page_title: 2012 in architecture
section_title: Buildings opened
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in architecture / Buildings and structures / Buildings opened
caption_attribution_description: English: Haydar Aliyev Culture Center
context_page_description: The year 2012 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
context_section_description: 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 – 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 (2012–present).
  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 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
caption: Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan