CTBUH: 2009 "Best Tall Buildings"

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the winners of its annual "Best Tall Building" awards for 2009, recognizing one outstanding tall building from each of four geographical regions: Americas, Asia & Australia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. This year’s winners are:

Best Tall Building Award Americas
Manitoba Hydro Place
Winnipeg, Canada
Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Inc.
"The project was designed to be completely site specific, this design could not be transplanted to another city and still work, thus making it the perfect response to the seeming homogenization of the world’s skylines." - Awards Jury Statement

Best Tall Building Award Asia/Australia
Linked Hybrid
Beijing, China
Steven Holl Architects
"With its rich pallet, appropriate scale, and consistency in its language and execution throughout the project, Linked Hybrid adds a level of high quality architecture to the city of Beijing." - Awards Jury Statement

Best Tall Building Award Europe
The Broadgate Tower
London, UK
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
"An efficient solution structurally, the designers took advantage of the spaces created under the dramatic diagonal columns to create an energetic public space that creates a pedestrian connection through the site, making a strong connection to the surrounding urban context." - Awards Jury Statement

Best Tall Building Award Middle East/Africa
Tornado Tower
Doha, Qatar
SIAT Architekten + Ingenieure München GmbH / CICO Consulting Architects & Engineers
"Tornado Tower utilizes an efficient and lightweight structure that allows for flexible floor plans and efficiencies in economics, construction, and energy." - Awards Jury Statement

One of these four will be named "Best Tall Building Overall" at CTBUH’s October awards dinner on 22 October 2009. Recipients must possess seamless integration of architectural form, structure, building systems, sustainable design strategies, and life safety for its occupants. Additionally, winning buildings must exhibit sustainable qualities at a broad level in order to preserve urban quality of life into the future.

John C.Portman, Jr.
Source: CTBUH

The CTBUH also announces the winners of its two "Lifetime Achievement" Awards. This year’s recipient of the Lynn S. Beedle Award will be John C. Portman, Jr of John Portman & Associates, Inc.. John C. Portman, Jr has been, and continues to be, involved in many significant tall building projects around the world, including Peachtree Center in Atlanta, Beijing Yintai Centre, and 151 Incheon, a 151 story tower currently in design for Incheon, South Korea. Mr. Portman has also worked as developer on many of these global projects, expanding the role of the architect in creating uplifting urban spaces. The Lynn S. Beedle Award recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment during his or her professional career.

Dr. Prabodh V. Banavalkar
Source: CTBUH

This year’s recipient of the The Fazlur Rahman Khan Medal will be Dr. Prabodh V. Banavalkar of Ingenium, Inc. Dr. Prabodh V. Banavalkar has over 40 years of professional practice designing the structural systems for some of the tallest buildings in North America, including the 73 story U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, and the 75 Story J.P. Morgan Chase Tower in Houston. Mr. Banavalkar has also remained active in the academic community, both as a professor at Rice University, and through publishing articles that advance the field of high rise structural design. The Fazlur Rahman Khan Medal recognizes an individual for his or her demonstrated excellence in design and/or research that has made a signifi cant contribution to a discipline(s) for the design of tall buildings and the built urban environment.

The awards will be presented at the 2009 CTBUH Awards Dinner, to be held in conjunction with the CTBUH 2009 Chicago Conference: Evolution of the Skyscraper. From October 22-23, high rise specialists from a variety of fi elds will converge in Chicago to take part in this important conference to answer questions regarding how skyscraper development must evolve to remain relevant in the current age of global climate change and international economic recession.

Read more on the Conference at architects24.com: 2009 CTBUH Conference

About the CTBUH
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, based at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, is an international organization sponsored by architecture, engineering, planning, and construction professionals, designed to facilitate exchanges among those involved in all aspects of the planning, design, construction and operation of tall buildings.

The CTBUH is the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings, and the recognized source of information on tall buildings internationally. It is the arbiter of tall building height, determiner of the title of “The World’s Tallest Building” and maintains a signifi cant database of built, under construction and proposed tall building.

Further Information:
web: www.ctbuh.org