For the first time ever an Australia building, 1 Bligh Street (Ingenhoven Architects and Architectus) has been named a best tall buildings in the world by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the international not-for-profit association.

Best Tall Building, Asia & Australasia: 1 Bligh Street .Image: ingenhoven architects + Architectus / H.G. Esch, Hennef

The four regional winners include the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada (Americas); 1 Bligh Street, Sydney (Asia and Australia); Palazzo Lombardia, Milan (Europe); and Doha Tower, Doha (Middle East and Africa).

Buildings were selected for their design and technical innovations, sustainable attributes, and the enhancement of both cities and the lives of their inhabitants.

The Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi won the CTBUH’s first Innovation Award for the project’s computer-controlled sun-screen.

“The winners display remarkable creativity, as well as a respect for the environment, connection with place, and the urban surroundings,” said Richard Cook, awards committee chairman and founding partner of Cook+Fox Architects.

Best Tall Building, Americas: Absolute Towers. Image Copyright: Tom Arban

The other members of the jury this year include: Vishaan Chakrabarti of SHoP Architects, USA; Robert Pratt of Tishman Speyer Properties, China; Structural Engineer Werner Sobek of Werner Sobek, Germany; David Scott of Laing O’Rourke, UK; Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre, UK; and Antony Wood of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago.

This year the CTBUH Board of Trustees awarded the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award to Helmut Jahn, the architect known for his simple and elegant designs.

The Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal went to Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti, founders of Thornton & Tomasetti, the structural engineers who helped design many of the most innovative and advanced tall buildings around the world.

The recognition of Mr. Thornton and Mr. Tomasetti represents the first time the panel has awarded the prize to two people.

This year’s winners will be recognized, and the awards conferred, at the CTBUH 11th Annual Awards Ceremony & Dinner which will take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Crown Hall, Chicago, on the evening of October 18.

All the winning projects and finalists will be celebrated at this gala event. Additionally, from the four regional best tall building winners, one overall winner will be selected and bestowed with the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” award, to be announced on the night.

The awards ceremony will take place in conjunction with an afternoon Symposium which will be focused on the four regional best tall buildings, the tall building innovation award, and the two lifetime achievement award winners. This Symposium will take place at the Illinois Institute of Technology close to the awards dinner venue, during the afternoon prior to the dinner.