After a year-long selection process that considered 123 entries from 27 countries around the world, the Shanghai Tower has emerged as the "Best Tall Building Worldwide" at the 15th Annual Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Awards Ceremony and Dinner. The November 3 event at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago also honoured the other three regional Best Tall Building winners, which were each entered into contention with the Shanghai Tower, winner of the Best Tall Building Asia and Australasia earlier this year.

Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China, image courtesy of Gensler via CTBUH

The Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower battled VIA 57 West, Best Tall Building Americas; The White Walls, Best Tall Building Europe; and The Cube, Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa. The 632-metre megatall, the tallest building in China and the second tallest in the world, has quickly earned praise for its innovative design and its homage to traditional Shanghainese architecture. The multi-storey atria situated between the tower's ingenious double-skin facade draws heavily on the concept of shikumen, a vernacular housing style that balances indoor and outdoor space. The twisting profile is not only a striking architectural feature — it reduces wind loading by 24 percent. 

Shanghai Tower stands alongside Jin Mao Tower, image courtesy of Connie Zhou via CTBUH

"Shanghai Tower shows the greatest commitment to communal space in a tall building since Commerzbank Tower completed in 1997," said Jury member Antony Wood, Executive Director of CTBUH. "It contains the world’s first truly 'inhabitable' double-skin façade on a skyscraper, which is not only remarkable for its intended greenery, but its incorporation into the tower’s overall ventilation strategy. The sacrifice of valuable floor area to realize this social amenity proves that the aspirations for Shanghai Tower went far beyond mere commercial gain."

The Shanghai Tower team accepts the Best Tall Building Worldwide, image courtesy of CTBUH

Jianping Gu, General Manager at Shanghai Tower Construction & Development was in attendance to accept the award with colleagues from Gensler. He noted that the building's success and imaginative design would not have been possible without the collaboration of the numerous project stakeholders, who sought a high standard of completion at every stage of development.

Best Tall Building Regional winner representatives, image courtesy of CTBUH

The multidisciplinary jury selected the Shanghai Tower following presentations of the four regional winners. The audience also had the opportunity to select their favourite for Best Tall Building, an accolade that went to Bjarke Ingels Group's VIA 57 West. In addition to the skyscraping achievements of the above developments, several other awards and honours recognized important city-builders and older projects for their individual innovations:

2016 Urban Habitat Award: Wuhan Tiandi Site A

The 10 Year Award: Hearst Tower

Performance Award: Taipei 101

Innovation Award: Pin-Fuse Seismic System

Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal: Ron Klemencic, Chairman & CEO, Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Cheong Koon Hean, CEO, Housing and Development Board of Singapore

CTBUH Fellowships: Israel David, David Engineers; Mark Sarkisian, SOM; and Cathy Yang, Shanghai Tower Construction & Development.

VIA 57 West in New York City, image courtesy of Nic Lehoux via CTBUH

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