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Winners of the 2014 Building of the Year Awards

We are happy to present the winners of the 2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards, a peer-based, crowdsourced, architecture award where the collective intelligence of 60,000 architects filter and recognize the best architecture featured on ArchDaily during the past year.

2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards: The Finalists

After an intense week of nominations, the collective intelligence of ArchDaily has evaluated over 3,500 projects and narrowed down the list to 5 finalists per category.

We were very happy to see the level of participation from our readers - over 15,000 individuals expressed what architecture means to them through the buildings they chose. 

And we have to congratulate you, as the finalists are outstanding. From all over the world, by firms of all sizes and trajectories, ranging from community-built projects to large scale complex programs, these buildings all have one thing in common: excellent architecture that can improve people’s lives.

You can vote for your favorite projects starting today and until January 30th, 2014 (read the complete rules).

Remember that the two projects with the most votes will receive an HP Designjet T520 ePrinter, and that we are going to give away two iPad Minis to our readers during the final voting stage. 

The winners of the two iPad Minis from the nomination stage are: Shelby Nease and Kristen Johnson (you’ll receive an email shorty). 

Make your voice heard - vote for your favorite projects for the 2014 Building of the Year Awards!

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Announcing the 2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards

Announcing the 2014 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards - Image 1 of 4

Dear readers,

For the 5th consecutive year, we are proud to announce the Building of the Year Awards.

During the past year our network of architectural knowledge has grown intensely. Not only did we reach over 300,000 daily visitors; almost 70 million page views per month; 160,000 followers on Twitter; 105,000 followers on Instagram; and more than a million fans on Facebook, but, moreover, our local versions - ArchDaily Brasil, ArchDaily México and Plataforma Arquitectura - have grown exponentially as well.

This means that ArchDaily is now reaching every corner of the globe - and in many different formats. From the many lectures and events we attended this year to the launch of our new mobile version (which puts ArchDaily in pockets everywhere), we’re doing everything possible to spread our content - and our mission - around the world.

Which is why the Building of the Year Awards continue to be so important for us. As our audience has grown, so has your collective voice.The Building of the Year Awards are our chance to hear it. This is when you - whether you’re from the smallest town in Africa or the largest city in China - get to identify and recognize the most impactful/meaningful/inspiring project that was published on ArchDaily during the past year. This is an opportunity to tap into our global readership’s collective intelligence; an opportunity for you to judge over 3,500 projects from around the world, according to criteria and priorities that are important to you.

Click here to nominate your favorite projects

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Full rules, including how your vote could win you an iPad Mini, after the break:

ArchDaily: What Happened in 2013, and What is Coming for 2014!

Dear readers,

The Ten Most Watched Interviews of 2013

Our mission is to provide inspiration, knowledge and tools to the architects who will have the challenge to face the urban growth of the next 40 years.

We understand that each of the thousand of projects that we feature every year can transfer knowledge from the firms to other architects around the world, through the photos, details, diagrams and their own descriptions.

But we feel that there is a very important structural layer in these projects that can only be understood by actually knowing the architects behind them. And that’s why we started our interview program when we launched ArchDaily in 2008.

During this year we have had the opportunity to interview an incredible group of architects, ranging from Toyo Ito -an exclusive interview the same day he was announced as the 2013 Pritzker Laureate-, Wolf D. Prix, Iñaki Ábalos and Reiner de Graaf, to young upcoming firms from all over the world. But we have also interviewed business men who influence cities, synthetic biologists who are thinking in the future of architecture, sociologists analyzing the future of the urban world, and curators of the most influential museums of the world.

Here you will find the list of the ten most watched (or read) interviews of 2013.

And be ready for 2014, as we have some great interviews lined up for next year!

Call for Classics Interns for Spring 2014

ArchDaily is in need of an architecture-obsessed, history buff to delve into the world of ArchDaily Classics for Spring 2013 (January 15th – May 15th)! If you want to spend your days researching/writing about the best architecture around the globe – and work for the world’s most visited architecture website – then read on after the break…

Introducing our Latest Innovation: ArchDaily Materials

Dear Readers,

ArchDaily 3D Printing Challenge: The Winners

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3D Printing has opened up a whole new world for architecture. Technology that was once restricted to fabrication labs is now available to the end user – and at an affordable price. Of course, this new technology has also created the necessity to easily share 3D data over the web.

New Responsive Design for ArchDaily Mobile

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Dear readers,

Unified Architectural Theory: An Introduction

In the following months, we at ArchDaily will be publishing Nikos Salingaros' book, Unified Architectural Theory, in a series of installments, making it digitally, freely available for students and architects around the world. In the following paragraphs, Salingaros explains why we've decided to impart on this initiative, and also introduces what his book is all about: answering "the old and very disturbing question as to why architects and common people have diametrically opposed preferences for buildings."

ArchDaily and I are initiating a new idea in publishing, one which reflects the revolutionary trends awaiting book publishing's future. At this moment, my book, Unified Architectural Theory, 2013, is available only in the USA. With the cooperation of ArchDaily and its sister sites in Portuguese and Spanish, it will soon be available, in a variety of languages, to anyone with internet access. Being published one chapter at a time, students and practitioners will be able to digest the material at their leisure, to print out the pages and assemble them as a "do-it-yourself" book for reference, or for use in a course. For the first time, students will have access to this material, in their own time, in their own language, and for free!

The book itself arose from a lecture course on architecture theory I taught last year. Students were presented with the latest scientific results showing how human beings respond to different types of architectural forms and spaces. At the end of the course, everyone was sufficiently knowledgeable in the new methods to be able to evaluate for themselves which buildings, urban spaces, and interior settings were better suited for human beings. 

