Design Museum London Shortlists the Designs of the Year 2013

London's Design Museum this week announced the nominees for the sixth annual Designs of the Year. The shortlist consists of over 90 outstanding design projects from around the world in the last 12 months across seven categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product, and Transport.

An exhibition at the Design Museum featuring all the nominations will open March 20, 2013 with the winners from each category and one overall winner to be announced in April. Last year, the prestigious award was won by design studio BarberOsgerby for the London 2012 Olympic Torch.

Following are the nominees in the Architecture category:

Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China by Zaha Hadid

Five continuous, flowing volumes coalesce to create an internal world of continuous open spaces within the Galaxy Soho building – a new office, retail and entertainment complex devoid of corners to create an immersive, enveloping experience in the heart of Beijing.

MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), Cleveland, OH by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

The 34,000 sq ft structure, which is 44 percent larger than MOCA’s former rented space, is both environmentally and fiscal sustainable.

Metropolitan Arts Center, Belfast, Northern Ireland by Hackett Hall McKnight

The Metropolitan Arts Center is wedged between two existing buildings on a hemmed-in corner plot that sits beside the city cathedral. The glazed tower sits atop the volcanic stone facade of this performing arts center to create a beacon above the surrounding rooftops.

A Room For London by David Kohn Architects in collaboration with artist Fiona Banner

Perched above Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Center, the boat-shaped one bedroom installation offers guests a place of refuge and reflection amidst the flow of traffic surrounding its iconic location.

Kukje Art Center in Seoul, South Korea by SO-IL

This single-story building is draped in a stainless steel mesh blanket that fits precisely over its structure and merges with the district's historic urban fabric of low-rise courtyard houses and dense network of small alleyways.

IKEA Disobedients by Andrés Jaque Arquitectos

IKEA Disobedients, an architectural performance by Madrid-based Andrés Jaque Arquitectos, was premiered at MoMA PS1, part of the 9+1 Ways of Being Political exhibition and reveals how recent architectural practices use performance to engage audiences with architecture in a non-traditional way.

Book Mountain, Spijkenisse, The Netherlands by MVRDV

This mountain of bookshelves is contained by a glass-enclosed structure and a pyramid roof with a total surface area of 9,300 sq m. Corridors and platforms bordering the form are accessed by a network of stairs to allow visitors to browse the tiers of shelves. A continuous 480m route culminates at the peak's reading room and cafe with panoramic views through the transparent roof.

The Shard, London, UK by Renzo Piano

The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe, transforming the London skyline, the multi-use 310m vertical structure consists of offices, world-renowned restaurants, the 5-star Shangri-La hotel, exclusive residential apartments and the capital's highest viewing gallery.

Thalia Theater, Lisbon, Portugal by Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos & Barbas Lopes Arquitectos

Built in the 1840s, the Thalia Theater has been in ruins almost ever since. The project reconverts it into a multipurpose space for conferences, exhibitions and events. In order to retain the old walls, the exterior is covered in concrete, while the interior remains in its original condition.

Astley Castel, Warwickshire, UK by Witherford Watson Mann

A sensitive renewal of this dilapidated castle in rural Warwickshire, the ancient shell forms a container for a dynamic series of interior contemporary spaces. The rebirth of Astley in this elegantly assured, thoughtful project presents a strong new idea for the future interactions with the old and new.

Museum of Innosence, Istanbul, Turkey by Orhan Pamuk with Ihsan Bilgin, Cem Yucel and Gregor Sunder Plassmann

The Museum of Innocence is a book by Orhan Pamuk, telling the story of the novel’s protagonist, Kemal in 1950s and 1960s Istanbul. Pamuk established an actual Museum of Innocence, based on the museum described in the book, exhibiting everyday life and culture in Istanbul during the period in which the novel is set.

Home For All by Akihisa Hirata, Sou Fujimoto, Kumiko Inui and Toyo Ito

Presented at the Venice 2012 Architecture Biennale, Home for All is the proposal to offer housing solutions for all the people who lost their homes in the Japan earthquake, 2011.

La Tour Bois-le-Prêtre, Paris, France by Druot, Lacaton and Vassal

The striking transformation of a run-down tower in northern Paris created an alternative approach to the physical and social redevelopment of decaying post-war housing.

Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark by BIG, TOPOTEK1 and Superflex (previously on Bustler)

Superkilen is a kilometer-long park situated through an area just north of Copenhagen's city center, considered one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighborhoods in the Danish capital. The largescale project comes as a result of a competition initiated by the City of Copenhagen and the Realdania Foundation as a means of creating an urban space with a strong identity on a local and global scale.

Four Freedoms Park, New York, NY by Louis Kahn

In the late 1960s, during a period of national urban renewal, New York City Mayor John Lindsay proposed to reinvent Roosevelt Island (then called Welfare Island) into a vibrant, residential area. Louis Kahn, was announced as the architect of the project in 1973. Louis Kahn finished his work but died unexpectedly as the City of New York approached bankruptcy. On March 29, 2010, 38 years after its announcement, construction of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park began.

Clapham Library, London, UK by Studio Egret West

The £6.5m, 19,000 sq ft public library is located in the heart of Clapham, holding more than 20,000 books, it also provides a new performance space for local community groups, 136 private apartments and 44 affordable homes.

T-Site, Tokyo, Japan by Klein Dytham

The T-Site project is a campus-like complex for Tsutaya, a giant in Japan’s book, music, and movie retail market. Located in Daikanyama, an upmarket but relaxed Tokyo shopping district, it stands alongside a series of buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki. The project’s ambition is to define a new vision for the future of retailing.