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
Related Stories
Mass Timber | Jan 27, 2023
How to set up your next mass timber construction project for success
XL Construction co-founder Dave Beck shares important preconstruction steps for designing and building mass timber buildings.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 26, 2023
Miami’s motorsport ‘country club’ to build sleek events center
Designed by renowned Italian design firm Pininfarina and with Revuelta as architect, The Event Campus at The Concours Club will be the first and only motorsport-based event campus located within minutes of a major metro area.
Student Housing | Jan 26, 2023
6 ways 'choice architecture' enhances student well-being in residence halls
The environments we build and inhabit shape our lives and the choices we make. NAC Architecture's Lauren Scranton shares six strategies for enhancing well-being in residence halls.
K-12 Schools | Jan 25, 2023
As gun incidents grow, schools have beefed up security significantly in recent years
Recently released federal data shows that U.S. schools have significantly raised security measures in recent years. About two-thirds of public schools now control access to school grounds—not just the building—up from about half in the 2017-18 school year.
AEC Tech Innovation | Jan 24, 2023
ConTech investment weathered last year’s shaky economy
Investment in construction technology (ConTech) hit $5.38 billion last year (less than a 1% falloff compared to 2021) from 228 deals, according to CEMEX Ventures’ estimates. The firm announced its top 50 construction technology startups of 2023.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 24, 2023
Nashville boasts the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada
At 30,105 seats and 530,000 sf, GEODIS Park, which opened in 2022, is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada. Created by design firms Populous and HASTINGS in collaboration with the Metro Nashville Sports Authority, GEODIS Park serves as the home of the Nashville Soccer Club as well as a venue for performances and events.
Concrete | Jan 24, 2023
Researchers investigate ancient Roman concrete to make durable, lower carbon mortar
Researchers have turned to an ancient Roman concrete recipe to develop more durable concrete that lasts for centuries and can potentially reduce the carbon impact of the built environment.
Architects | Jan 23, 2023
PSMJ report: The fed’s wrecking ball is hitting the private construction sector
Inflation may be starting to show some signs of cooling, but the Fed isn’t backing down anytime soon and the impact is becoming more noticeable in the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) space. The overall A/E/C outlook continues a downward trend and this is driven largely by the freefall happening in key private-sector markets.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 23, 2023
Long Beach, Calif., office tower converted to market rate multifamily housing
A project to convert an underperforming mid-century office tower in Long Beach, Calif., created badly needed market rate housing with a significantly lowered carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse project, composed of 203,177 sf including parking, created 106 apartment units out of a Class B office building that had been vacant for about 10 years.
Hotel Facilities | Jan 23, 2023
U.S. hotel construction pipeline up 14% to close out 2022
At the end of 2022’s fourth quarter, the U.S. construction pipeline was up 14% by projects and 12% by rooms year-over-year, according to Lodging Econometrics.