The winner of the ninth annual Emporis Award for the Best New Skyscraper of the Year is Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, a 50-story school building in Tokyo's main office district. The winning building was chosen from a worldwide pool of 380 eligible skyscrapers (buildings at least 100 meters tall) which were completed in 2008. Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower was designed by Tange Associates in Tokyo, who will be receiving the award. The building was constructed by the Shimizu Corporation, also of Tokyo.
The Silver Award for second place goes to Boutique Monaco in Seoul, a 27-story, 117 meter tower also known as "Missing Matrix" because of the garden-filled voids carved out of its mass. Designed by Minsuk Cho and Kisu Park of the South Korean firm Mass Studies, Boutique Monaco demonstrates a novel way to humanize an extraordinarily dense urban center with architectural spaces that provide the flexibility, variety, and benefits of rural or suburban buildings.
The Bronze Award was given to Shanghai World Financial Center, currently the second-tallest completed building in the world. Often referred to by its initials, the SWFC features a rectangular hole in its top with a public observatory. Architects of the SWFC were Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. The building was developed by the Mori Corporation, and constructed by Shimizu Construction Company, Shanghai Construction General Company, and China State Construction and Engineering Corporation. Shimizu Corporation, remarkably, was involved in the construction of 2 of the 3 winners for 2008.
Emporis Skyscraper Award 2008
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower wins Emporis Skyscraper Award
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Winning Design
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower was recognized by the award jury for its expressive design and the remarkable environment it provides its users. Located among the giant corporate headquarters of Tokyo's Shinjuku business district, the building houses three vocational schools including its namesake Mode Gakuen, a fashion design university. Its stylish architecture sets a spirit of daring imagination, stimulating the university's students and faculty. The white aluminum and dark blue glass exterior forms a curved shell, criss-crossed by an intricate web of diagonal lines earning it the name "Cocoon Tower". Designed by Tange Associates, the 203.65-meter skyscraper is the second-tallest educational building in the world (surpassed only by Moscow State University), and the tallest constructed since 1953.
Cocoon Tower is built on prime real estate in Tokyo's most important business district, and its graceful shape makes the most of its site, incorporating the traditional motif of "mukuri" (convex curves) to increase floor space in proportion to the height of the building. Located right next to Shinjuku Station, it provides an easily recognizable gateway to the office district and welcomes thousands of commuters every day with a pleasing and elegant image. The interior is full of dynamic auditoriums, study spaces, and atria where students can gather and exchange ideas in a futuristic setting.
The building's futuristic interior holds a variety of dramatic spaces, providing comfortable gathering places for students and an invigorating, forward-looking learning environment. The interwoven diagonal lines of the facade reflect contemporary technological potential, allow soft light into the classrooms, and represent the poetic metaphor of a cocoon, which one jury member described as "an incubation chamber of ideas and talent that will burst out into dazzling butterflies of creativity“.