The Emporis Skyscraper Award is the world's most renowned prize for high-rise architecture. It is awarded annually to new buildings at least 100 meters in height that show outstanding architectural design and functionality. Each year, a panel of senior editors select three projects for Gold, Silver and Bronze recognition.
The Emporis Skyscraper Award
Award 2010
Porta Fira won over the judges with its fascinating visual appearance and integration into its urban environment. The red hotel contorts to a height of 113 meters with 26 floors on the outskirts of Barcelona, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. more
Award 2009
- Aqua
- Studio Gang Architects
819.34 ft
Aqua in Chicago is the 2009 recipient of the Emporis Skyscraper Award. The building was chosen by our jury for its dynamic and fascinating visual appearance, its application of green building techniques to large-scale residential construction, and its innovative use of satellite-based positioning technology in precision construction methods. more
Award 2008
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower
- Tange Associates
668.15 ft
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in Tokyo is the 2008 recipient of the Emporis Skyscraper Award. The building was chosen for its innovative creation of a learning environment, its contribution to a sense of place in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, and its clever integration of exterior and interior design. more
Award 2007
- Het Strijkijzer
- AAArchitecten
431.69 ft
Het Strijkijzer in The Hague is the 2007 recipient of the annual Emporis Skyscraper Award. The building was chosen for its elegant reinterpretation of classic high-rise architecture, its contextual approach to a limited site, and its efficient program for accommodating new entrants to the housing market. more
Awards 2006
- Hearst Tower
597.01 ft
Hearst Tower in New York City is the 2006 recipient of the annual Emporis Skyscraper Award. The building was chosen by our jury for its innovative approach to structural expression, its energy-efficient features, its approach to the preservation of the older Hearst Building, and its stunning interior spaces. more
Award 2005
- HSB Turning Torso
- Santiago Calatrava S.A.
623.36 ft
Turning Torso in Malmö (Sweden) was chosen as the best new skyscraper of 2005. The building represents a new basic form in the taxonomy of skyscraper designs. Its twisting shape permits new solutions to the engineering challenges of wind resistance while giving an iconic presence to the Malmö skyline and providing a variety of dynamic views from within. more
Awards 2004
- Taipei 101
- C.Y. Lee & Partners
1,670.60 ft
Taipei 101 in Taipei (Taiwan) was chosen as the best new skyscraper of 2004 for design and functionality by a jury of this website's editors, who selected this building as winner of the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2004. This record-setting tower is the product of advanced structural engineering combined with a design that draws on various appropriate historical and natural sources of inspiration. more
Award 2003
- 30 St Mary Axe
- Foster + Partners
589.90 ft
30 St Mary Axe in London (Great Britain) was chosen as the best new skyscraper of the year 2003 for design and functionality. The building has become the defining focus of the central London skyline and another step into the future of architecture for the British capital. The building is the latest triumph for the renowned architectural firm headed by Lord Norman Foster. more
Award 2002
Kingdom Centre in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) was chosen as the best new skyscraper of the year 2002 for design and functionality by users of this website, who selected this building as Gold Winner of the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2002. more
Award 2001
- One Wall Centre
- Busby + Associates Architects
491.46 ft
One Wall Centre is a narrow 48-story elliptical tower pointed at both ends and clad in blue glass with a sloping roof. At 149.8 m (491 ft.) it is the tallest building in British Columbia, and its designers and engineers had to devise multiple innovations to meet the demands of city authorities. Its extremely thin profile (7:1 width to height ratio) and unusual shape enabled the building to accommodate protected view corridors in the city while maximizing views and light. more
Award 2000
The Sofitel is a new 400-room hotel at 45 West 44th Street in the heart of Manhattan. Construction of the 30-story tower began in 1997 and ended in 2000. The building features a limestone and glass tower flanked by two rectangular 20-story wings, making The Sofitel a striking addition to the skyline. more