assoc. AIA, has been awarded the 2013 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. Greentstreet – one of the longest-serving architecture deans in North America – has influenced countless students and architects throughout his 35-year career. He has taught a five schools of architecture in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as spent 20 years as dean at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

In March, Greenstreet will be awarded the medallion at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) annual meeting in San Francisco. The AIA will also recognize him at the 2013 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver in June.

After months of an “arduous” public reviewing process, BIG’s eye-catching West 57th apartment building in Manhattan has been approved by the City Planning Commission. The atypical design quickly gained international attention with its abruptly sloped, tetrahedral shape that rises from three stories to thirty-eight stories on an awkwardly sized single block site. Cleverly titled W57, the unique project was “born of logic”, as New York Magazine’s Justin Davidson would describe. It features a massive, football-sized courtyard with stunning Hudson River views and outdoor terraces for all 753 residents, along with a vibrant street life and close proximity to the Hudson River Park.

“Our approval will facilitate development of a significant new building with a distinctive pyramid-like shaped design and thoughtful site plan that integrates the full block site into the evolving residential, institutional, and commercial neighborhood surrounding it,” stated City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden before voting in favor of the project.

Find out what it took to get W57 passed, after the break…

To join in on all the holiday cheer, we decided to share with you this architectural funny that depicts the architectural history of the christmas tree. We found the clever illustration by Subtle Design on deviantART – “the world’s largest online art community”. Enjoy!

Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design and Gruen Associates have shared with us their second place proposal for the highly anticipated design-build competition for the new United States courthouse in Los Angeles, California. Envisioned as an icon within the city skyline, the triangular monolith provides a sustainable, 21st century courthouse that embodies the democratic qualities of dignity, stature, transparency, openness and accessibility.

Located at a pivotal node connecting the Los Angeles Civic Center, the Broadway Historic District and Bunker Hill, the 550,000 square foot courthouse is surrounded by a lush civic space that plays an important role in the existing cityscape.

Read the architect’s description after the break…

Never Built: Los Angeles will present a thorough compendium of projects by some of the worlds most celebrated architects that never made it past the drawing board. After two years of extensive research, countless untold stories and hundreds of beautiful designs – many promoting a denser, more vibrant Los Angeles – have been unearthed. Co-curated Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin and designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects, Never Built: Los Angeles will present the most visionary designs that had the greatest potential of reshaping the city and question why they were never built. Forgotten, yet innovative projects from Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner, Rudolph Schindler, Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, and more, will be presented.

The research and exhibition design is complete. However, they need your (tax deductible) donations to help make Never Built: Los Angeles a reality. Learn more and support the exhibition on Kickstarter!

The exhibition plans to open this spring at Los Angeles’s A+D Architecture and Design Museum.