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CTBUH Names Best Tall Buildings for 2013

CTBUH Names Best Tall Buildings for 2013

After reviewing over 60 entries from around the world, The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has selected this year’s winners of its annual Best Tall Buildings. Regional winners from Canada, China, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates have been announced, while an overall winner will be revealed at the CTBUH 12th Annual Ceremony in November. Projects are recognized for their impacts on the development of tall buildings and the urban environment, and for sustainability.

For the Americas, the winner is The Bow (Calgary, Canada) by Foster + Partners, a 780-foot-tall curved commercial tower, which curves toward the sun to capture daylight and heat. The bow-shaped design maximizes views of the Rocky Mountains. According to Juror Antony Wood, the building functions well from an environmental urbanistic perspective. Category finalists include Devon Energy Center (Oklahoma City, USA) and Tree House Residence Hall (Boston, USA).

The top tower in the Asia & Australasia region was OMA’s whimsical CCTV (Beijing, China). The distorted form of the building, which operates as Beijing’s state television headquarters, is the result of complex programmatic, planning and seismic requirements. Category finalists include C&D International Tower (Xiamen, China), Park Royal on Pickering (Singapore), Pearl River Tower (Guangzhou, China), and Sliced Porosity Block (Chengdu, China).

Europe’s mixed-use The Shard (London, UK) by Renzo Piano Building Workshop is another winner. The “vertical city” involves 25 floors of office space, three floors of restaurants, a 17-story hotel, 13 floors of apartments, and four observation levels. The structure rests at the core of a revitalized commercial district. Category finalists include ADAC Headquarters (Munich, Germany), New Babylon (The Hague, Netherlands), and Tour Total (Berlin, Germany).

In the Middle East & Africa, Sowwah Square (Abu Dhabi, UAE) captures a win. The complex, which encloses the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange with four office towers and a two-story retail podium, utlizes a sustainable design method. Category finalists include 6 Remez Tower (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Gate Towers (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

This year the CTBUH Board of Trustees awarded the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award to Henry Cobb, founding partner of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal to Clyde Baker, senior principal engineer at AECOM.

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