New York architecture studio Arquitectonica has designed a residential skyscraper with undulating fins on its facade and a landscaped terrace garden in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Called The Launiu, the 40-storey skyscraper is located in the Ward Village development in Hawaii's capital Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

According to Arquitectonica, the design for the structure was informed by natural formations and the movement of wind, water and sand in Oahu, the third largest in the chain of islands that makes up the state of Hawaii.

"The natural beauty of O'ahu served as our primary design inspiration for The Launiu," said Arquitectonica founding principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia.

"With the neutral-toned facade and soft rippling exterior created by balconies, we sought to pay homage to the surrounding environment through an interpretative, elemental design that conveys movement, emulating the effects of water, wind or markings in the sand."

"The resulting concept is organic yet contemporary."

Sited near the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, the structure will consist of a glass-curtain-wall-lined tower set on top of a rectangular podium.

Its podium will also be covered in a glass curtain wall, with white paint-aluminium panels framing each of its sides. The first storey will cantilever out over the ground floor, creating a canopy around the building that will be supported by concrete columns.

The entrance will be marked by a series of sand-coloured aluminium panels undulating in waves up the face of the podium,

The tower of The Launiu will be set back significantly from the edges of the podium. This is to create a large terrace that will be covered in palm trees and amenities for the residents of the 486 condominiums, 90 of which will be in the podium.

The remaining residences will be spread throughout the tower. Its facades will also be covered in white-painted aluminium panels cut to form a wave-like texture up the face of the building.

California studio Odada will bring a minimalist interior design schema to the project, adorning the white-washed spaces with woven furniture and textiles.

Landscape studio Vita, also based in California, will carry out the design of the green terrace and surrounding grounds, weaving paths and lounge areas among the pines and pools of the development.

Ward Village is a planned community developed by Howard Hughes and contains several residential and commercial structures. The development is meant to represent "the next generation of sustainable development and land-use planning on O'ahu," according to the company.

Arquitectonica was founded in 1977 and has carried out several high-profile architecture projects, especially in Miami, where it created the building that houses the University of Miami's architecture school.

Other big-name firms from the mainline have created similar residential projects on the islands, including a 41-storey building by Studio Gang informed by the form of sugarcane.

The renderings are courtesy of Arquitectonica. 

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Architect and developer Alloy has released images of its glass-clad Brooklyn skyscraper, which has a "wedding cake-like" shape and will reportedly run on all-electric power.

The residential skyscraper, called 505 State Street after its location in downtown Brooklyn, has already topped out at 482 feet tall (146 metres).

With 44 storeys, the skyscraper is sited on a triangular block where three Brooklyn streets converge. This gives it a wedge-like plan, similar to the iconic Flat Iron Building in Manhattan. The majority of its face is clad in glass and aluminium.

"The site itself is triangular, and weirdly enough, if you draw the Flat Iron floor plan on our site, it's almost identical. The heights are very similar," Alloy design director Ben Meade told Dezeen, noting that the structure is the studio's first "major ground-up skyscraper".

"It's a plan that references old school architecture, a wedding cake-like stack."

On one side, the tower is flat. On the other side, it steps back from the street to maximise views of downtown Manhattan over the East River and to cohere with the street-level brownstone buildings and historic architecture, like the historic Williamsburg Savings Bank tower.

In order to blend into the surrounding architecture as seamlessly as possible, the bottom three floors of the skyscraper were clad in dark textural concrete.

"We wanted to make sure we weren't dropping a spaceship into downtown Brooklyn," said Meade.

"We wanted to be respectful of a landmark that's been there for a long time, while still forming a gateway up from Prospect Park to greater downtown Brooklyn."

Meade said that rather than creating an "imposing" tower, the team wanted to create a "backdrop" for the people of Brooklyn.

The use of aggregate on the lower levels will also help integrate the building into the remainder of the block, which is also being developed by Alloy and will include what it claims will be the first two schools to meet Passive House environmental standards in the city, designed by local studio Architecture Research Office.

