by Brianna Crandall — November 9, 2016 — The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Awards Jury named Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, China, the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” at its 15th annual awards dinner November 3 in Chicago. The innovative skyscraper was chosen from among four regional Best Tall Building winners after a year-long selection process involving 132 entries from 27 countries that set the pace for high-design, high-performance buildings around the globe.
The tallest building in China, global winner Shanghai Tower roots an innovative, sustainable design scheme in traditional Shanghainese architectural traditions, blending indoor and outdoor space by incorporating “stunning” multi-story atria between the tower’s pioneering double-skin façade. Its twisting profile and innovative exterior work together to provide a 24 percent reduction in wind loading.
The tallest building in China, global winner Shanghai Tower incorporating “stunning” multi-story atria between the tower’s pioneering double-skin façade. Its twisting profile and innovative exterior work together to provide a 24 percent reduction in wind loading.
The CTBUH Tall Building Awards are an independent review of new projects, judged by a prestigious panel of experts. The Awards aspire to provide a more comprehensive and sophisticated view of these important structures, while advocating for improvements in every aspect of performance, including those that have the greatest positive impact on the individuals who use these buildings and the cities they inhabit.
According to CTBUH, this year’s winners and finalists have set a new bar for the annual awards program, with many employing inventive solutions that respond to demanding site constraints and prerogatives related to sustainability, seismicity, wind forces, mixed functionality, and a vibrant urban habitat. Others are said to achieve unrivaled iconicity, while introducing groundbreaking structural solutions and spatial arrangements at height. Winners and finalists across five categories were announced in June.
Best Tall Building Awards
This category recognizes projects that have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and that achieve sustainability at the highest and broadest level. The winning projects exhibit processes and innovations that have added to the profession of design and enhance the cities and the lives of their inhabitants.
- Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia: Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
- Best Tall Building Americas: VIA 57 WEST, New York City, NY, USA
- Best Tall Building Europe: The White Walls, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa: The Cube, Beirut, Lebanon
Coined by the architect as a “courtscraper,” the groundbreaking VIA 57 WEST tower combines the compactness, density, and intimacy of a classic European perimeter block courtyard building with the grandeur, airiness, and expansive views of a Manhattan skyscraper, all without sacrificing environmental performance or residential quality.
Urban Habitat Award
This award acknowledges that the impact of a tall building is far wider than just the building itself, and recognizes significant contributions to the urban realm in connection with tall buildings. These projects demonstrate a positive contribution to the surrounding environment, add to the social sustainability of both their immediate and wider settings, and represent design influenced by context, both environmentally and culturally.
- Winner: Wuhan Tiandi Site A, Wuhan, China
10 Year Award
The 10 Year Award recognizes proven value and performance (across one or more of a wide range of criteria) over a period of time. This award gives an opportunity to reflect back on buildings that have been completed and operational for a decade, and acknowledge projects that have performed successfully long after the ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
- Winner: Hearst Tower, New York City, NY, USA
Innovation Award
This award recognizes a specific area of recent innovation in a tall building project that has been realized in a design, implemented during construction/operation, or thoroughly tested and documented for its suitability in a high-rise. The award is focused on one special area of innovation within the design, construction, or operation of the project – not the building overall. The areas of innovation can embrace any discipline, including but not limited to technical breakthroughs, construction methods, design approaches, urban planning, building systems, façades, and interior environment.
- Winner: Pin-Fuse Seismic System
Performance Award
With the increasing recognition that the industry needs to focus on actual “performance” rather than “best intentions,” the Performance Award recognizes the measured environmental performance of a building or development, and the award goes to the building that has the least environmental impact on the urban realm using measured data.
- Winner: TAIPEI 101, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan)
For photos and details on each of the winning projects, as well as information on the finalists, visit the CTBUH Annual Awards / Winners Web page.
