The Oscars of the development industry will be held in the birthplace of the skyscraper this spring, and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat have officially announced the finalist projects from around the world. From May 30-31 in Chicago, developers and design teams representing 45 projects will compete for honours across eight categories, with the winners of each regional category contending for the title of 2018 Best Tall Building Worldwide.
The two-day event integrates the CTBUH Annual Awards Event and will explore and celebrate the world's best in tall buildings, urban spaces, building technologies, and construction practices. The main jury, which has already selected the finalists in four regional categories, will also be tasked with selecting each category's winner, and ultimately, the overall worldwide champion. 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.
"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 conference will be held at the Radisson Blu Aqua in the iconic Aqua Tower, which made the cut as a finalist for the Best Tall Building Americas award in 2010. Another Chicago skyscraper, 150 N. Riverside, has been selected as one of this year's nominees. It faces stiff competition against 35xv and the American Copper Buildings in New York City, as well as the Gaia Building in Quito, Ecuador.
The full list of finalists is available below:
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, Beijing
- 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, New York City
- 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