Cinema

The Rio by 1:2:3 and Kristoffer Sundin consists of simple well-chosen materials assembled to create an intimate, distinctive space. Cleverly, the way they are put together - and in particular, the lighting - still seem to say 'cinema' without resorting to cliche. I loved this shot of the entrance in the rain.

Data

From Flowing Data comes an innovative and beautiful way of representing complex data. Like all graphs, it works because it converts the information from the numbers into visual form. The difference in the ribbon diagrams is in the ability to present multi-dimensional numeric values clearly. The example of hair colour preference is a good example, and all is clearly explained. Very clever.

Zumthor

One of my heroes, Peter Zumthor was announced as this year's Pritzker Prize winner. His work is formally ascetic, but materially rich, born of extended gestation periods completely unfeasible for the everyday architect. As a result, he produces subtle, deep architecture that is anything but everyday, yet whose textural properties resonate with human contact.

His sensual work is summarised by Dezeen here, and my favourite building - his mountainside chapel at Chur - is shown left.