Emporis Skyscraper Awards

Emporis Skyscraper Awards The Emporis Skyscraper Awards were an annual set of prizes presented by Emporis to recognize outstanding high-rise and skyscraper architecture worldwide. The awards highlighted design excellence among completed buildings, emphasizing innovation, aesthetics, and contribution to urban skylines across cities such as New York City, Shanghai, Dubai, Tokyo and London. Winners included projects by architects and firms active in markets like Hong Kong, Chicago, Singapore and São Paulo.

History

Emporis introduced the awards in 2000 following the company's expansion from a database for Vienna-based building records into an international publisher covering projects in Moscow, Beijing, Sydney and Toronto. Early ceremonies and announcements referenced developments in metropolises such as Frankfurt am Main, Seoul, Mumbai and Mexico City and engaged stakeholders from firms including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Foster + Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox and Gensler. Over the 2000s and 2010s the awards tracked shifts in construction activity tied to investments from entities like Qatar Investment Authority, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and regional developers in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur. The program reflected trends in high-rise typologies alongside contemporaneous recognition from organizations such as the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the World Architecture Festival. The awards were discontinued following corporate changes affecting Emporis, with archival records maintained in databases and cited by publications based in Amsterdam, Berlin and Zurich.

Criteria and Selection Process

Emporis established criteria focusing on completed buildings that influenced skylines in cities including Manhattan, Pudong, Business Bay and Canary Wharf. Submissions were evaluated by panels drawing expertise comparable to jurors from Royal Institute of British Architects, American Institute of Architects and critics associated with outlets like Dezeen, Architectural Record and The Architectural Review. Technical assessment considered façade engineering produced by contractors such as Arup Group and Thornton Tomasetti, structural systems similar to those developed by WSP Global and Ramboll, and sustainability features found in projects certified by LEED, BREEAM and regional rating schemes in Hong Kong Green Building Council jurisdictions. Aesthetic judgment invoked precedents from icons like Empire State Building, Burj Khalifa, One World Trade Center and Petronas Towers, while contextual sensitivity referenced urban plans from municipal authorities in Singapore and Shanghai. The shortlist and final selection cycles were publicized through Emporis's online platform and industry media in New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

Award Categories and Winners

Categories recognized included the Emporis Award for Best New Skyscraper and a runner-up distinction; winners spanned typologies from mixed-use towers in Chicago and Toronto to residential skyscrapers in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Notable winning projects echoed the work of architects and firms such as Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid Architects, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and Norman Foster. Projects awarded often appeared alongside honors from the International Highrise Award, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and regional prizes in Dubai and Beijing. Annual lists documented towers completed in metropolises including Istanbul, Barcelona, Seoul, Jakarta, Bangkok and Lima. Winners demonstrated collaborations among developers like Hines, Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Holdings, CapitaLand and Lotte Corporation, with construction by contractors such as China State Construction and Lendlease.

Impact and Criticism

The awards influenced perceptions of skyline identity in cities such as Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore and New York City by highlighting certain aesthetics championed by firms including KPF and BIG. Critics compared Emporis picks with those of institutions like CTBUH and commentators at ArchDaily, sometimes questioning the balance between commercial prominence and architectural merit in selections featuring projects financed by sovereign funds like Mubadala Investment Company or by conglomerates in South Korea and Brazil. Observers debated transparency and methodology relative to academic evaluations in journals affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich and Delft University of Technology. The awards were also noted for bringing attention to emerging markets such as Riyadh and Nairobi while prompting discourse on cultural representation in projects from Mumbai, Lagos and Mexico City.

Notable Recipients and Records

Recipients included towers designed by high-profile architects and firms associated with milestones in skyscraper history: projects by Adrian Smith, SOM, Foster + Partners, Atkins, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Kohn Pedersen Fox. Record-holding entries often originated in cities with active high-rise programs like Shanghai Tower in Shanghai and landmark projects in Dubai and Hong Kong. Developers and owners recognized included Tishman Speyer, CIM Group, China Merchants Group and Mitsubishi Estate. The awards chronicled achievements later cited in studies from institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard Graduate School of Design and UCL Bartlett School of Architecture and referenced in monographs published by houses in London and New York City.

Category:Architecture awards Category:Skyscrapers