This year the world’s most renowned architecture award for skyscrapers, the Emporis Skyscraper Award, goes to One Barangaroo in Sydney. For the first time in the more than 20 year-long history of the awards, the prestigious trophy goes to Australia. One Barangaroo is a 890-foot-tall skyscraper, designed by British architect WilkinsonEyre and is the tallest building in Sydney, offering spectacular views of Sydney Harbor and the city’s iconic Opera House.
Photo credit: Sergius Kirsch (CoStar Group)
Like every year, the winner of the Emporis Skyscraper Award was selected by an international jury of architectural experts from over 300 skyscrapers that were completed in 2020 with a minimum height of 100 meters. For more than 20 years, the renowned award has been awarded by Emporis (www.emporis.com), the international provider of building data, and is an indispensable part of the international architecture scene.
According to the jury, the extravagant design of One Barangaroo’s exterior façade was the deciding factor for the building coming in at first place. It is inspired by natural shapes and resembles three petals rising slightly twisted into the sky. The magnificent tower stands on a four-story high podium, the outer walls of which are decorated with a mantle of marble. In addition to a casino, apartments and restaurants, the building also houses a luxury six-star hotel owned by the Crown Resort Group, Australia’s largest entertainment conglomerate and developer of One Barangaroo.
Second place was awarded to TELUS Sky in Calgary which has become the city’s third tallest building. The tower is named after its tenant “Telus Communications” a Canadian telecommunications company. TELUS Sky stands out because of its extraordinary structure and façade: it has a rectangular base and with rising height the floor plates gradually reduce in size, creating small terraces and balconies. The façade is illuminated at night by a public art LED lighting installation which has been designed by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland. The installation is also accompanied by a smartphone app with live information about the ongoing light performance.
Photo credit: Sergius Kirsch (CoStar Group)
In third place is One Vanderbilt in New York City. The skyscraper, designed by Kohn Pedersen and Fox, is located near Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and combines state-of-the-art office space with direct connections to one of the city’s largest transport hubs. The striking features of the tower are the four visually clearly separated modules which combined give the building an asymmetrical, distinctive shape, making it one of New York’s latest eye-catchers in the Manhattan skyline.
Photo credit: Sergius Kirsch (CoStar Group)
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was a turbulent and challenging year that also had a strong impact on the construction industry; the total number of skyscrapers completed in 2020 fell by 20% in comparison to the previous year. Nevertheless, the top 10 buildings selected for the Emporis Skyscraper Awards clearly show that many impressive skyscrapers were completed despite the difficult conditions faced by owners, developers, construction companies and architects. In the coming year strong growth is expected to return which underlines the resilience of the construction industry and makes the jury very optimistic for the candidates of next year’s award.
Hitachi has announced it will install an elevator capable of reaching speeds of 45mph (72km/h) into a skyscraper in Guangzhou, southern China.
The world’s fastest elevator would take 43 seconds to go from the first to 95th floor in the Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre, the company said.
The skyscraper is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
Currently, the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan holds the record for fastest elevator – it can travel up to 60.6km/h.
Hitachi promised a “comfortable ride” even at high speeds in the new elevator.
The world’s fastest elevator would take 43 seconds to go from the first to 95th floor in the Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre
The elevators would prevent ear blockages, Hitachi said, by artificially altering air pressure in the car.
Hitachi said guiding “rollers” that adapted to warping caused by wind pressure would mean the ride remained smooth.
And brakes able to resist extreme heat would activate in the “unlikely” event of a malfunction.
The building will have in total 95 elevators, two of which will be operate at the ultra-high speed.
Twenty-eight “double-decker” elevators will also be installed into the building.
The Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre will house office, hotel and residential space.
If the Hitachi elevator performs as well as the company has said, it will comfortably top the global chart for fastest elevator.
Today’s record is held in Taiwan, where passengers in the Taipei 101 building are flung from the fifth to the 89th floor in 37 seconds, a speed of 1,010m (3,313ft) per minute.
The Yokohama Landmark Tower in Japan moves its passengers at 750m per minute, while the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, has a lift that moves at 600m per minute.
London’s Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe, has elevators that move at 360m per minute.
New York City’s newly erected One World Trade Center has been declared the tallest building in the US, at 1,776 ft (541 m).
The Height Committee of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat announced its decision in Chicago.
The previous title holder was that city’s tallest building, the Willis Tower, at 1,451 ft (442 m).
The committee ruled a 408ft needle at the top counted toward its height.
One World Trade Center has been declared the tallest building in the US
Antony Wood, executive director of the committee, which is seen as the final official word on building heights around the world, said the needle counted as a permanent structure.
Without that needle, the building measures 1,368 feet, well below the height of the Willis Tower, which was formerly known as the Sears Tower.
Both skyscrapers fall well short of the world’s tallest building, the 2,723 ft (830 m) Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
One World Trade Center was built on the lower Manhattan site of the iconic Twin Towers, which were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 along with other buildings in the World Trade Center complex.
More than 2,000 people were killed there.
One World Trade Center ‘s height of 1,776 ft is a symbolic reference to the year of the signing of the US declaration of independence from Britain.
From the toilet in The Shard you can marvel at landmarks including the Tower of London and HMS Belfast as you gaze across the River Thames.
The toilet is on the 68th floor of the £2 billion ($3 billion) development, 800 ft up the 1,016 ft high skyscraper, western Europe’s tallest, which opens to visitors next month
Most people, however, will be enjoying the spectacular 40-mile views from the official viewing areas.
The opening day for the attraction, known as The View from the Shard, February 1 is sold out as is the second day, despite tickets costing up to £24.95 ($39) for adults and £18.95 ($30) for children.
In the viewing areas visitors will be able to look through special telescopes known as Tell: scopes. These are particularly useful if visibility is poor as they show not only a live “as it is” image but, at the push of a button, what a clear-day view would be as well as a sunset view and a night view.
Those using the telescopes will, by focusing on a particular landmark, receive audible information about it.
From the toilet in The Shard you can marvel at landmarks including the Tower of London and HMS Belfast as you gaze across the River Thames
The View from the Shard chief executive Andy Nyberg said: “This is the only place you can see the whole of London at once and, as such, is a natural starting point for exploring the UK’s capital.”
Comment from spokesman about the “loo with a view”: “The main toilets for The View from The Shard are located on level 1 of the attraction.
“A limited number of these <<loos with a view>> are available on Level 68 for those that need them, however they are not normally open for general use.”
Organizers say there should not be queues, but to amuse those waiting to go through security, special, cheeky, murals have been created.
Showing 140 famous Londoners in playful juxtapositions, the murals depict the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a Pearly King and Queen, London Mayor Boris Johnson shining the shoes of a top-hatted former mayor Ken Livingstone and the Queen – with corgi – riding on a scooter.
The Shard is part of redevelopment of the London Bridge area. The glassy, triangular-shaped Shard has 600,000sq ft of offices, three floors of restaurants and a 200-room Shangri-La hotel which is due to open this summer.
There are also 10 luxury apartments which are expected to go for as much as £50 million ($80 million) each and which are expected to be let out.
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