Archinect - News

Antony Wood steps down as CTBUH President

2024-09-11T11:23:00-04:00

The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the departure of President and former CEO Antony Wood after 20 years.

Wood, who led a tenfold increase in membership during his tenure, said he was lending to a "future generation of leaders" in stepping down. In a statement, colleague and the CTBUH’s current Chairman Shonn Mills said: "Antony has completely modernized the organization over nearly two decades, while growing it into the significant global presence it is today."

BIG completes award-winning The Spiral tower in Manhattan

2023-10-25T19:57:00-04:00

BIG has shared photos to follow the firm’s completion of the new 2.8 million-square-foot The Spiral office tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Located at the entrance to the High Line Park on 34th Street between 10th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard, the 66-story structure rises to a total height of 1,031.5 feet and offers the neighborhood skyline a distinctive new visual identity taken from its stepped silhouette and a ribbon of outdoor terraces that cascade down the setback facade to a street level podium.

Photo © Laurian Ghinitoiu

The design team, which also included Adamson Associates, made wind- and drought-resistant biophilic elements a central part of the building’s exterior, working to unprecedented new heights for commercial high-rises. Certain plant species were selected for their ability to flower as early as February, in combination with evergreen ivy varieties. The program also creates flexible workspaces and includes an exclusive clubhouse on the uppermos...

The Willis Tower turns 50

2023-05-05T12:24:00-04:00

Now called Willis Tower, the building has been a trendsetter since its debut. After starting life as a headquarters for Sears, Roebuck & Co., the building saw its namesake tenant relocate to the suburbs. Along with the rest of downtown, it suffered other blows, including fears raised by the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the Great Recession. It’s always bounced back. But the tower now faces what might be its biggest test.

SOM won the commission from the Sears corporation in 1970 at a time when office parks and the desire to project a stronger image of America against the backdrop of the Vietnam War were separately prevailing forces in the AEC industry. Sears eventually sold the 110-story building, which was the world’s tallest for 22 years, for more than $1 billion in 1988. More recently it has turned into a focal point of the city’s office vacancy crisis, and new owners Blackstone are now looking forward to returns from a $500 million-plus renovation led by Gensler with optimism.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)'s CEO Javier Quintana de Uña agrees. As he said, "It always keeps ahead of everything else."

The Tribune has historic photos of the tower under construction here.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (@skidmoreowingsmerrill)

‘Skyscrapers are an absurdity’ says Architects Declare in open letter to CTBUH

2022-11-24T13:18:00-05:00

Architects Declare has published an open letter to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, setting out the group’s position on the environmental cost of skyscrapers. The letter, published on the Architects Declare website, was originally sent to CTBUH in July but has now been made public after the group claims not to have received any response.

“The evidence now is overwhelming that tall buildings hinder, rather than assist, our efforts to address key challenges of climate breakdown, resource depletion and biodiversity loss,” the letter reads. “Today, UK Architects Declare is therefore calling on CTBUH to transform its register of ‘The World’s Tallest Buildings’ and shift its focus from a fixation on height to the other part of its mission, Urban Habitats. and crucially address critical environmental challenges.”

The letter claims that CTBUH’s register of tall building...

These are the global cities with the most skyscrapers

2022-09-22T14:15:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released data chronicling the prevalence of buildings with total heights taller than 150 meters (492 feet) in major metropolitan areas across the world.

The statistics speak to several yearslong industry-wide trends as well as a preference for the recently-halted practice of (extremely) tall-building in China, which had more entries in the Top 25 (10, excluding Hong Kong) than the United States, Canada, and Australia put together.

Dubai has by far the largest stock of 300-meter (984 feet) or more structures at 28. New York, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are the only cities with 10 or more in the same category. Australia’s largest city, Sydney, had fewer overall entries than the Philippines city of Makati, despite hosting a population almost tenfold its size. London was one of only two UK metros listed.

The new overall Top...

