Best skyscraper stands in New York City
The winner of the annual Emporis Skyscraper Award for the best new Skyscraper of the year is spectacular 34-story residential building VIA 57 West in New York City, USA.
The pyramid shaped winner, designed by the Danish architects BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, was recognized by the award jury for its fascinating and extraordinary shape which breaks new ground in design. VIA 57 West is a hybrid between an European perimeter block and a classic American skyscraper.
Claiming the second place is Torre Reforma designed by LBR Arquitectos situated in Mexico City, Mexico. With a height of 804 feet, it is Mexico City’s tallest skyscraper and also the world’s tallest exposed concrete structure. The jury specifically praises the intelligent environmental solution for a skyscraper. The building is composed of two exposed concrete walls and one main glass façade. The concrete walls protect the interior from direct sunlight and reduces the cooling load. Mexico City is known for its high seismic activity.
For this reason, Torre Reforma has a triangular footprint and combined with the latest engineering knowledge, it is supposed to withstand heavy winds and earthquakes for the next 2,500 years.
In third place the expert jury voted Oasia Hotel Downtown designed by WOHA Architects Pte. Ltd., in Singapore. The project stands out with a remarkable red façade and 21 different species of plants in 1793 planter boxes turning into an urban oasis. The facade is overgrown with different vines to ensure the building's facade is always lush and resilient during different weather conditions. Moreover, the tower offers four open sky gardens which allows wind to pass through the building for good ventilation.
Source: www.emporis.com
Throwback to Emporis Skyscraper Award 2013
The ninth place in the voting went to AZ Tower designed by Burian-Křivinka Architects. The 111-meter-tall skyscraper is situated in Brno (Czech Republic). Thirty-meter deep power piles cool the building in summer and heat it in winter with the help of a heat pump. It's the only building in the Czech Republic using this energy-efficiant way of regulating the temperature. The tower’s most noticeable design features are the speckled façade in orange and white and its contours with the characteristic bend in the middle of the building. The building offers a system of combined natural and forced ventilation in the offices and the apartments.
Source: www. Emporis.com
V Tower
V Tower is a skyscraper in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the highest residential building in the Czech Republic with 104 metres in height and 30 floors. The construction started in 2016 and ended in 2018. An example of modern Czech architecture, the building will be divided into a pair of towers which are to be linked at two-thirds of their height, above which they will continue upwards separately. V tower was designed by the award-winning architectural studio, Radan Hubička. The architectural studio has been successful in producing renowned designs for residential buildings and luxury apartments and, in 2005, the company won a competition to design the City Epoque Complex in Prague. The idea behind the shape of V Tower is to represent the yin and yang - the masculine and the feminine. The "V" is symbolic of openness, optimism, joy, and freedom. The building itself is constructed of glass walls which are designed so that they will reflect light from every angle, as opposed from being transparent.
Residential building V Tower in Prague. Photo: PSJ Invest
A nice view to the world of high-rise buildings is provided by a book by Petr Vorlík „Czech skyscraper“ with the title „The most interesting high-rise buildings of the 20th and 21st centuries“.
Source: Wikipedia.cz
107-Meter Waterfall Attraction on 121-Meter Hotel in Guiyang, China
New video footage reveals the latest incredible skyscraper being constructed in China, which incorporates a giant waterfall into its facade. Named the Liebian International Building, the 121-meter tall tower in Guiyang, southwest China, has been built to include a dramatic a 108-metre-high water feature. This unique feature is one of the largest artificial waterfalls in the world, and the tallest to be included in a building. It is operated by four pumps that feed from underground tanks containing rainwater and runoff. The dramatic building, which is being developed by Ludi Industry Group, is not yet complete. But it is believed that the water feature has been functional for the past two years.
Source: www.dezeen.com
