CTBUH releases full program for 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference

Finalist in the Best Tall Building: Asia & Australasia category Marina One, Singapore. Photo: © Ingenhoven Architects – HG Esch

Chicago — The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) released the full program for the 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference, which will be held in Chicago, May 30-31. The conference will take place across two tracks of programming, where the owner/developer and design teams for each of the 48 Finalist projects will present to an international audience and live juries for consideration of winning titles across eight Award categories. The winners in each regional category will then compete for the honor of overall “Best Tall Building Worldwide.”

During the course of the two-day program, attendees will be able to choose from two tracks of concurrent presentations given by a prominent set of owner/developer and design speakers. The first day of the conference will kick off with the Opening Plenary, which will feature presentations from the winners of the CTBUH 2018 Lifetime Achievement Awards – Larry Silverstein, Chairman of Silverstein Properties; and Aine Brazil, Vice Chairman of Thornton Tomasetti.

Presentations from each finalist team will follow the Opening Plenary, grouped into a series of sessions that each focus on a specific award category. Here, speakers will explore a variety of urban themes while detailing the ways in which their projects represent the very best in innovative tall buildings, urban spaces, building technologies, and construction practices.

“The inaugural Tall + Urban Innovation Conference was born from a popular desire to expand the CTBUH Annual Awards Event into a more programmatic occasion that focuses additional attention on the sharing of knowledge,” said Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender. “All of the projects that are set to present on this stage will promote best practices throughout the entire industry.” After the finalist project presentations, distinguished juries will deliberate and select winners in each category, which will be announced at a ceremony on the second day of the conference. The main jury is responsible for selecting the Best Tall Building Regional Finalists and Winners, as well as the overall worldwide winner. The jury is comprised of Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director, Fender Katsalidis; H.E. Mohamed Ali Allabar, Chairman, Emaar Properties; Kamil Merican, Chief Executive Officer, GDP Architects; CTBUH Chairman Steve Watts, Partner, alinea Consulting; and CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.

“This is an opportunity not just to celebrate the incredible work happening across all disciplines of the tall building industry, but to gather our colleagues from across the globe to gain knowledge, exchange ideas, and build new connections,” Watts said.

The 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference will be held at the Radisson Blu Aqua, located in the base of the famous Aqua Tower in Chicago – itself a finalist for the Best Tall Building Americas award in 2010. Registration for the conference is open at https://tallinnovation2018.com, where additional details can be found.