The results of the 2011 Emporis Skyscraper Award are now in: 8 Spruce Street in New York City is the winner of the renowned architecture prize for new skyscrapers. Every year, Emporis' international jury (www.emporis.com) rewards ten skyscrapers completed in the previous calendar year. The award is being given for the 12th time.
The winners were chosen from over 220 skyscrapers completed in 2011. 8 Spruce Street, the first skyscraper by the architect Frank Gehry, and also known as The Beekman or New York by Gehry, won over the jury with its magnificent undulating stainless steel facade.
The sculptured form of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Al Hamra Tower earned it second place in the ranking. Despite its great height, the skyscraper fits harmoniously into Kuwait City's urban landscape. The tower is engineered to take account of climate conditions: the south facade, with limestone elements cladding a concrete wall, protects the building from the searing desert sun and impressed the jury from both architectural and functional points of view.
DBI Design's Etihad Towers were voted into third place, the jury praising the complex as a particularly harmonious ensemble of buildings. Critical to the decision were the soft, curving contours of the towers: these suggest the shape of sails and are intended to evoke Abu Dhabi's history as a port. The jury of experts also singled out the exceptional facade of silver and blue glass.
8 Spruce Street is now the third New York tower to win the Emporis Skyscraper Award. The very first award (2000) went to Sofitel New York Hotel, while Hearst Tower won the coveted architecture prize for 2006. That makes New York City, the world capital of high-rise architecture, the city to which the Emporis Skyscraper Award has most often been awarded.
Click here to view photos of the winning projects. +
Related Stories
Laboratories | Nov 8, 2023
Boston’s FORUM building to support cutting-edge life sciences research and development
Global real estate companies Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge recently announced the topping-out of FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-sf life science building in Boston. Located in Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community, the $545 million project will achieve operational net zero carbon upon completion in 2024.
Retail Centers | Nov 7, 2023
Omnichannel experiences, mixed-use development among top retail design trends for 2023-2024
Retailer survival continues to hinge on retail design trends like blending online and in-person shopping and mixing retail with other building types, such as offices and residential.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 110 Cultural Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Populous, Gensler, HGA, DLR Group, and Quinn Evans top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all cultural building sectors, including concert venues, art galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and public libraries.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 170 Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Gensler, Stantec, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest government building sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Designers | Nov 6, 2023
DLR Group opens office in Nashville, Tenn.
DLR Group is expanding its presence in the Southeast with the opening of an office in downtown Nashville, Tenn.—a collaborative effort led by DLR Group Principals Matthew Gulsvig, AIA, LEED AP, and Randall Coy.
Healthcare Facilities | Nov 3, 2023
The University of Chicago Medicine is building its city’s first freestanding cancer center with inpatient and outpatient services
The University of Chicago Medicine (UChicago Medicine) is building Chicago’s first freestanding cancer center with inpatient and outpatient services. Aiming to bridge longstanding health disparities on Chicago’s South Side, the $815 million project will consolidate care and about 200 team members currently spread across at least five buildings. The new facility, which broke ground in September, is expected to open to patients in spring 2027.
Office Buildings | Nov 2, 2023
Amazon’s second headquarters completes its first buildings: a pair of 22-story towers
Amazon has completed construction of the first two buildings of its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Va. The all-electric structures, featuring low carbon concrete and mass timber, help further the company’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and 100% renewable energy consumption by 2030. Designed by ZGF Architects, the two 22-story buildings are on track to become the largest LEED v4 Platinum buildings in the U.S.
Sustainability | Nov 1, 2023
Researchers create building air leakage detection system using a camera in real time
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a system that uses a camera to detect air leakage from buildings in real time.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 1, 2023
Biden Administration reveals plan to spur more office-to-residential conversions
The Biden Administration recently announced plans to encourage more office buildings to be converted to residential use. The plan includes using federal money to lend to developers for conversion projects and selling government property that is suitable for conversions.
Sustainability | Nov 1, 2023
Tool identifies financial incentives for decarbonizing heavy industry, transportation projects
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has released a tool to identify financial incentives to help developers, industrial companies, and investors find financial incentives for heavy industry and transport projects.