International Highrise Award

International Highrise Award The International Highrise Award is a biennial prize recognizing outstanding architectural design in tall buildings, presented by the City of Frankfurt am Main, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum. Established in 2003, the prize highlights synthesis of structural innovation, sustainability, and urban integration in projects from around the world. The award is embedded in the cultural calendar of Frankfurt am Main, alongside exhibitions at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum and events linked to international practices such as those promoted by UIA.

History

The award was inaugurated in 2003 through cooperation among the City of Frankfurt am Main, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum to celebrate recent towers exemplifying contemporary architectural design and urbanism. Early years saw jurors and nominees connected to institutions including the Royal Institute of British Architects, the American Institute of Architects, the International Union of Architects, and cultural partners such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou. Over successive cycles the prize reflected trends influenced by figures associated with OMA, Foster + Partners, Herzog & de Meuron, SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), and practices like BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), with finalist lists that featured projects tied to municipalities like London, New York City, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The award’s history intersects with major events such as the Venice Biennale, the World Architecture Festival, and policy initiatives promoted by bodies including the European Commission on urban development and sustainability targets linked to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dialogues.

Criteria and Jury

The award’s criteria emphasize architectural quality, structural engineering excellence, sustainable technologies, contribution to the cityscape, and social functionality; submissions are evaluated by an international jury of practitioners, scholars, and institutional representatives. Past jurors have included members affiliated with Bundesstiftung Baukultur, Royal Academy of Arts, Harvard Graduate School of Design, ETH Zurich, Columbia GSAPP, and organizations such as the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The jury process references technical standards and performance metrics used by groups like LEED, BREEAM, and the German Sustainable Building Council while considering contextual precedents from projects by Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid Architects, and engineers from Arup. Selection rounds typically involve shortlists published by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum and reviews in outlets such as Architectural Review, Dezeen, ArchDaily, and El Croquis.

Winners and Nominees

Winners and nominees have included a diverse set of towers, offices, mixed-use developments, and residential high-rises from regions spanning Europe, North America, Asia, South America, and Africa. Notable laureates and shortlisted projects have connections to teams and institutions including Herzog & de Meuron, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, SOM, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Foster + Partners, MVRDV, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Gensler, Foster + Partners, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, Santiago Calatrava, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Morphosis Architects, Perkins+Will, NBBJ, UNStudio, César Pelli, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Shigeru Ban, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP, KPF, HOK, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, and developers linked to Tishman Speyer, Hines Interests Limited Partnership, Silverstein Properties, Lendlease Group, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. Shortlists have drawn attention in publications such as The New York Times, Financial Times, and Le Monde.

Impact and Reception

The award has influenced discourse among critics, academics, and practitioners in institutions like Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University College London', Politecnico di Milano, and Delft University of Technology. Professional impact is seen in commissions for firms by clients including sovereign wealth funds, municipal authorities, and corporations such as Deutsche Bank, Mitsubishi Estate, LVMH, Tencent, Samsung, and Alibaba Group. Critics and commentators from outlets like The Guardian, Architectural Digest, Wired, Bloomberg, and The Economist have debated the award’s role in promoting high-rise typologies versus urban-scale concerns advanced by activists and scholars associated with Friends of the Earth, ICLEI, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The prize has been credited with legitimizing high-performance façades, mixed-use programming, and resilience strategies in projects across portfolios of firms like SOM, Arup, Buro Happold, and WSP Global.

Administration and Organization

Administration is managed by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum in coordination with the City of Frankfurt am Main and corporate sponsor DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale. The organizational framework includes exhibition curation, public lectures, and collaboration with partners such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Institut Français, Goethe-Institut, and academic partners including TU Darmstadt and Technische Universität München. Funding and sponsorship arrangements have involved banking institutions, cultural foundations like the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, and international media partners; operational logistics draw on event management firms and cooperative agreements with municipal departments of Frankfurt am Main and partner museums like the Städel Museum.

Category:Architecture awards