Emporis Skyscraper Award Winner 2013, Best Tall Buildings, Tall Projects News, Designs

Emporis Skyscraper Award

Best Tall Building in the World – Architecture Prize

17 Sep 2013

Emporis Skyscraper Award 2012 : The year’s best new skyscraper is located in Canada

Emporis Skyscraper Award Winner

Hamburg, September 17th, 2013 – The world’s most renowned architecture prize for skyscrapers, the Emporis Skyscraper Award, goes this year to the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga, Canada. The two towers were selected by an international jury of experts from over 300 skyscrapers at least 100 meters tall completed last year.

The award, given by Emporis (www.emporis.com), the international provider of building data, is being presented for the thirteenth time this year.

photo © Edvard Mahnic

Absolute World Towers, which form part of a five-building complex and were designed by the architectural practices MAD and Burka Architects, won over the jury primarily through their unmistakable design:

“The way the two structures twist organically by up to 8 degrees per floor is not just a superb technical achievement, but also a refreshing change to the set forms of high-rise routine”, stated the panel of experts in explaining the choice of the pair of towers, 176 and 158 meters tall, as the winner.

The second-placed project is Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi, designed by Aedas Architects. Due to its innovative facade, the skyscraper complex convinces in terms of both climate and design criteria. The outer skin of the facades is rotated by computer in response to the sun’s position, leading to a substantial reduction in thermal energy inside the buildings. In designing the towers, the architects drew inspiration from Arab mashrabiya windows – sun and privacy screens found in traditional Islamic architecture.

The expert jury voted Burj Qatar, a 238 meter tall skyscraper in Doha, into third place. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, it is the building’s exceptional facade design that stands out. The metal mesh facade, whose design – as with Al Bahr Towers – draws on traditional mashrabiya windows and is intended to contribute to protection from the sun, reveals a complex pattern at close quarters. The imposing effect of the ornamental facade reaches its full expression under the dome that tops the cylinder-shaped skyscraper.

Absolute World Towers winning the Emporis Skyscraper Award means this now the second time the prize has gone to Canada. In 2001, Vancouver’s One Wall Centre claimed the coveted top spot. Surprisingly, the U.S.A. – the cradle of high-rise architecture – does not feature this year. Instead, major international cities such as Moscow, Istanbul or Guangzhou stake their claim to their own chapter in the history of outstanding skyscraper architecture with an impressive array of unique buildings.

First place of the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2012:
Absolute World Towers, near Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1. Absolute World Towers, Canada

photo © Edvard Mahnic

2. Al Bahr Towers, UAE

photo from architects

3. Burj Qatar, Qatar

photo © CSCEC

4. The Bow, Calgary, Canada

photo : Nigel Young_Foster + Partners

5. House on Mosfilmovskaya 1 – MosFilm Tower, Moscow, Russia

photo © Igor Butyrskii

6. Pearl River Tower, China

photo SOM © Si-ye Zhang

7. Varyap Meridian Project, Istanbul, Turkey

photo © Nikola Sarnavka

8. UniCredit Tower, Milan, Italy – 231m high, the tallest building in Italy

photo © Giuseppe Labanca

9. Dumankaya IKON, Istanbul, Turkey

photo © TAGO Architects

~. Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel, Spain

photo © Ateliers Jean Nouvel

~. Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza, China

photo SOM © Si-ye Zhang

About Emporis

Emporis is a leading database of information about building and construction projects, based in Germany. For over a decade Emporis has helped companies, organizations and individuals stay informed about the building industry. The Emporis Skyscraper Award is the world’s most renowned prize for high-rise architecture.

Emporis Skyscraper Award winners : 2012

photo : Gehry Photos

About the Emporis Skyscraper Award

The Emporis Skyscraper Award has been given since 2000. The jury is formed of architecture experts from all over the world, who judge nominated buildings according to aesthetic and functional design criteria. Previous winners include New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street (New York City, 2011), Hotel Porta Fira (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 2010) and Aqua Tower (Chicago, 2009).

Emporis Skyscraper Awards images / information from Emporis

Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

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