Hasta La Ideas

And finally… 2012 has been a vintage year for Dezeen, with a major award, high-profile collaborations with Apple and Google and record-breaking traffic to our website.

We were extremely flattered in July when UK newspaper the Independent named us the best architecture blog (above).

Things got even better later that month when we won the prestigious Association of Online Publishers’ award for Digital Business Publisher of the Year (above). The jury described us as “A smart entrepreneurial brand, with beautifully designed products – from websites to pop-up shops. Strong evidence of experimentation, fast growing revenue and audience”.

We were involved in the biggest tech event of 2012 when Apple included us in the launch of the iPhone 5 in September. As well as featuring in the Keynote launch in San Francisco, Dezeen featured in the global launch movie for the new product (the image above is from the Korean version).

Apple featured us again the following month in the launch of the new MacBook Pro (above). Apple used Dezeen to show off the high-resolution Retina screen of its updated range of laptops.

In October we teamed up with Google for the UK launch of Field Trip, an app that pulls up stories from our archive that are relevant to your location. Look out for further map-related collaborations with Google next year…

In November we came close to scooping a second award. We were highly commended in the Digital Service category at the International Building Press awards, where judges described us as an “exciting and successful site” that “presented a progressive direction for a digital publication, while informing on new designs in images, video and words.”

Finally we were tickled to learn that UK newspaper the Guardian launched its new Architecture and Design Blog (above) with the express intention to “beat Dezeen”. Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.

Our visitor figures were our best ever this year too, with over 33.5 million visits (up 20% on last year) and over 93 million page views (up 20% on last year). Thanks to all our readers and here’s to an even better 2013.

The number of video plays during the year was over 2.2 million – almost treble the number of plays in 2012.

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November‘s most popular story was a set of images by Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan showing scenes of New York recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, while design education came under threat in the UK and 3D printing was taken up by the military.

News that the world’s tallest tower will take only 90 days to complete in Changsha, China, caught our readers attention and was second most-clicked.

This house in Alicante by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos takes third place, with an 18-metre-long balcony that stretches out towards the Balearic Sea.

Coming in at four is a house in Lisbon with plants on the facade and a pool on the roof, designed by Portuguese architects Luís Rebelo de Andrade, Tiago Rebelo de Andrade and Manuel Cachão Tojal.

Completing our November lineup is a proposal for a Wine Museum that cantilevers from the side of a mountain, designed by Mauro Turin Architectes for the Lavaux wine-making region of Switzerland.

Fears for the future of creative education in the UK overtook the news in November, with incoming D&AD president Neville Brody (above) calling plans to remove creative subjects from the UK curriculum “short-sighted insanity”, and writer and broadcaster Andrew Marr saying the Royal College of Art will end up as a “Chinese finishing school” unless the UK government does more to encourage young people to study art and design. Read more about design and education here.

3D printing stayed in the spotlight with news that the US military is investing in 3D printing on the frontline and Dezeen went to Shanghai, where Michael Young insisted that “China is a dream scenario for a designer” but architects Neri&Hu told us that “architects in China are lost”.

See all our stories from November 2012 »

See our review of October 2012 »
See our review of September 2012 »
See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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Our most popular story in September was the Ostrich Pillow by Kawamura Ganjavian, squishy headgear meant for sleeping in public, plus Dezeen collaborated with Apple and 3D printing got controversial.

Second up it’s The Pool Shophouse by FARM and KD architects, a converted 1920s shophouse in Singapore with, you’ve guessed it, a pool inside.

Dominic Wilcox’s No Place Like Home GPS shoes with LED lights in the toes to guide you home are at number three.

Fourth place goes to the Offices for Junta de Castilla y León by Alberto Campo Baeza, wrapped in glass behind a stone perimeter wall.

An interview we filmed with curator Justin McGuirk about his Golden Lion-winning exhibit at the Venice Architecture Biennale, looking at community living in a vertical slum in Caracas, comes in at number five.

In News, the 3D printing revolution took a controversial turn in September when it emerged that libertarian activists in the US planned to distribute open-source blueprints for homemade 3D-printed guns.

Dezeen was featured in Apple’s launch of the iPhone 5 and makes an appearance in the movie demonstrating the new product. That same month, Apple was named best design studio of the past 50 years at one-off D&AD ceremony and it emerged that Apple industrial designer Jonathan Ive is to design a camera for German brand Leica.

Danish architect Henning Larsen was among the five laureates of the Praemium Imperiale arts prize and Peter Zumthor (above) was named as the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture.

See all our stories from September 2012 »

See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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We’re taking a look back at our most widely read stories for each month of the year and July‘s favourite was a speed boat by Zaha Hadid, plus the news was full of the London 2012 Olympics.

Thomas Heatherwick’s London 2012 Olympic Cauldron sweeps into second place, unveiled at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.

Reaching third place, the Butterfly Loft Apartment in West London by Tigg Coll Architects has a staircase with a glass balustrade and open treads.

Slotting into number four is House of Cedar in Osaka, designed by Suga Atelier, with a transparent facade and timber framing.

Winding up our July stories is Stacking Green by Vietnamese architects Vo Trong Nghia, a house in Ho Chi Minh City with a vertical garden.

The London 2012 Olympics brought plenty of architecture and design news, with Zaha Hadid under fire for restricted views at the Aquatics Centre (above) and denied a ticket to attend. There was also controversy over the marketing rules for architects of Olympic projects and Heatherwick’s cauldron stole the show at the opening ceremony. See our interactive photo of the Olympic Park here and all our stories about design for the London 2012 Olympics here.

Meanwhile the Design Academy Eindhoven was in turmoil with head of the masters school Gijs Bakker (above) retiring from the role just as the heads of all three masters courses resigned following a disagreement with the school over educational reform. The heads later returned to their posts, claiming victory in the dispute.

See all our stories from July 2012 »

See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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The prize for the most popular story in May (and in fact the whole year) goes to United Indecent Pleasures for their eight-inch chocolate penis that oozes fondant cream. Scroll on for something more architectural and our highlights from the news that month.

Our second most read story in May was the Villa Roces by Govaert & Vanhoutte, a glass house situated in a forest close to Bruge.

House NA in Tokyo by Sou Fujimoto has hardly any walls and reached third place on our list.

Coming in at number four is a towering apartment block for Seoul by BIG that will look like a hash symbol.

In fifth place it’s Shelf Hotel, a series of small buildings placed on a giant shelving system, proposed by 3Gatti for Xian, China.

The controversial ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture (above) was the last of the permanent structures to be completed at the Olympic Park in London and an exhibition of work by Thomas Heatherwick opened at the V&A museum, where we filmed a series of interviews with him including one about the Olympic Cauldron.

Kanye West showed his first short film in a seven-screen pavilion by OMA (above) UK copyright law was changed to give design the same term of protection as literature and art, and a designer was arrested in New York for “planting false bombs” when his lighting installation was misunderstood.

See all our stories from May 2012 »

See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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