CTBUH certifies Ascent as the world's tallest mass timber hybrid building

2022-08-02T17:47:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has officially declared the recently-opened Ascent tower by Korb + Associates Architects the world’s tallest timber-concrete hybrid building.

The 25-story, 86.6-meter (284-foot) structure in Milwaukee takes the distinguished title in two of the mass timber categories: It is both the tallest timber building overall and the tallest concrete-timber hybrid building. The previous world’s tallest timber building was Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal, Norway, certified by CTBUH in 2019, which stood at roughly 280 feet. Previously holding the record of tallest concrete-timber hybrid building was the approximately 276-foot HoHo building in Vienna, Austria.

Previously on Archinect: World's tallest mass timber tower opens in Milwaukee

“Ascent is a very exciting project,” said CTBUH Director of Research and Thought Leadership Daniel Safarik. “It is helping advance the conversation about how we build more sustainable and healthy cities, especially ...

China bans construction of skyscrapers over 500 meters tall, citing safety concerns

2021-07-08T12:09:00-04:00

China’s National Development and Reform Commission has implemented an outright ban on the construction of buildings taller than 500 meters, following mounting safety concerns over the quality of some tall projects. The move is seen as a formal ratification of an in-principle ban on new buildings taller than 500 meters announced last year.

The ban follows concern over quality problems and safety hazards for tall buildings in China, stemming from inadequate oversight. In May, we reported on the evacuation of the 291-meter-tall SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, following concerns over mysterious wobbling and swaying felt within the building. The South China Morning Post also notes that the ban is fueled partly by an oversupply of office space in Chinese cities due to three decades of intense skyscraper construction.

Previously on Archinect: Panicked evacuation after mysterious wobbling is felt in Shenzhen skyscraper

In addition to a structural height cap of 500 meters on new buildings, local a...

The U.S. Embassy in London receives a 2020 Award of Excellence from Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

2021-01-21T17:19:00-05:00

The U.S. Embassy in London, designed by Philadelphia-based KieranTimberlake has been awarded a 2020 Award of Excellence by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) in the Best Tall Building Under 100 Meters category.

Previously on Archinect: Rachel Whiteread brings American Suburbia to London. Photo by Mike Bruce.

According to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO), the building incorporates a number of suitable features including daylight-responsive lighting and shade controls, passive and active chilled beams, efficient mechanical systems, and combined heat and power generation. Photovoltaics and ground source heat pumps provide a means of renewable energy for the structure.

The building opened in December of 2017.

2020 Tall Buildings Report: pandemic contributes to decline in completions

2021-01-18T13:43:00-05:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has published its latest annual web report, Tall Buildings in 2020, with plenty of facts and figures on the state of the skyscraper construction industry during a year full of pandemic-related uncertainty.

With 106 completions of buildings 200 meters and taller in 2020, the number constitutes a 20-percent decline compared to 133 completions in 2019.

Completions Timeline. Illustration courtesy of CTBUH.

While the two tallest buildings completed in 2020 are in New York City (Central Park Tower and One Vanderbilt), the United States ranks with 10 completed tall buildings only a distant third in both total number of completions as well as sum of heights compared to China (56 completions) and the United Arab Emirates (12 completions, all in Dubai).

The ten tallest buildings completed in 2020 are:

Central Park Tower, New York City, United States,
98 floors, 472 m / 1,550 ft
Design Architect: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
One Vanderbi...

CTBUH develops online resources for those interested in mass timber use

2020-12-28T15:19:00-05:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) develops an online resource for those interested in mass timber use in tall building construction. Thanks to a USDA Forest Service grant, the CTBUH aimed to explore the work and research regarding mass timber and its involvement with tall buildings. The "Tiber Rising: Mass Timber Engagement Program" began in 2019 and was led by Daniel Safarik, Will Miranda, and the CTBUH.

Covered on Archinect: California adopts suite of high-rise timber regulations. Photo from the Tzannes-designed International House Sydney. Image © Ben Guthrie.

The CTBUH shares details of the program in a statement.