An energy-efficient approach was also taken for the skyscraper itself. Alloy claims that when completed, the 441 residences within will be powered completely by electricity.

This will require the installation of electric induction cookware in the kitchens, electrical water heaters, heat-pump dryers and high-quality glass.

The studio also said that it has filed a request to the city for the building to be powered completely by renewable energy sources.

"Alloy is the first developer to pursue such a program following a rule issuance by the New York City Department of Buildings around Local Law 97 confirming developers can comply with the law through off-site solar programs," said the firm.

For the interiors, Alloy worked with local interior design studio INC Architecture and designer Rebecca Robertson to design all of the furniture.

The apartments feature ceilings between nine and 12 feet tall and exposed concrete mixed with oak flooring and detailing.

Currently, the cladding for the structure is almost complete, with only the bulkhead still unfinished, and the tower will be completely finished by 2025.

Historically smaller in vertical scale than neighbouring Manhattan, Brooklyn has seen a flurry of skyscraper development in the past few years, including the SHoP Architects-designed Brooklyn Tower, the borough's first supertall skyscraper, and a skyscraper with an undulating facade by Studio Gang.

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These construction photos capture One Za'abeel, a pair of skyscrapers and a 230-metre-long cantilever, on which Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei is nearing completion in Dubai.

In the construction images revealed by One Za'abeel, the complex is shown near completion with its record-breaking skybridge, named The Link, spanning a six-lane highway.

According to Mace, one of the construction companies working on the project, the steel and glass bridge is the "world's longest cantilever".

It is just 16 metres shorter than the smallest of the two skyscrapers that flank it, which measures 235 metres in height. The tallest of the two buildings extends to 305 metres, making it a supertall skyscraper.

Nikken Sekkei is set to officially complete One Za'abeel at the end of this month. Being one of the first visible structures for those travelling from the airport, it is hoped to become a landmark for Dubai.

Inside, The Link contains an infinity pool that runs its entire length. The horizontal structure will also feature a range of restaurants, as well as retail and leisure facilities.

These offerings form part of a wider mixed-use programme for the complex, which will also contain offices, hotels and residences.

According to Nikken Sekkei, One Za'abeel's "iconic design strikes a clear departure from the existing buildings around it".

One Za'abeel has been designed by Nikken Sekkei for developer Ithra Dubai. The lift of the dramatic cantilever over the highway was carried out over the live highway in 2020.

The project is not the first record-breaking building in Dubai. The city is also home to the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, which was completed in 2010 to a design by architect Adrian Smith while working at architecture studio SOM.

Other habitable buildings with significant cantilevers include the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, which features a roof with a column-free cantilever of 85 metres, and the observation deck at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which projects 66.5 metres.

The photography is courtesy of One Za'abeel.

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California architecture studio AO and developer Matteson Capital have announced plans to change the height of a proposed Oklahoma City supertall skyscraper, which would make it the tallest building in the US if approved.

AO and Matteson Capital announced in a joint statement that they plan to request a variance from Oklahoma City to increase the height of the supertall skyscraper from its original proposed 1,750 feet (533 metres) to 1,907 feet (581 metres).

"Matteson Capital and AO announced today that they will request a variance from the City of Oklahoma City to increase the height for one of the towers in the already entitled development known as The Boardwalk at Bricktown," claimed the team.

"If approved, the height variance will make the structure the tallest building in the United States and currently fifth tallest in the world."

The extra 157 feet (47 metres) proposed for the skyscraper would bring it to 1907 feet tall (581 metres), a homage to the year that Oklahoma was granted statehood. Newly released renderings show a definitive spire rising from the top of the structure.

The Boardwalk at Bricktown is a mixed-used development encompassing three approved 345-foot-tall (105 metre-tall) towers and a fourth supertall skyscraper, with its originally proposed height still pending approval.

If approved, it would unseat the 1,776-foot-tall (541 metres) SOM-designed One World Trade Center in New York as the tallest building in the US and the Western Hemisphere.

