Architecture

Silvery supertall Lotte World Tower named world's best new skyscraper

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Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, has been declared the world's best skyscraper by information specialist Emporis during its annual Skyscraper Awards
Tim Griffith
Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, is the tallest building in South Korea
Tim Griffith
Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, has the world’s fastest elevators
Tim Griffith
Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, has been declared the world's best skyscraper by information specialist Emporis during its annual Skyscraper Awards
Tim Griffith
Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, also has the world's highest glass-bottomed observation deck
Tim Griffith
Runner up Generali Tower, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is nicknamed Lo Storto, which means “the twisted one”
Hufton + Crow
Runner up Generali Tower, by Zaha Hadid Architects, has been certified as LEED platinum by the US green building council
Hufton + Crow
Runner up Generali Tower, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is part of a wider development in the area
Hufton + Crow
Runner up Generali Tower, by Zaha Hadid Architects, hosts offices of the insurance company Generali
Hufton + Crow
Runner up North Riverside, by Goettsch Partners, features an extensive green roof system
Tom Rossiter
Runner up North Riverside, by Goettsch Partners, has been nicknamed  "The Tuning Fork"
Tom Rossiter
Runner up Raffles City Hangzhou, by UNStudio, is meant to be reminiscent of the movement of a river
Hufton+Crow
Runner up Raffles City Hangzhou, by UNStudio, consists of two towers connected by a six-story podium and landscaped plaza
Jin Xing
Runner up Raffles City Hangzhou, by UNStudio, is the firm's largest project to date
Seth Powers
Runner up The Ellipse, by Arquitectonica and Haines Lundberg Waehler, offers fantastic views of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline
Royce Douglas
Runner up The Ellipse, by Arquitectonica and Haines Lundberg Waehler, has darker patches of glazing that represents a river
Royce Douglas
Runner up Azrieli Sharona, by David Azrieli Group, Moshe Zur Architects and Town Planners Ltd, is currently the tallest building in Israel
Erez Gitai
Runner up Azrieli Sharona, by David Azrieli Group, Moshe Zur Architects and Town Planners Ltd, twists around two different axes
Erez Gitai
Runner up River Point, by Pickard Chilton Architects, Inc, has a convex surface that captures natural light for the interior and also provides panoramic views for the residents on the higher floors
Tom Rossiter
Runner up River Point, by Pickard Chilton Architects, Inc, has been certified LEED Platinum
Tom Rossiter
Runner up Ping An Finance Centre, by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is the world’s tallest office building
Tim Griffith
Runner up Ping An Finance Centre, by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is the 4th tallest building in the world
Tim Griffith
Runner up Arena Tower, by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, offers fantastic panoramic London views for the residents
Erez Gitai
Runner up Arena Tower, by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, has an undulating form
Erez Gitai
Runner up Britam Tower, by GAPP Architects Western Cape and Triad Architects, is the tallest building in Kenya and one of highest structures in East and Central Africa
Samuel Ndegwa
Runner up Britam Tower, by GAPP Architects Western Cape and Triad Architects, has turbines on its top that generate electricity
Samuel Ndegwa
View gallery - 25 images

Seoul, South Korea's Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox, has been declared the world's best new skyscraper by information specialist Emporis during its annual Skyscraper Awards. The stunning supertall is defined by its unusual silver appearance and boasts several notable features, including the world's fastest elevator and the world's highest glass-bottomed observation deck.

The Lotte World Tower rises to a height of 555 m (1,820 ft)-tall, which makes it the world's fifth-tallest skyscraper. Its design is inspired by the traditional Korean arts of ceramics, porcelain and calligraphy.

Inside, a total floorspace of 505,300 sq m (roughly 5.5 million sq ft) is spread over 123 floors, which host a hotel, retail space, office space and "officetels," studio apartment-type accommodation for those who work elsewhere in the building. The glass-bottomed observation deck is located at a height of 497.6 m (1,633 ft) and is reached by what's rated the world's fastest elevator. It's a fantastic project and a worthy winner.

"The design combines modern elements with classical forms from Korea's art and cultural history, making Lotte World Tower a particularly harmonious skyscraper," says Emporis' jury.

Second place went to Zaha Hadid Architects' Generali Tower (shown below). Located in Milan, Italy, the skyscraper has an eye-catching twisting form and reaches a height of 170 m (557 ft)-tall.

The building is rated LEED Platinum (a green building standard) and sports a double skin facade and a smart sunscreen with sun-deflecting louvers. It's kept cool with natural ventilation and natural light is also used to reduce artificial lighting needs.

Runner up Generali Tower, by Zaha Hadid Architects, has been certified as LEED platinum by the US green building council
Hufton + Crow

Third place went to 150 North Riverside, by Goettsch Partners (shown below). The Chicago building is 752 ft (229 m)-tall and is located on a very awkward plot squeezed between a river and train tracks that was previously deemed too narrow to build on, according to Emporis.

In a clever bit of engineering, Goettsch Partners designed the building to have a very small footprint which grows outward as it rises.

Runner up North Riverside, by Goettsch Partners, features an extensive green roof system
Tom Rossiter

Hit the gallery to check out the remaining seven runners-up for the 2018 Emporis Skyscraper Award, including an even taller skyscraper by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the Ping An Finance Centre, the curvy Raffles City Hangzhou by UN Studio.

Source: Emporis

View gallery - 25 images
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2 comments
guzmanchinky
Ok is anyone else freaked out by the base of that Chicago skyscraper??? I really just don't see how that's stable!!! Amazing designs, though. The twisting one is the best looking.
Nik
The Goettsch Partners building mimics a very old building in Perigueux, in the Dordogne, France, which was built to minimise its taxes, as at that time buildings were taxed by their ground floor footprint. Coincidentally, it was also built next to a river. In those days the sanitation system would have been a bucket emptied out of a window. Probably why its unoccupied now. The Chicago building would be built, as most hirise are, with a central core, and the floor slung off it, cantilever style, so as long as its balanced, approximately, there'ed be no problem. The French building has stood for a few hundred years, and hasn't the advantage of reinforced concrete, so it had to be balanced.
https://www.google.fr/maps/@45.1830344,0.723877,3a,60y,349.18h,95.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbamv_W0sV7-hK4yG_1dVmg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en