This approach is of course totally different from what is now known as “Architectural Theory.” 

ArchDaily Interns Needed for Fall 2013

ArchDaily is looking for some awesome, architecture-obsessed Interns to join our team for Fall 2013 (August 19th – December 6th)! If you want to research/write about the best architecture around the globe – and find out what it takes to work for the world’s most visited architecture website – then read on after the break…

Going Viral at the Center for Architcture: Mark Wigley + ArchDaily

Last year, we spoke at a packed lecture at the Center for Architecture, along with Bjarke Ingels, the Morpholio team and moderator Ned Cramer; we were discussing the impact social media and technology have on our profession and the way in which we design.

And now, thanks to the AIANY Global Dialogues Committee, we are happy to invite you to a new event taking place at the Center for Architecture on May 2nd, 2013 at 6:30PM, where together with Mark Wigley (Dean Columbia GSAPP) we will address the present and future of architecture education. The lecture will be followed by a panel with our friends Carlo Aiello (eVolo), David Fano (CASE), Jill Fehrenbacher (Inhabitat), Toru Hasegawa (Morpholio), Tim Maly (Wired Magazine ) and Cliff Kuang (Fast Company / Co.Design).

More details and RSVP form here, more information after the break. See you on Thursday!

Infographic: ArchDaily, The Past 5 Years

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Dear readers,

Back in 2006, we saw that there was a very strong generation of young architects that weren't part of the traditional circle of printed publications. So, we had this crazy idea that we could create a platform to give those architects the exposure they deserved, spreading the knowledge and innovations they were producing to the rest of the world. At a time where Web 2.0 shifted how media was produced and consumed, we saw an opportunity to embrace the web for to achieve this goal.

Very soon we realized that we were on the right track: that we were making available to the world a whole new corpus of architecture knowledge, having a positive impact on the speed of innovation in our field, and generating a new, virtuous circle. 

Then in 2008, the world entered the urban era with more than 50% of its population living in cities, 3 billion people, a number that is expected to double by the year 2040. This growth is expected to happen particularly in parts of the world where architecture is required the most, and we understood that our global exchange of knowledge was part of that dynamic. 

Our mission is to improve the quality of life of the next 3 billion people that will move into cities in the next 40 years, by providing inspiration, knowledge and tools to the architects who will have the challenge to design for them.

In the span of five years, we went from an idea to the world's most visited architecture web site in the world, with over 7 million monthly readers, and a staff of over 50 people working in 9 different countries. This is our story. 

Happy Birthday to Us: ArchDaily Turns 5!

Happy Birthday to Us: ArchDaily Turns 5! - Featured Image

"ArchDaily has fed the addiction of architecture to me. The first thing I do in the morning and before I go to sleep, is check from the most interesting and inspiring designs from around the world utilizing the most advanced and socially responsible techniques. Architecture and design choose the user, the user does not choose architecture and design. In this way ArchDaily has allowed the creativity to flow more rapidly throughout my veins and caus[ed] more creativity to flourish. Thank you ArchDaily for aiding in times of frustration and times of designer block. Thank you for the effort you put forth for the architecture and design community, and you are a vital resource." - Chris Siminski, ArchDaily reader and Facebook Fan

Five years ago, ArchDaily was a tiny 5-man operation, spearheaded by two Architecture grads with a very simple dream: to shake-up and democratize traditional architectural media. Fast-forward five years later, and we're the most visited architecture web site in the world, with over 280,000 daily readers and 70 million pageviews every month.

We're celebrating today with a doodle (see above) and lots of fantastic content - keep your eyes peeled for the 20 Most Visited Projects of All Time, the 5 Most Read Posts of All Time, and an ArchDaily original Infographic telling our story.

And of course, we'd like to use this occasion to thank you, ArchDaily readers. You've meant everything to us these past 5 years, and we'd love it if you could tell us what we've meant for you. So please share your thoughts in the comments below! And have a very happy ArchDaily birthday!

ArchDaily 5: The 20 Most Visited Projects of All Time

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As you might have heard, ArchDaily is celebrating our 5th birthday today! We decided it was time to get a bit nostalgic and look back at the projects of yesteryear, the ones that struck a chord with you, our ArchDaily readers, and helped us get to where we are today.

So, with no further ado, the 20 most visited projects in ArchDaily history! Beginning with....

See our 20 most popular projects of all time, after the break...

ArchDaily 5: The 5 Most Read Posts of All Time

ArchDaily 5: The 5 Most Read Posts of All Time - Featured Image
© Åke E:son Lindman

Today, ArchDaily turns 5 years old! We've already shared with you our special doodle of the day and the 20 Most Visited Projects of ArchDaily history - now, let's look back at the 5 posts that most caught your attention these past five years. From the ever-pressing topic of work/life balance to an underground Data Center lair, these five posts offer us a snapshot of what's important to architects today. Enjoy!

The 5 Most Read Posts in ArchDaily history, after the break....

Building of the Year Awards: The making of

The votes have been closed, and the winners of the ArchDaily 2012 Building of the Year Awards will be announced today, February 14th, at noon EST.

Winners of the ArchDaily 2012 Building of the Year Awards

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Over the last year ArchDaily has kept growing, reaching more than 280,000 daily readers and 70 million pageviews per month. But more important than these figures is our mission: to provide inspiration, knowledge and tools for the architects that will face the challenge of improving the quality of life of the next 3 billion people that will live in cities in the next 40 years.