Burj Qatar and Al Bahar Towers bag CTBUH awards
Council honours builders of the Doha and Abu Dhabi based towers for their work in the region
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats has honoured towers in Doha and Abu Dhabi in its annual ‘Best Tall Buildings in the World 2012’ awards ceremony, held in Chicago.
Burj Qatar won the regional award for the Middle East, alongside Absolute Towers, Mississauga, Canada for the Americas category; 1 Bligh Street, Sydney for Asia and Australia; and Palazzo Lombardia, Milan, for Europe.
Abu Dhabi’s Al Bahar Towers won the first innovation award for its computer controlled sub-screen. Designed by Aedas, Al Bahar is the Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters .
“The winners display remarkable creativity, as well as a respect for the environment, connection with place, and the urban surroundings,” said awards committee chairman and founding partner of Cook+Fox Architects, Richard Cook.
The Lynn S. Beedle Award award was presented to Helmut Jahn, designer of the Berlin Sony Center on the Potsdamer Platz; the Messeturm in Frankfurt; One Liberty Place, formerly the tallest building in Philadelphia; and Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok.
The Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal went to Charles Thornton & Richard Tomasetti, founders of Thornton & Tomasetti; it is the first time the award has gone to two people.
“Charlie and Richard are one of the industry’s enduring great partnerships in structural engineering, reminding us that no building is about one single person,” said Timothy Johnson, chairman of the CTBUH and a principal at NBBJ Architects.
Statistics published by the council conclude that the 88 buildings of 200m of more that were completed in 2011, is a record. In 2005 32 such buildings were completed and in 2012 another 96 buildings of 200m of more are projected to be completed, with China the biggest builder.
Click here to see a gallery of the winners: http://www.thebigprojectme.com/show-gallery/?aid=192410880780997_96627&album=CTBUH+names+Best+Tall+Buildings+for+2012
