The Guangxi China Resources Tower has just received the distinguished “Tall Building Award” from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The soaring skyscraper, standing at 403 meters in Nanning, China, was designed by Goettsch Partners (GP) and built by CR Land. This 86-story tower spanning 272,260 sqm features the Shangri-La Nanning hotel, office space, and retail space.
The crystalline shape of the tower tapers asymmetrically, ending in an illuminated crown that casts a distinctive silhouette and changes the Nanning skyline both during the day and night. The office program, which includes a sky lobby with various services to facilitate access and transfer to the higher office zones, is housed in the lower levels. The structure is surrounded by high-performance floor-to-ceiling glass that includes both passive and active shading mechanisms to provide glare-free, sun-responsive areas.
The hotel program starts at the top of the office volume and is distinguished by a sharp change in the building's profile. The lower volume is topped by a terrace at Level 71, which provides a distinctive outdoor area with the hotel pool and unmatched views of the nearby lakes, parks, and mountains. Interestingly, the hotel pool is the world's highest outdoor pool at exactly 323 meters above grade.
In addition to winning the Best Tall Building 400 Meters and Above category, the Guangxi Tower received an Award of Excellence in the same category. In the Urban Habitat category, CR Land's China Resources Qianhai Centre, another project by GP, was recognized with an Award of Excellence. This massive mixed-use development, which is spread across more than 500,000 square meters in Shenzhen, China, consists of three office towers, a five-star hotel tower, apartment towers, and a terraced retail complex. GP designed all the towers, while the retail complex was created in collaboration with the UK-based design firm Benoy, who also worked on the master plan.
The annual CTBUH Awards Program honors initiatives and people who have made a substantial contribution to the development of tall buildings and the urban environment while attaining the values of sustainability. The program is judged by a global team of specialists who award projects in over 20 categories, such as Best Tall Building, Urban Habitat, Innovation, Structure, and Construction. The initiative's goals are to push performance improvements, provide a thorough overview of the industry's top initiatives, and highlight those that are benefiting people and communities.
Architecture awards are essential as they provide a platform to showcase projects that positively impact communities and set benchmarks for industry standards. In October, RIBA announced that the John Morden Center in London, designed by Mæ, has been awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023. The Center serves as a daycare facility for the residents of Morden College, a retirement community situated in Blackheath. Additionally, the European Commission, in collaboration with the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, has announced the 2024 EUmies Awards nominees. Finally, the National Building Museum just announced that artist Theaster Gates would be the 25th recipient of the Vincent Scully Prize.
