The Torre Reforma office tower in Mexico City is the best skyscraper built in the last two years in the world, according to experts at the International Highrise Award. They had to choose from 36 short-list winners, but it was in the Mexican tower - architects and design engineers alike - that they managed to embody the jury's ideas about new high-rise construction. The project was developed by the workshop of local architect Benjamin Romano, together with Arup engineers.
In his hometown, against the general background of skyscrapers, Torre Reforma differs not only in height (and this is the tallest building in the Mexican capital - 246 m), but also in appearance. Massive walls, making the building look like an obelisk, contrast with the usual "glossy" facades of high-rise buildings. For Benjamin Romano, this is a kind of tribute to the traditions of the Aztec culture, whose buildings were dominated by stone, often with a rough surface.
The building has a triangular shape: two concrete walls are joined at an angle of 90 degrees, the third - made of glass and metal diagonally-crossed elements - works as a "hypotenuse". The site was originally a two-story mansion from the beginning of the 20th century, and in order for the presence of the historical building to become economically feasible, it was made part of a skyscraper, built into the main lobby. Now retail premises are rented there.
Mexico City is located in an area of high seismic activity, so the Arup engineering team came up with a design that can twist in case of tremors or strong gusts of wind. This problem is solved by a system consisting of reinforced diaphragm walls connected by special beams. Additionally on concrete surfaces every four floors
windows-slits were made, stretching through three levels; they allow the wall to bend without breaking. Engineers have calculated that the safety factor of the skyscraper will be enough for the predicted earthquakes that are expected in the capital of Mexico in the next 2,500 years.
Among the finalists of the International Highrise Award 2018 was
the MahaNakhon tower, built in Bangkok and became the tallest building in Thailand - 314 meters. The multifunctional skyscraper with "knocked out" pixels from the facade was designed by the studio Buro Ole Scheeren Group, founded by former OMA partner Ole Scheeren. In contact with the seven-story Cube Entertainment Center, the tower forms much-needed public spaces in Bangkok.
Skyscraper
Oasia Downtown (207 m) in Singapore, built by the local workshop WOHA, is perhaps the most striking of the finalists: a red facade is combined with green vines that wind around its lattice structure, and mini-gardens arranged right in the through openings of the skyscraper.
Complex
Chaoyang Park Plaza, 142 m high, is the last Asian finalist for the award and yet another organic building by MAD. This time - the architectural embodiment of the genre of landscape painting shan-shui ("mountains - waters").
The jury also noted the project of the Swiss tandem Herzog & de Meuron. Greened residential complex
Beirut Terraces (119 m) in Beirut is almost perfectly integrated into the local climate.
The International Highrise Award is awarded every two years to the most innovative building from 100 meters high. The award is organized by the Frankfurt authorities, the German Museum of Architecture (DAM) and DekaBank. This year the eighth awards ceremony took place.
