Every year some of the best skyscrapers from around the world are nominated for the Skyscraper Award held by Emporis and this year, for the first time in the competition’s history, the winner of the award is an Australian building, One Barangaroo by the UK firm WilkinsonEyre.
One Barangaroo is located in Sydney and has an incredible height of 890 ft (271m). It is the tallest building in the city and the fourth tallest in Australia. The building offers some of the most iconic views of Sydney Harbor and the Opera House. The interior is designed to host luxury residences and a hotel while the exterior is constructed in a unique curving form that gives the impression of three petals twisted together as they rise.
“According to the jury, the extravagant design of One Barangaroo’s exterior facade was the deciding factor for the building coming in at first place,” says Emporis. “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.”
Runner up of the award was the Telus Sky Tower in Calgary Canada by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The magnificent-looking building rises to a height of 728 feet (222m) and features a rectangular base that reduces in size as it rises, creating small terraces and balconies along the way. The building is illuminated by LED lighting installations at night from the Canadian artist Douglas Coupland’s works.
The third place went to One Vanderbilt in New York City, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. The building reaches a height of 1400 feet (427m) and is modeled after the Big Apple skyscraper from the golden days.
To check out the full list of winners of the Emporis Skyscraper Awards, don’t forget to head to this gallery
