Five Projects in Running for 10th International High-Rise Award

The handful of finalists for IHA 2022/23 were culled from 34 nominated buildings from 13 countries. The finalists, ranging in height from 106 to 206 meters, were completed between summer 2019 and spring 2022. The winner of the prestigious award will be named during a ceremony at Paulskirche Frankfurt on November 8. An exhibition by DAM on the award will open at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt on November 10.

The award recognizes the client and the architect, with the winner receiving a statuette by artist Thomas Demand and prize money of 50,000 euros. Recent winners of the IHA award have included Norra Tornen in Stockholm by OMA (2020), Torre Reforma in Mexico City by L. Benjamín Romano of LBR&A (2018), and VIA 57 West in New York by BIG (2016).

The jury deciding the finalists and winner for 2022/23 is chaired by Sven Thorissen (MVRDV) and includes Eike Becker (Eike Becker_Architekten), Melkan Gursel (Tabanlıoğlu Architects), Bart Lootsma (University of Innsbruck, Eindhoven University of Technology), Matthias Schuler (Transsolar KlimaEngineering), Peter Cachola Schmal (DAM), Andrea Jürges (DAM), Ina Hartwig (City of Frankfurt / Main), and Victor Stoltenburg (DekaBank).

The five finalists are highlighted below, in alphabetical order by name, with texts excerpted from today's announcement and links to the project pages on the website of the International High-Rise Award.

• Location: New York, NY, USA
• Architect: David Chipperfield Architects, London
• Client: HfZ Capital Group
• Function: Residential, hotel
• Height: 115 m
• Completion: June 2021

"Surrounded by historical neighbors such as the New York Public Library, the hotel and residential tower stands at the south west corner of Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, where it blends in with the buildings alternating in height along 40th Street."

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• Location: Sydney, Australia
• Architect: 3XN, Copenhagen,
• Client: AMP Capital
• Function: Offices, retail
• Height: 206 m
• Completion: April 2022

"The Quay Quarter Tower is an identity-generating part of the redevelopment of Sydney’s central business district, the Circular Quay Area. It adjoins Sydney Cove, the bay behind the famous opera house."

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• Location: Singapore
• Architect: Serie Architects, London + Multiply Architects, Singapore, with CPG Consultants, Singapore
• Client: State Courts Singapore
• Function: Courthouse
• Height: 178 m
• Completion: August 2019

"The new Singapore State Courts complex is three times the size of the existing courts building from the 1970s. The preservation of the octagonal building and the relatively small site area made it necessary to stack the 53 courtrooms and 54 hearing rooms. To allow more daylight into the building, the complex was divided into two slender 35-story towers connected by glazed foot bridges up to twelve meters long."

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• Location: Vienna, Austria
• Architect: Henke Schreieck Architekten, Vienna
• Client: ARE Austrian Real Estate Developement, Soravia Investment Holding
• Function: Residential, hotel
• Height: 119 m, 115 m und 106 m
• Completion: October 2021

"Located in Vienna’s 3rd district, directly on the Danube Canal, the high-rise ensemble consists of three residential towers in dialog with each other. The towers are connected by a two-story podium that links the TownTown Business Park with the Danube Canal. The podium contains a wide range of communal areas, restaurants, stores, and a kindergarten, benefiting both residents and neighbors."

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• Location: Vancouver, Canada
• Architect: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen, Denmark / New York, USA
• Client: Westbank Corp.
• Function: Residential, retail
• Height: 156 m
• Completion: February 2020

"Vancouver House, an ensemble of mixed-use podium and slender residential tower, is located at the main entry point to downtown Vancouver, just off the freeway approach to Granville Bridge, forming a gateway to the city. The design aimed to preserve existing sightlines through the city at this location, while at the same time revitalizing the previously unattractive surroundings."

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