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Four Skyscrapers Named Regional

date added: 02.07.2011

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is pleased to announce the winners of its annual “Best Tall Building” awards for 2011. These awards recognize outstanding tall buildings from each of four geographical regions, and this year are awarded to: "New York by Gehry" at Eight Spruce Street, New York (Americas); Guangzhou International Finance Center, Guangzhou (Asia & Australasia); KfW Westarkade, Frankfurt (Europe); and The Index, Dubai (Middle East & Africa). These buildings were selected for their design and technical innovations, sustainable attributes, and the enhancement of both cities and the lives of their inhabitants.

Best Tall Building Americas: Eight Spruce Street

Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia: Guangzhou International Finance Center

Best Tall Building Europe: KfW Westarkade

Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa: The Index

Awards Committee Chairman Richard Cook, of Cook + Fox Architects, said about this year’s entries: “Not only has this been a record-breaking year for the Best Tall Building Awards in terms of the number of buildings submitted, the quality overall is perhaps the best we have seen. There were very strong contenders for the winner in each regional category, and several projects would, I’m sure, have been winners in other years.”

The other members of the jury this year include: His Excellency Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Head of Emaar Properties in the UAE (owner-developer of the Burj Khalifa); Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago (architect and previous year’s Awards Chair); Peter Murray of Wordsearch Communications, London (Urbanist and Founder of the New London Architecture Centre); eminent Structural Engineer Werner Sobek of Werner Sobek, Germany; and Antony Wood of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago (architect and academic).

This year’s recipients of the Council’s two lifetime achievement awards were selected by the CTBUH Board of Trustees, under the leadership of Chairman Sang Dae Kim: Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award) and Dr. Akira Wada, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal). Both men were selected for their lifetime’s work towards the development and advancement of tall buildings.

This year’s winners will be recognized, and the awards conferred, at the CTBUH 10th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner which will take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Crown Hall, Chicago, on the evening of Thursday, October 27. All the winning projects and finalists will be celebrated at this gala event. Additionally, from the four regional best tall building winners, one overall winner will be selected and bestowed with the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” award, to be announced on the night.

The awards ceremony will take place in conjunction with an afternoon Symposium which will be focused on the four regional best tall buildings, and the two lifetime achievement award winners. This Symposium will take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology close to the awards dinner venue, during the afternoon prior to the dinner.

View an overview of last year's Awards Ceremony & Dinner

The Best Tall Building Finalist projects in each regional category are as follows:
Americas:
Eleven Times Square, New York
HL23, New York
Asia & Australasia:
Fukoku Tower, Fukoku Japan
International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong
Riviera TwinStar Square, Shanghai
The Hansar, Bangkok
Europe:
Heron Tower, London
Net Center, Padova Italy
Sapphire Tower, Istanbul
Middle East & Africa:
Rolex Tower, Dubai

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