"What role will tall timber play in our quest for a future, lower-carbon built environment? CTBUH has committed to conducting three major research projects to provide guidance for the use of tall timber worldwide. The first of these projects, Timber Rising, has yielded four resources of interest to anyone involved in the design, classification, and ...

Students from six universities take the top prize at the 2020 CTBUH International Student Tall Building Design Competition

2020-11-24T13:50:00-05:00

In its 9th iteration, the annual CTBUH International Student Tall Building Design Competition highlights the best student work that explores the future of sustainable vertical urbanism.

The competition aims to invite students to submit their best project ideas as they explore a "new light on the meaning and value of tall buildings in modern society." The CTBUH asked participants to find new ways to engage with tall buildings and their relationship to urban settings in addition to exploring the cultural, physical, and environmental variables of the site.

Out of 250 entries, five finalists were selected. View the winning projects below.

1st Place: A Critical Approach to Vertical Graveyards
By: Nikita Klimenko, Yale University & Nikita Shpakov, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics

A Critical Approach to Vertical Graveyards By: Nikita Klimenko, Yale University & Nikita Shpakov, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Image courtesy of...

These are 'The 50 Most Influential Tall Buildings of the Last 50 Years'

2019-10-23T16:00:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has published a list of "The 50 Most Influential Tall Buildings of the Last 50 Years" ahead of its 10th World Congress happening in Chicago next week. Celebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary this year, the high-profile roundup places special focus on the accelerated new phase of innovation that has been happening in skyscraper construction since the late 1960s.

"Across these examples, we see the arrival and departure of the distinct International and Post-Modern styles, as well as the overlapping parametricism and contextualism that dominates the contemporary scene," declares the CTBUH announcement.

Image courtesy CTBUH.

"We see the transition from symbols of North American corporate power to broadcasting devices for the arrival of entire cities and countries on the global stage. The importance of environmental sustainability takes on as important a role as cultural and economic longevity."

Besides the obvious picks (Burj Khal...

The Petronas vs. Sears Tower controversy revisited

2019-05-03T14:43:00-04:00

The decision – that the Petronas Towers were indeed the world’s new tallest building(s), measuring 451.9 meters to the tops of their decorative spires – was based on the re-affirmation of a standard the Council had held for some 60 years. The antennae atop Sears Tower, which took it to an ultimate height of 527 meters, did not count toward its “architectural” height, because the antennae were not considered a permanent part of the building. [...] It was not a popular decision in Chicago [...]

Remember when the Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia laid claim to the title of "World’s Tallest Building" in 1996; daring to challenge Sears Tower's crown which had been the incumbent record holder since 1974? The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the organization responsible for keeping track of proper building heights, back then determined in a historic announcement that Kuala Lumpur's brand new twin Petronas Towers measured 451.9 meters/1,483 feet from sidewalk to the top of their spires and were indeed the world's new reigning champions.

The CTBUH's decision was not well received in Chicago, to say the least, and a heated debate errupted whether Sears Tower's antennae should have been included in the building height determination to keep the 110-story behemoth at the top and the largely unrivaled sense of American exceptionalism intact. (The champion title has never returned to the United States since then, and Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, is currently ranked at ...

'World’s Tallest Timber Building' now officially ratified after CTBUH height criteria update

2019-03-14T18:20:00-04:00

[CTBUH] has verified the completion of Mjøstårnet, a mixed-use building in Brumunddal, Norway that now holds the unique title of the “World’s Tallest Timber Building.” At 85.4 meters, it is also the third-tallest building in Norway and the country’s tallest with mixed functions. This news coincides with the amendment of the CTBUH Height Criteria – the official guidelines upon which tall buildings are measured – to include timber as a recognized structural material.

The 18-story wooden structure Mjøstårnet (Mjøsa Tower) near Oslo, Norway popularly earned the title "World’s Tallest Timber Building" back in September 2018 when it structurally topped out. But it wasn't until a recent update of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's height criteria guidelines, that what truly constituted a 'timber' structural system was clearly defined.

