Designed by Sotero Arquitetura e Urbanismo, their proposal for Renova Energia’s headquarters is a head office that interprets the general concepts of the company and invites residents to take part in this process. By exploring the production of wind energy in the state, the architects seek to meet the demands of the group. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by NPC Grupo Arquitetura, their design for the Escola Senai is designed with the theme of an industrial technical school. Their concept has characteristics that associate concerns with the teaching program and industrial activities, which, while conflicting, complement each other. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Goodbye 2012, is never late and always exciting to review the year. We begin this year review with the 5 most bookmarked built projects of the year. What are you waiting for start your own library in ArchDaily?

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.

The architectural proposal for the Cranes of Palermo is based on the relationship between the intervention image and the rich local history of Sicily, particularly its Baroque of scenographic and ornamented elements. Designed by De Fournier & Associados, the new proposal has as reference the poorly moderated characteristics of the Baroque, the surprise that the expression of its image causes when perceived. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Intending to create a new architectural reference for the region of Brasilia, the Multipurpose Complex becomes a new destination in the city. Designed by FGMF Arquitetos, the building creates a landmark in the landscape through the uses of retail, office buildings, and modular offices. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The proposal for the Parque Burle Marx offers a mix of offices, office and residential buildings, local commerce, and urban park, and an ecological station for conservation areas. Designed by De Fournier & Associados, the Faunal corridor, which will extend one of the most important biomes of Belo Horizonte, will comprise of volumes harmonically integrated to the morphology of the terrain. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In this TEDxRamallah, Palestinian Architect Saud Amiry – who works in architectural restoration on Palestinian buildings – discusses her journey as someone finding a path for herself. Although she speaks about her nationality and her family’s refugee history, her focus is on learning how to find the things that are fulfilling in one’s life in the face of challenges. Her sense of humor and passion is inspiring. Not only is she an architect working in a field for which she has a passion, she has also stumbled upon the role of an author, having written “Sharon and my Mother–in-Law: Ramallah Diaries”, which is an account of living under Israeli occupation. Even in the dire political circumstances of of her refugee status, Amiry finds humor under tragic circumstances.

More about Amiry after the break…

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.

Designed by AREA (Architecture Research Athens), their proposal, ‘Mosaic’, for the Innovative, Bioclimatic, European School Complex in Crete, springs from the belief that a diverse and stimulating educational environment, rich in experiences, provides the best context for mutual learning. Conceived as an organic whole, the Mosaic complex appears as a grid of multiple, interlocking “pavilions”, each with its own, unique architectural character, all of which are arranged within an orderly and seamless Master Plan. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Located on a prominent corner in West Los Angeles, the proposal for an office building by GMPA Architects is an energized, swirling 4-level structure rather than a static wedding cake style. With its riveting spiral shape,, derived from the 10’ difference in elevation, the dynamic, multi-shaped levels add visual interest and reinforce a connection to the street. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architects Mario Corea and Eugenio Tioni of Mario Corea Arquitectura recently won the competition for the design of the New Trade Fair Building in Mendoza, Argentina. Located in Mendoza’s main municipal park, their design is based on the role of the building in the construction of the city, rather than approaching the project as an isolated object in the middle of a green zone. More images and architects’ description after the break.

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.

This week we will recommend you a really surrealistic film. ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, directed by Michael Gondry is a movie that takes place in a future where medicine technics allow people to modify and delete some memories. These changes are reflected in the space perception of the characters. The scenes morph and human scale is shrunk, buildings disappear and daylight turns into absolut darkness in seconds.

Enjoy the movie and let us know your comments. Do you think architecture can be described through memories? Any ideas about our memories and space perception?

Designed by People’s Architecture Office (PAO) + People’s Industrial Design Office (PIDO), the Tricycle House and Tricyle Garden was designed to address the theme of the 2012 Get It Louder Exhibition. The inability to own land is a fundamental condition in China unique from many western countries. The Tricycle House suggests a future where the temporary relationship and the public nature between people and the land they occupy is embraced. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Bargellino Plug & Play proposal for the urban regeneration of the Bargellino area acts as a set of management software from which the user can draw upon and benefit from an integrated system of logistics, service and quality. Designed by Ciclostile Architettura, the expression “plug and play” is used in programming language with reference to technologies that can be put into use in an hardware system without any specific installation procedure by the user. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Architectural League of New York and the New York Transit Museum recently announced the winners of a competition to select sketches by contemporary architects for a new Grand Central Terminal sketchbook produced in collaboration with Moleskine. The sketchbook features historical images from the Transit Museum’s collections, along with twenty drawings and sketches by contemporary architects and designers who were invited to “submit a sketch or drawing that captures and/or re-imagines Grand Central, representing or evoking what this iconic building means to you.” More images and information after the break.

Harvard Graduate School of Design recently announced the launch of the Wheelwright Prize, a $100,000 traveling fellowship awarded annually to talented early-career architects worldwide proposing exceptional itineraries for research and discovery. With an open application process, the Wheelwright Prize recognizes the importance of field research to professional development, and reinforces Harvard GSD’s dedication to fostering investigative approaches to contemporary design. Online applications will be accepted starting January 10; deadline for submissions is February 28, 2013. For more information, please visit here.

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.

It’s time for the last Flickr Round Up of the year! Remember you can submit your own photo here, and don’t forget to follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find many more features.

The photo above is the unique Guggenheim Museum in New York City designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was taken by Chimay Bleue. Check the other four after the break.