Fifteen skyscraper projects were honored this week with design and innovation awards from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) at the group's 2019 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference in Shenzhen, China. This is the 17th year CTBUH has formally recognized the world's top new tall buildings.
The 1,070-foot Salesforce Tower in San Francisco beat out dozens of skyscrapers from across the globe to take the top honor: Best Tall Building Worldwide for 2019.
Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Founding Partner of Fender Katsalidis Architects, described Salesforce Tower as a “building that gives back,” with a multipronged focus on occupant health, sustainability, structural efficiency, and a significant level of integration with the surrounding urban habitat.
More jury comments on Salesforce Tower:
"Standing as the tallest building in San Francisco, this tower pushes new limits in both its performance as a leading-edge office tower and its robust seismic design, while establishing significant connections to the surrounding urban habitat."
"The building stands as the centerpiece of a new transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood recently freed up for development following the demolition of an aging transit center. The result is not just a contribution to the city skyline, but a highly successful exercise in human-centric and resilient design for tall buildings."
The other Best Tall Building category winners are:
Best Tall Building Awards, Under 100 Meters: Forma Itaim, São Paulo
© Kelson Kon courtesy CTHUH
Jury comments: A response to growing residential demand of a prosperous upper middle class in São Paulo, Forma Itaim stands out with its variety of façade treatments, featuring a vibrant color-coated terra cotta cladding and a perforated aluminum double-skin.
Best Tall Building Awards, 100–199 Meters: Amorepacific Headquarters, Seoul
© Namsun Lee, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: By elevating the external layer of the façade, the entrance level opens up to the city and draws the public into a generous atrium. A rich mixture of public amenities–from art museum to auditorium, library and restaurants–connect this headquarters tower to its urban context.
Best Tall Building Awards, 200–299 Meters: Shenzhen Energy Headquarters, Shenzhen
© Chao Zhang, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: Enclosed in a finely attuned skin for its subtropical climate, the façade oscillates between transparency and opacity, reducing solar gain for occupant comfort and efficiency. The north and south towers are linked by an eight-story podium housing the main lobbies, commercial areas, conference centers and a cafeteria.
Best Tall Building Awards, 300–399 Meters: Salesforce Tower, San Francisco
© Jason O'Rear, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: Standing as the tallest building in San Francisco, this tower pushes new limits in both its performance as a leading-edge office tower and its robust seismic design, while establishing significant connections to the surrounding urban habitat.
Best Tall Building Awards, 400 Meters and Above: Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen
© Tim Griffith, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: Located in Shenzhen’s new central business district, the Ping An Finance Center is the city’s tallest building. With more than 100 floors of office space and a large podium with retail and conference space, the project also connects to neighboring commercial and residential properties and public transportation.
Best Tall Building Awards, Office Building: European Patent Office, Rijswijk
© EPO + Ossop Van Duivenbode, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: This project represents the European Patent Office’s largest single investment in its 40-year history in the Netherlands. Built under BREEAM standards and BNB standards, an array of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof sky garden provide a source of renewable energy while a double-skin façade houses hanging gardens.
Best Tall Building Awards, Residential or Hotel Building: 277 Fifth Avenue, New York City
© Victor Nomad LLC, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: Transparency, glass, and expansive views are the defining characteristics of the building. To generate a uniform floor plate and units of the desired size, the building is cantilevered over an existing five-story brownstone.
Best Tall Building Awards, Mixed-Use Building: Kampung Admiralty, Singapore
© K. Kopter, courtesy CTBUH
Jury comments: A vertical village that contains senior apartments, a community plaza, medical center, and an urban farm, this prototype for land-use intensification is aimed specifically at an aging society.
Read about all the CTBUH 2019 Award winners
Related Stories
| Jul 1, 2013
LEGOLAND builds 12-foot replica of One World Trade Center
The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester in Yonkers, N.Y., celebrated the completion of a LEGO replica of One World Trade Center by lighting the 12-foot-tall, 100-pound model.
| Jun 25, 2013
Mirvish, Gehry revise plans for triad of Toronto towers
A trio of mixed-use towers planned for an urban redevelopment project in Toronto has been redesigned by planners David Mirvish and Frank Gehry. The plan was announced last October but has recently been substantially revised.
| Jun 25, 2013
First look: Herzog & de Meuron's Jade Signature condo tower in Florida
Real estate developer Fortune International has released details of its new Jade Signature property, to be developed in Sunny Isles Beach near Miami. The luxury waterfront condo building will include 192 units in a 57-story building near high-end retail destinations and cultural venues.
| Jun 17, 2013
First look: Austin to get first high-rise since 2003
Developer Cousins Properties broke ground on the 29-story Colorado Tower in downtown Austin, Texas, the city's first high-rise building since Cousins' completed the Frost Bank Tower a decade ago.
| Jun 11, 2013
Vertical urban campus fills a tall order [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Roosevelt University builds a 32-story tower to satisfy students’ needs for housing, instruction, and recreation.
| Jun 11, 2013
Finnish elevator technology could facilitate supertall building design
KONE Corporation has announced a new elevator technology that could make it possible for supertall buildings to reach new heights by eliminating several problems of existing elevator technology. The firm's new UltraRope hoisting system uses a rope with a carbon-fiber core and high-friction coating, rather than conventional steel rope.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
| May 23, 2013
Supertall 'Sky City' will house 4,400 families in Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building has completed a long and arduous approval process, and is starting excavation and construction on Sky City in June, 2013. The proposed "world's tallest building" will be a mixed-use project that could accommodate life and work needs of up to 30,000 people.
| May 7, 2013
First look: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill skyscraper designed to 'confuse the wind'
The 400-meter-high, 116-story Imperial Tower in Mumbai will feature a slender, rounded form optimized to withstand the area's strong wind currents.
| May 6, 2013
7 major multifamily residential projects in the works
A $140 million redevelopment of a landmark, 45-building apartment complex in Los Angeles is among the nation's significant multifamily developments under way.
