Danish architect Bjarke Ingels' VIA 57 West, in New York, continues to garner acclaim. Dubbed the "courtscraper" by Bjarke Ingels Group, it was most recently named the Best Tall Building in the Americas for its innovative high-rise typology combining a skyscraper with a European-style perimeter block, in the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's (CTBUH's) 2016 Tall Building Awards, announced yesterday. Foster + Partners' Hearst Tower, also in New York, won the skyscraper-focused competition's 10 Year Award, which reflects on projects that have proven valuable and continue to perform over time.
The Chicago-based nonprofit received 132 submissions to the competition and chose winners and finalists for five awards: Best Tall Building among each of the global regions (Americas, Asia and Australia, Europe, and Middle East and Africa), the Urban Habitat Award, the Innovation Award, the Performance Award, and the 10 Year Award. An international jury of architects, engineers, planners, and developers evaluated the projects for their design and technical prowess.
The Urban Habitat Award recognizes projects ranging from a single site to an entire urban plan for their demonstrated maintenance of a symbiotic relationship with their urban surroundings. Wuhan Tiandi Site A, an urban regeneration plan by Shui On Land, in Wuhan, China, stood out among the submissions for the attention paid to sustainability and quality of life for its inhabitants.
The 1,667-foot-tall Taipei 101, in Taiwan, by C.Y Lee & Partners Architects and Planners, was named the winner of the Performance Award for its inclusion of "a comprehensive set of green technologies and systems installed throughout the building" as well as "a rigorous occupant engagement program," juror Bill Browning, co-founder of environmental consulting firm Terrapin Bright Green, said in a press release.
The Innovation Award, which typically recognizes a component of a tall-building project, went to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Pin-Fuse, a joint-and-frame safety enhancement capable of collapse prevention as a result of seismic activity. The product is designed to prevent extreme and therefore costly damage to the structure.
Projects receiving the Best Tall Buildings Award in regions outside of the Americas are Gensler's Shanghai Tower, in Shanghai, China (Asia and Australia); White Walls by Jean Nouvel, in Nycosia, Cyprus (Europe); and The Cube by Orange Architects, in Beirut (Middle East and Africa).
The winners will be recognized on Nov. 3, at the CTBUH Annual Symposium at the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago. The regional winners of the Best Tall Buildings Award will compete for the title of Best Tall Building Worldwide, which will be announced at the ceremony.
