The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat named the winners and finalists of its annual Performance and Innovation Awards
Based on judgment by a prestigious panel of experts, Chiefly Tower in Sydney, Australia snagged this year’s Performance Award, while the Innovation Award went to Spanish manufacturer Holedeck.
Take a look at a more in-depth profile of the winning innovations, as well as a list of the finalists:
Performance Winner
Chiefly Tower, Sydney, Australia
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (Architects)
WSP Flack + Kurtz (SE)
The 801-foot tower in downtown Sydney was originally completed in 1992, with 1980s technology. An overhaul was commenced in 2008, where the tower’s key building systems and services were updated to achieve a 4.5 star NABERS Energy Rating.
The CTBUH reports that the project realized a savings of 55 percent in electricity consumption, and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent as well.
Because of all these changes, it was given the Performance Award, which recognizes buildings “that have the least environment impact on the urban realm using measured data,” the CTBUH says, adding that “it is increasingly being recognized that the industry needs to focus on actual ‘performance’ rather than ‘best intentions.’”
“The Technical Awards Jury applauded the efforts to update the energy efficiency of this aging building, both to keep the building competitive with newer structures, as well as addressing critical issues surrounding climate change,” CTBUH says in a statement.
“In a sense, the project gave a ‘new and better life’ to an old asset that was growing less competitive in the market place,” added Ashok Raiji, CTBUH Technical Awards juror and Principal and Mechanical Engineer at Arup.
Innovation Award
HOLEDECK
Photo courtesy Holedeck via Vimeo
The system of voided concrete slabs by the eponymous Spanish manufacturer can be pierced through their thickness by electrical and plumbing systems, which drastically reduces the vertical space needed to house these components.
Reducing the necessary height of each floor also means fewer materials are required to achieve the same floor area as a typical high rise building.
As a result, the system was recognized with the Innovation Award, which focuses on “one special area of innovation within the design construction, or operation of the project, not the building overall,” CTBUH says in a statement.
“Holedeck is a simple and elegant way of creating coffer slabs, with holes in the webs. It overcomes one of the main obstacles to the use of coffer slabs, which is that all services usually have to run below the slab rather than in it. It appears to be particularly suitable for light weight long-span floors or where architects and engineers are interested in making better use of the thermal mass of a concrete coffer slab,” noted Technical Awards Jury Chair and Director, Engineering Excellence Group of Laing O’Rourke David Scott. “The jury felt that some of the best innovations come from simple ideas and HOLEDECK could re-energize this form of construction.”
Finalists
Other projects and products that made it to the final round of judging were:
• Façade Access Equipment by Lee Herzog Façade Access Constulting for its work on the Burj Khalifa
Related Stories
| Oct 6, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: NEXT Living EcoSuite showcased
Tridel teams up with Cisco and Control4 to unveil the future of green condo living in Canada.
| Oct 5, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Johnson Controls announces Panoptix, a new approach to building efficiency
Panoptix combines latest technology, new business model and industry-leading expertise to make building efficiency easier and more accessible to a broader market.
| Oct 5, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Sustainable construction should stress durability as well as energy efficiency
There is now a call for making enhanced resilience of a building’s structure to natural and man-made disasters the first consideration of a green building.
| Oct 4, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Methods, impacts, and opportunities in the concrete building life cycle
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub conducted a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study to evaluate and improve the environmental impact and study how the “dual use” aspect of concrete.
| Sep 20, 2011
Jeanne Gang wins MacArthur Fellowship
Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship winner described by the foundation as "an architect challenging the aesthetic and technical possibilities of the art form in a wide range of structures."
| Sep 14, 2011
Lend Lease’s role in 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Lend Lease is honored to be the general contractor for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum project at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
| Sep 14, 2011
Thornton Tomasetti’s Poon named to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s Board of Trustees
During his 30-plus years of experience, Poon has been responsible for the design and construction of super high-rise structures, mixed-used buildings, hotels, airports, arenas and residential buildings worldwide.
| Sep 6, 2011
Construction on Beijing's tallest building starts next week
The 108 floor mixed-use skyscraper consists of offices, apartments, hotels and shopping malls on the lower floors.
| May 25, 2011
World’s tallest building now available in smaller size
Emaar Properties teamed up with LEGO to create a miniature version of the Burj Khalifa as part of the LEGO Architecture series. Currently, the LEGO Burj Khalifa is available only in Dubai, but come June 1, 2011, it will be available worldwide.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.