CTBUH announces global finalist projects for annual awards program

CTBUH recently announced the finalist projects from around the world for the inaugural Tall + Urban Innovation Conference, which will take place in Chicago from May 30–31. The two-day event will see owner/developers and design teams for 45 finalist projects compete in front of an international audience and live juries for winning distinctions across eight categories. In addition, the winners in each regional category will be judged for the single title of “2018 Best Tall Building Worldwide.”

Incorporating what was previously known as the CTBUH Annual Awards Event, the CTBUH 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference will explore and celebrate the very best in innovative tall buildings, urban spaces, building technologies, and construction practices from around the world. Following the finalist project presentations, distinguished juries will deliberate and select winners in each category, which will be announced at a ceremony on the second day of the conference.

“The Finalists for the 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference truly represent the pinnacle of excellence in the field of tall buildings,” said Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director at Fender Katsalidis Architects. “Being recognized by the world’s premier authority on tall buildings is a great honor, and the opportunity to showcase these quality projects to a global audience helps drive innovation across all disciplines in our industry.”

The Main Jury is responsible for selecting the Best Tall Building Regional Finalists and Winners, as well as the overall worldwide Winner. The jury is comprised of Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director, Fender Katsalidis; H.E. Mohamed Ali Allabar, Chairman, Emaar Properties; Kamil Merican, Chief Executive Officer, GDP Architects; CTBUH Chairman Steve Watts, Partner, alinea consulting; and CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.

“Part of our mission at CTBUH is to investigate and highlight the cutting-edge in sustainable urbanism in order to promote a better urban future, and this year’s finalists exemplify the world’s foremost examples in this regard,” Wood said.

Hosted at the Radisson Blu Aqua, located in the base of the famous Aqua Tower in Chicago – itself a finalist for the Best Tall Building Americas award in 2010 – the conference will include not only an awards ceremony, but also a dinner, a VIP networking reception, and presentations from some of the most distinguished names in the tall building industry.

Registration for the 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference is now open at tallinnovation2018.com, where additional details can be found. See the finalist projects in each awards category below.

Finalists for the Tall + Urban Innovation Conference Awards

Best Tall Building: Americas

• 150 N. Riverside, Chicago
• 35xv, New York City
• American Copper Building, New York City
• Gaia Building, Quito

Best Tall Building: Asia & Australasia

• Chaoyang Park Plaza, Beijing
• Huangshan Mountain Village, Huangshan
• International Towers Sydney, Sydney
• Lotte World Tower, Seoul
• Marina One, Singapore
• Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore
• Poly International Plaza, Singapore
• Tencent Seafront Towers, Shenzhen
• Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen

Best Tall Building: Europe

• Angel Court, London
• Canaletto, London
• The Silo, Copenhagen
• Tribunal de Paris, Paris
• Upper West, Berlin

Best Tall Building: Middle East & Africa

• Azrieli Sarona, Tel Aviv
• Beirut Terraces, Beirut
• Rothschild Tower, Tel Aviv
• Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town

Urban Habitat Award

• Greatwall Complex, Wuhan
• International Towers Sydney, Sydney
• National September 11 Memorial, New York City
• Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore
• SOHO Fuxing Plaza, Shanghai
• SkyPark, Hong Kong

Construction Award

• 461 Dean Street, New York City
• Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen
• 56 Leonard Street, Shenzhen
• The EY Centre, Sydney
• 111 Main, Salt Lake City

Innovation Award

• Hickory Building Systems
• 3D Printed Building
• Tallwood House Timber Construction
• MULTI
• CAST CONNEX High Integrity Blocks
• Hi-Res CFD for Wind Loading Tall Buildings
• Hummingbird – Tuned Damper
• A New Research-based Tower Typology

10 Year Award

• Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai
• Bahrain World Trade Center 1, Bahrain
• Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg
• Hegau Tower, Singen
• San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco
• Manchester Civil Justice Center, Manchester
• Lumiere, Sydney
• Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, Dubai