This year’s December edition documents not only the building itself, but also the processes necessary to produce it. These processes vary considerably based on function, size and author.

Our examples include a crafts and trades school in Nairobi designed and built by students. They have to deal with problems in the delivery of materials and endure the blazing heat of Africa. The reward for their ­efforts is something they experience first-hand as their work takes shape. Personal involvement in the construction of a building one has helped to design is a unique experience for future architects and building engineers – all the more so, when the task in hand serves a social purpose and ­entails immersing oneself in a foreign culture. This helps to develop practical abilities as well as one’s own personality. The process itself is just as important as the finished building.

The same applies to many other projects of quite a different nature. Further examples are a chapel in Oxford by Niall McLaughlin Architects, and a commercial centre in the heart of Paris by Patrick Berger and Jacques Anziutti.