The revised criteria for timber structures now requires that "both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system must be constructed from timber. An ‘all-timber’ structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. A building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks, or concrete slab on top of timber beams, is still considered a ‘timber’ structure, as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure."

Report: The year 2017 in skyscrapers

2017-12-14T19:25:00-05:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is out with the latest edition of its annual web report, the 2017 Tall Building Year in Review, and it's a real treat for every serious skyscraper geek: interactive charts, rankings, and plenty of visualized data about all 144 buildings of 200 meters' height or greater that reached completion within the past 12 months.

Skyline: the tallest 2017 completions. Click here for a super high-resolution version.

Taking the top ten spots for 2017 completions are five towers in China, three in Dubai, one in South Korea, and one in Los Angeles (the United States had only one tower among the top 50 this year):

Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China,
115 stories, 599 m / 1965 ft,
Design Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea,
123 stories, 555 m / 1819 ft,
Design Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Marina 101, Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
101 stories, 425 m / 1394 ft,
Design Architect: National Engineering Bure...

How the Speed of Elevators Impacts our Urban Environment

2017-09-07T14:46:00-04:00

The first commercial passenger elevator was installed by Otis Elevator Company in 1857 and climbed at a glacial pace of 40 feet a minute, though it felt staggering at the time. Since then, we have come a long way both in terms of elevator speeds and in terms of the heights these elevators are needed to traverse in order to meet the needs of super-tall structures around the world. Today, an Otis elevator in Dubai soars at a speed of 22 mph, which is still less than half the speed of those topping new rankings for the fastest elevators in the world.

Looking into the ways these improvements in elevator speeds have effected our urban environment, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has released new research in a study titled Vertical Transport: Ascent & Acceleration. The study defines the fastest and longest elevator runs and shows a strong correlation between the increase in elevator speeds and the increase in skyscraper heights. As elevator technology advances and allows b...

Ping An Finance Center surpasses One WTC as world's fourth tallest building, CTBUH reports

2017-03-29T15:12:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially declared the Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen as the world's fourth tallest building — knocking One World Trade Center down to Number 5 in the CTBUH's ten tallest buildings in the world. Rising above Futian District at 599 meters, the Ping An tower is Shenzhen's tallest building and China's second tallest.

As of March 2017, the CTBUH's top three tallest buildings are the Burj Khalifa, the Shanghai Tower (which recently pushed Chicago's Willis Tower out of the CTBUH's top 10 tallest buildings), and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower.

Image © CTBUH. (click to enlarge)

Developed by Ping An Finance Center Construction & Development, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates designed the tower like a “taut steel cable” with a public atrium at the base and floors of office space for the Ping An group and other tenants. Its streamlined shape reduces baseline wind loads by 35 percent and comprises eight composite megacolumns. Most notably, the Ping An...

CTBUH announces the 2016 Tall Building Awardees

2016-06-24T17:47:00-04:00

Visually changing skylines aside, new sky-high structures get a shot at prestigious recognition in the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's Tall Building Awards. The yearly awards highlight noteworthy tall-building projects worldwide and the impact they have on inhabitants and their urban surroundings, as well as innovative design and construction methods that push the industry forward.

A little sneak peek:

Best Tall Building - Middle East & Africa: The Cube, Beirut

10 Year Award: Hearst Tower, New York

Urban Habitat Award: Wuhan Tiandi, Wuhan

See the rest of the winners plus the Best Tall Building regional finalists over on Bustler.

Previously on Archinect:

A glimpse at the 2015 CTBUH Best Tall Buildings regional winners

2014 was the tallest year by far for skyscrapers, CTBUH finds

Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s One Central Park wins CTBUH Best Tall Building Worldwide 2014

Megatall Shanghai Tower receives CTBUH signboard officially marking it as China's tallest and the world's second-tallest

2016-05-17T13:48:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) joined officials of Shanghai Tower in unveiling the commemorative signboard designating Shanghai Tower the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world. With a height of 632 meters, Shanghai Tower is only the third “megatall” building of 600 meters or higher in the world.

