The American Institute of Architecture released data last week that confirmed the fears of many U.S. architects and builders—that an indicator of future commercial construction, The Architecture Billings Index—had reached new lows. For those not in the industry, it’s a sign that design activity has yet to recover from the economic downturn.

Combating our woes this week, however, is New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff, who authored an article looking not at the anxieties but instead at the triumphs of new architectural gems from across the world, from Rome’s new contemporary art museum Maxxi to Frank Gehry’s 76-story Beekman Tower in New York, the legend’s first skyscraper.

As Ouroussoff points out, “architects can look back on the year with a sense of triumph.” Click here for the full story.