Major Tall Building international competitions

6.4.1 CTBUH International Student Tall Building Design Competition

(http://www.ctbuh.org/competition)

In 2017 the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced its 6th International Student Tall Building Design Competition. Registration deadline: July 17, 2017, 23:30, submission deadline: July 24, 2017, 23:30. Price: free (meaning the winners will get an extensive international publicity).

The goal of the competition is to shed new light on the meaning and value of tall buildings in modern society. In this competition participants are asked to response to the greatest challenges of our time: unprecedented population growth; mass urbanization; climate change; environmental degradation; social, political and economic change; and the rapid advance of myriad technical innovations. The future of humanity on this planet relies on the collective benefits of urban density; reducing both land consumption and the energy needed to construct and operate the horizontally dispersed city. Tall buildings must now be the vehicles for creating increased density not just through sheer height, but by connecting multiple layers of the city. Physical urban infrastructure, circulation, greenery, and urban functions traditionally restricted to the ground level would all, ideally, continue up and into the building, such that the buildings themselves become an extension of the city: a part of the two-dimensional horizontal urban plane flipped vertical.

This competition task is much broader than just to design an energy efficient building. However, for the multidisciplinary team (that we hope you have) this competition might be a great opportunity to work together and create a real conceptual Tall Building, incorporating all of your skills and abilities as architects, engineers, and more.

The participants are free to site their projects anywhere in the world. But this is not to undervalue the importance of site – participants should carefully consider their site (which must be a “real” site, in an existing urban location) as the site context should inherently have significant influence over the project’s design. Participants are also free to determine the size, height, function, accommodation and responsibilities of the building. The intention is these freedoms on site and program will maximize the diversity and creativity of the responses. Participants should engage with the exploration and resolution of the synergistic relationship of placing a tall building in a unique existing urban setting; how that tall building can be inspired by the cultural, physical, and environmental aspects of its site; and how the program of the building is influenced by the micro and macro site/urban conditions; and how the building responds to global issues. Proposals should show evidence of a clear understanding of how considerations of structure, environment, servicing, etc. are as vital to the success of a tall building as the form, materials, aesthetics, etc. Participants need to also consider the CTBUH (Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) Criteria for defining tall buildings, such that “at least 50% of its height is occupied by usable floor area,” (i.e., proposals should be functional “buildings” not simply observation, communication, or other towers). Some of the multi-layered elements that participants should take into consideration may include (in no particular hierarchy):

10. Efficiency of materials, space, and usage

11. Aesthetics

12. Proportions

13. Local, social, and cultural conditions

14. Materiality

15. New technologies

16. Structure

17. Innovative program/functionality

18. Adaptability

19. Transit/mobility

20. Infrastructure