A tall plaque for a tall building: attendees of the ceremony included (from left to right) CTBUH China Office Board Member Junjie Zhang, President, ECADI, China Tall Building Awards Jury; Jiaming Cao, President, Architectural Society of Shanghai, China Tall Building Awards Jury; CTBUH China Office Director Daniel Safarik; CTBUH Chairman David Malott, Principal, KPF, China Tall Building Awards Jury; Chunhua Song, Former Vice-Minister, Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, China Tall Building Awards Jury Chair; Jianping Gu, General Manager, Shanghai Tower Business Operation & Management Co., Ltd.; Yi Zhu, Managing Principal, Pacific Rim Regional Director, Thornton Tomasetti, China Tall Building Awards Jury; Xiaomei Lee, Principal, Managing Director, Gensler. Photo © CTBUH.

Shanghai Tower previously in the Archinect news:

Cloud-harvesting skyscraper: renderings of proposed new sustainable Tokyo development

2016-01-14T18:20:00-05:00

What's new(ish) in large-scale, sustainable development? Well, the Next Tokyo 2045 project is in the running. Described by CTBUH in a journal paper as "a mile-high tower rooted in intersecting ecologies," the 12.5 square kilometer project is designed to be a protective barrier against coastal erosion, a mid-bay transit hub, and an experiment in dense urban vertical development via a 1,600-meter high "Sky Mile" tower and several smaller mixed-use towers.

Developed as part of a collaboration between Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Leslie E. Robertson Associates, the design was initially unveiled back in February of 2015, and features proposed elements including an articulated facade that enables "cloud-harvesting" as a means of collecting water for the project dwellers, solar power, and the "capture of kinetic energy from trains running across the bay" as a means of powering mechanical systems.

The project hopes to house roughly a half million people.

As 432 Park Ave reaches completion, the number of supertall skyscrapers in the world is now 100

2016-01-13T15:21:00-05:00

There are now officially 100 supertall (300-plus-meter) skyscrapers in the world following the completion of 432 Park Avenue in New York City. The construction of supertall buildings has increased at an astounding rate in recent years, an indicator of the tremendous growth within the global tall building industry. Whereas the first 50 supertalls took 80 years to complete – between 1930 and 2010 – the total number of supertalls has doubled from 50 to 100 in just five years.

"With supertall skyscrapers becoming increasingly common, many look to the megatall (600-plus-meter) distinction as the new frontier for the world’s tallest buildings." Buckle up, everyone.

Sorry, Willis Tower, but Shanghai Tower just kicked you out of the Top 10 Tallest Buildings club – after 41 years!

2016-01-07T15:02:00-05:00

Shanghai Tower has officially completed as the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world. [...] The completion of Shanghai Tower is especially notable for pushing Chicago’s 442-meter Willis Tower (originally Sears Tower), once the world’s tallest building, out of the Top 10 list for the first time since it completed in 1974. Willis Tower was among the Top 10 Tallest Buildings for 41 years

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat goes on to say: "Given the rapid development of urban centers in these regions and the new heights that are being realized by contemporary tall buildings, CTBUH data projects that it will be less than five years before Willis Tower also falls out of the Top 20 Tallest Buildings."

Cue the sad trombone, Chicago.

↑ The updated CTBUH Current Tallest 20 poster (click image to enlarge).

Previously in the Archinect news:

Submit your ChiDesign CADE entries by September 9!

2015-09-03T15:53:00-04:00

The Chicago Architecture Foundation launched their first ChiDesign CADE competition earlier this summer seeking design ideas for a different type of educational facility called the Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE). Now that registration is closed, be sure to submit your entries by September 9.

As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the competition is a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities. If you need a refresher, CADE designs must include the following:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals and select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Monica Ponce De Leon, MPdL St...

