The most influential, controversial, historic and puzzling news items of December, 2015: 

↑​ "7,000 construction workers will die in Qatar before a ball is kicked in the 2022 World Cup," new ITUC report finds

This staggering statistic brings much needed attention to the dire human rights violations that too often accompany rapid urban development. While labor conditions in Qatar's construction industry are so onerous that they have come, at times, to effectively qualify as slavery, Zaha Hadid's 2022 World Cup stadium is not being implicated specifically in these predictions. Hadid has repeatedly had to rebuff false accusations of worker deaths on the stadium, rooted in a "mistake" published by the New York Review of Books.

↑​ Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture reaches fundraising goal of $2M, working towards independence from foundation

The school began fundraising for independence back in December 2014, so that it could operate outside of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Independence is a crucial part of the school retaining its accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, after regulations were updated in 2011.

↑​ License and registration, please: new FAA regulations mandate drone registration

All drones purchased after December 21 must be registered with the FAA, capping off a year of regulations lagging behind many a drone-scapade and increased architectural use.

↑​ Kengo Kuma selected for new Tokyo Olympic Stadium

The too-long road to pick the 2020 Olympic Stadium architect (the initial design by ZHA was controversially scrapped in July, allegedly for being too expensive) culminated in the Japanese administration going with a Japanese architect with a (supposedly) cheaper design that looks (supposedly) less like a toilet.

↑​ These are the seven finalists in the Obama Presidential Center competition

After it was announced in May that the Center would be located in Chicago's South Side, the project attracted 140 architects (many from Chicago), before being whittled down to seven: Adjaye Associates, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, John Ronan Architects, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, SHoP Architects, Snøhetta, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.

↑​ What the Paris Agreement means for architecture

Nicholas Korody sifts through how the Paris Agreement will affect architecture practice, in the midst of shifting environmental standards in developing countries and tense geopolitical discussions.

↑​ Archinect speaks to designer of controversial Dubai Frame project

When the Dubai Frame was unveiled earlier this month, its built-design clearly differed from that of the winning competition entry by Fernando Donis, who ultimately went unpaid for his work. The incident marks as a cautionary example of the less glamorous side of architectural competitions.

↑​ Stonehenge may have originated in Wales, new study suggests

A quarry in Wales, over 130 miles / 209 km away from where Stonehenge currently resides, might have supplied the rocks for the famous ruin. The authors of the study suggest that undertaking such a massive relocation effort nearly five thousand years ago would have required notable collaborative efforts across regional communities.

↑​ Assemble wins Turner Prize, becoming first architects to win "UK's most prestigious art prize"

Most of Assemble's 18-ish roster are architects, and all are between 26-29 years old, making them the youngest winners of the prize. Their nomination was centered around their project in Granby Four Streets, Liverpool, where they established a workshop-cum-salesroom for local residents to make products from demolition waste – profits from which would go back into the space.

↑​ Architecture in the age of photoshop

Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune's architecture critic, takes a hard look at the practice of judging architecture without visiting it in situ, as was the case when AIA Chicago bestowed an honor upon El Centro, designed by Juan Moreno. The images used in the judging removed some eyesore air circulation structures on the building's roof.

↑​ National council member accuses RIBA of "institutional racism", prompting investigation

In what is an ongoing investigation, RIBA Council Member and "leading architect" Elsie Owusu claimed she experienced sexist and racist incidents first-hand, and specifically refers to the Equality Act of 2010 as not being upheld. 

↑​ Are virtual reality systems sexist?

After a year full of excited and optimistic VR coverage, we revisited a small bit of research from an earlier era of VR (the year 2000) that suggests the tech is biased towards male vision biology.

↑ London's Bleak Housing

As Archinect expands its London-based coverage, Robert Urquhart parses out a section of the city's housing crisis by looking at a particular architecture competition and showcase, as well as the current political climate.

↑ Urban Blight: a review of the Petersen Automotive Museum

Julia Ingalls finds the whimsy and woefulness in the redesigned Petersen, as it became the latest attraction (or repulsion) at Los Angeles' historic Fairfax/Wilshire intersection, alongside LACMA (which is awaiting a redesign by Peter Zumthor) and Renzo Piano's upcoming LA Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

↑​ Matters of Scale: Mass – an interview with Jim Durham of Quarra Stone

In the first installment of his new Matters of Scale series, focusing on material and fabrication technologies, former Archinect blogger Aaron Willette interviews the man behind some of the most impressive stonework in architecture.

↑​ Ways of Seeing in the Anthropocene: Review of "The Geological Imagination" and "The Underdome Guide to Energy Reform"

Nicholas Korody reflects on two of 2015's best pieces of anthroposcenic-literature, using a side-by-side book review format to comparatively discuss ways of coming to terms with, and ultimately learning to stall, climate change.

That's all folks! See the complete month-by-month selection of Archinect's best news and features in 2015 here: 2015 Year in Review

Happy New Year!