Everywhere we look, everyone seems to be doing their best of lists, their nostalgic looks back to the halfway marker of the decade we still haven't got a name for. So we thought we'd do our own highlights.

Below, some of the awards we'd like to give to the people, places, designs, and all-around awesome that's made our year kinda kicky. In no order other than importance:

The BFF Award:
Michael Bierut, for appearing in these pages a brazilian times and being cool with it every time.

The You Wrote Some Shit About Me But We Can Be Friends Because I'm Just That Cool Award:
Michael Arad, for sticking out an incredibly difficult project, and still partying like a rockstar every time we saw him.

The Yeah I'll Curate That And It'll Kick Ass And By The Way I Rule Award:
Paola Antonelli, for going out on a SAFE limb that wasn't actually that safe. And wearing vinyl to the opening.

The Building On A Mass Grave And Throwing A Party There Doesn't Bother Me One Bit Award:
Larry Silverstein, for giving the Architect's Newspaper the 47th floor of 7 World Trade Center (sorry, 250 Greenwich) for their second anniversary party, so every person to do with architecture could have a lovely picture window view. Of death.

The Why Didn't We Think Of That Story? Oh Wait, Maybe Because It's Not A Story Award:
Robin Progrebin of the New York Times, for introducing us to the architects of this crazy neighborhood called the Lower East Side.

The Made Us Puke Even Though We--Shockingly--Weren't Drunk Award:
Peter Eisenman, for the 89.5 degree-angle Wexner Center.

Volume 2 TK. Nominations welcome.