Absolute World Towers © Edvard Mahnic
Emporis, based in Hamburg, Germany, has named the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga, Ont. winner of its annual Skyscraper Award.
The two towers were selected by an international jury of experts from over 300 skyscrapers at least 100 meters tall completed last year, the company says. Emporis (www.emporis.com) is an international provider of building data.
Absolute World Towers, which form part of a five-building complex and were designed by the architectural practices MAD and Burka Architects, won over the jury primarily through their unmistakable design: “The way the two structures twist organically by up to eight degrees per floor is not just a superb technical achievement, but also a refreshing change to the set forms of high-rise routine,” says the panel of experts in explaining the choice of the pair of towers, 176 and 158 meters tall, as the winner.
© Edvard Mahnic
The second-place project is Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi, designed by Aedas Architects. Due to its innovative facade, the skyscraper complex convinces in terms of both climate and design criteria, the company says. The outer skin of the facades is rotated by computer in response to the sun’s position, leading to a substantial reduction in thermal energy inside the buildings. In designing the towers, the architects drew inspiration from Arab mashrabiya windows – sun and privacy screens found in traditional Islamic architecture.
The expert jury voted Burj Qatar, a 238-meter-tall skyscraper in Doha, into third place. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, it is the building’s exceptional facade design that stands out. The metal mesh façade design – as with Al Bahr Towers – also draws on traditional mashrabiya windows and is intended to contribute to protection from the sun. The imposing effect of the ornamental facade reaches its full expression under the dome that tops the cylinder-shaped skyscraper.
This is the second time the top prize has gone to Canada. In 2001, Vancouver’s One Wall Centre claimed the coveted top spot.
