The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced the winners of its annual Best Tall Buildings Awards. SOM’s One World Trade Center, which opened in 2014, won in the Americas category and is now eligible for the “Best Tall Building Worldwide” honor.
The Best Tall Buildings Awards recognize one winner in four regional categories: Americas, Asia & Australasia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. To be eligible for this year’s program, a building must have been completed between January 21, 2014, and April 20, 2015, and rise at least 50 meters in height. According to the CTBUH, this year’s winning buildings and finalists “show a strong commitment to sustainability, with some exemplifying dramatic progress in the use of greenery both to enhance the comfort of the building’s users and reduce the environmental impact of the building. Others show dramatic sculptural form and urban presence, and we are now starting to see the positive integration of buildings into their direct urban habitat, which has been a long-needed requirement.”
Completed in 2014, One World Trade Center recaptures the New York skyline, reasserts downtown Manhattan’s preeminence as a business center, and establishes a new civic icon for the country. James Parakh, OAA, from the City Planning Department of Toronto, submitted the following juror comments: “One World Trade Center is of undeniable importance to the Americas as well as the World. The building had high design expectations which the jury felt were met and exceeded. The design for One World Trade Center pays homage to the original tower’s design with its similar form and height. In a contemporary way the tower evokes the slender, elegant, tapering form of other great New York City icons such as the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building. The design of the building add a new landmark to New York City’s famous skyline.” The overall “Best Tall Building Worldwide” will be announced at the CTBUH 14th Annual Awards Symposium in November 2015.
In addition to One World Trade Center’s win, SOM’s Baccarat Hotel & Residences, a 605-foot, mixed-use building located on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, was named a finalist in the Americas category.