Last chance to register for the ChiDesign CADE competition is August 19

2015-08-13T15:28:00-04:00

There's less than a week left to register for the ChiDesign CADE competition. Late registration closes next Wednesday, August 19.

As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition seeking design ideas of a Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE), as a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities.

Competitors must incorporate the following into their CADE designs:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

Late registration deadline: August 19, 2015
Submission deadline: September 9, 2015

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals as well as select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates...

Don't forget to register for the first ChiDesign competition by August 7!

2015-07-29T10:37:00-04:00

The registration deadline is almost here for the first ChiDesign ideas competition to design a Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE). As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition as a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities.

Competitors must incorporate the following into their CADE designs:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

Registration deadline: August 7, 2015
Submission deadline: September 9, 2015

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals as well as select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Monica Ponce De Leon, MPdL Studio
Billie Tsien, Tod Williams Billie...

A glimpse at the 2015 CTBUH Best Tall Buildings regional winners

2015-06-23T08:40:00-04:00

While the work ethics behind constructing skyscrapers shouldn't be ignored, tall buildings are an architectural feat that will continue to capture the upward gazes and awe of many. Every year in the Best Tall Buildings awards, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat rounds up a jury of industry experts to select the best recent structures that have contributed greatly to advancing tall-building construction.

Compared to 88 entries last year, 2015 brought in 123 submissions. Out of the nominated projects, one winner was selected in the four regional categories:

(Cover photo) Americas: One World Trade Center, New York, USA
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
More project info

Asia & Australia: CapitaGreen, Singapore
Design Architect: Toyo Ito & Associates Architects
Architect of Record: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers Pte Ltd

More project info.

Europe: Bosco Verticale, Milan, Italy
Architect: Boeri Studio

More project info.

Middle East & Africa: Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower, Abu D...

2014 was the tallest year by far for skyscrapers, CTBUH finds

2015-01-12T17:04:00-05:00

2014 was the year of the tall building. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) published its 2014 Tall Building Data Research Report, a statistic-laden round-up that could make your head spin and wonder how much taller a skyscraper can possibly get. Last year, a total of 97 buildings with a height of 200 meters or greater were completed, making it the highest number that the CTBUH has ever recorded.

Not surprisingly, the report states that 74 of the 97 tall buildings are located in Asia, with China completing the most buildings for the seventh year in a row with 58. The Philippines took second place with five completions, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with four completions each. Indonesia, Canada, the United States, and Japan shared fourth place for three completions each.

To slap on some more statistical highlights, 2014 also saw the completion of 11 Supertall buildings (300 meters height or more), which now accounts for 54% of the world's currently...

Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s One Central Park wins CTBUH Best Tall Building Worldwide 2014

2014-11-07T18:02:00-05:00

To say the least, it's been a great year for Ateliers Jean Nouvel + PTW Architects' One Central Park in Sydney, Australia...After the Best Tall Building regional winners presented their projects one last time to the jury (chaired by architect Jeanne Gang), One Central Park was announced as the overall winning Best Tall Building Worldwide 2014 during the Awards Ceremony and Dinner in Crown Hall.

IIT Dean of Architecture Wiel Arets (left) presents the team from One Central Park with the Best Tall Building Worldwide trophy.

Learn more on Bustler.

China's obsession with vertical cities

2014-10-30T14:04:00-04:00

By the end of next year one-in-three of the world’s 100m+ skyscrapers will be in China, as its state-orchestrated urbanisation drive prompts a megacity building bonanza [...] China now has over 140 cities of more than one million people; America has nine

JAHN’S Post Tower wins the CTBUH 10 Year Award

2014-07-25T19:20:00-04:00

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat gave their 10 Year Award to JAHN's Post Tower out of seven finalists. The award recognizes a tall building that has best proven successful performance in various criteria over a timespan of at least 10 years since the building's completion.

Located in Bonn, Germany, the 163-meter Post Tower office building made itself known as one of the world’s lowest energy-consuming tall buildings and a predecessor to sustainable tower design.

More details on Bustler.