100 condominiums and a 350-key Hyatt hotel are planned for Legends Tower, with a top floor that will consist of an observatory, bar and restaurant.

At approximately 5 million square feet, The Boardwalk at Bricktown is a "mixed-use marvel" and will include hotels, condominiums, retail and commercial space and "1,776 residential units ranging from market-rate to affordable workforce and luxury options", according to the team.

Renderings of the development show three geometric buildings clustered closely around the base of a skyscraper which tapers along its height to end in a bisected top.

Other towers currently being built around the US are included in this round-up of eight upcoming skyscrapers in the United States, while Fraser & Partners recently unveiled designs for what may be the world's tallest hybrid timber tower in Perth.

The images are courtesy of AO.

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From the JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York designed by UK architecture studio Foster + Partners to be "all-electric" to Miami's first supertall skyscraper, we round up eight skyscrapers coming to the United States.

In various stages of development, the projects below are underway, with Jahn Studio's 1000 M in Chicago and SOM's Two Manhattan West already at full height in their respective cities.

Some, like the Wilson Tower in Austin, have faced various construction delays, though the Texan city holds more spaces on this list than skyscraper-studded New York City.

Read on for eight upcoming projects in cities across the US.

1000 M, Chicago, by Helmut Jahn

Located in the Historic Michigan Avenue District of Chicago, 1000 M is a 73-storey skyscraper spanning 788 feet (240 metres), that consists of an angular base topped with a curved edge tower.

Originally, the tower was planned to reach 832 feet (254 metres) tall, but restrictions in the area caused the developers to reduce the height. The tower's topped out in late summer 2023.

Find out more about 1000 M ›

Two Manhattan West, Manhattan, by SOM

Two Manhattan West is one of a pair of towers supported by "mega columns" at their bases.

It is part of the Manhattan West development, which covers more than seven million square feet combined (650,321 square metres), with a masterplan by SOM that includes residential, retail, hotel and office spaces just north of New York's High Line.

After nine years of development, the project will be completed in early 2024.

Find out more about Two Manhattan West ›

Sixth and Guadalupe, Austin, by Gensler 

Joining several skyscrapers under construction in Austin, Gensler's Sixth and Guadalupe will reach 875 feet (267 metres) high and consist of two industrial glass and steel volumes atop a podium.

It will host residential and office programs, as well as the city's highest sky pool deck.

Wilson Tower, Austin, by HKS

The Wilson Tower by HKS was set to be the tallest building in Texas at 80 storeys before its height was halved after an unsuccessful review in January 2023.

Now spanning 45 storeys, a new iteration of the design maintains the brise soleil wrapped facade, while the team plans to adjust the ground floor programming.

Find out more about Wilson Tower ›

JPMorgan Chase headquarters, Manhattan, by Foster + Partners 

Topped out in November 2023, the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters by Foster + Partners will be New York's "largest all-electric tower", according to the architecture studio.

Located at 270 Park Avenue, it has 60 storeys and reaches 1,388 feet (423 metres) high, with a stilted base raised 80 feet (27 metres) off the ground.

Find out more about JPMorgan Chase headquarters ›

Waterline, Austin, by KPF

Estimated to be completed in 2026, the 1,022-foot-tall (312 metres) mixed-used Waterline tower is set to be the tallest in the state of Texas, unseating the JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston.

Located along Waller Creek, the building will consist of 74 storeys distributed across three distinct volumes and separated by open-air spaces supported by surrounding columns.

Find out more about Waterline ›

The Waldorf Astoria Miami, Miami, by Sieger Suarez Architects and Carlos Ott

Set to be Miami's first supertall skyscraper, according to developer PMG, the Waldorf Astoria Miami will contain 100 storeys and reach 1,049 feet (319.7 metres) high.

Located in Downtown Miami, it consists of nine offset cubes intended to emphasise the structure's suspension and height, which will host the five-star Waldorf Astoria hotel as well as private residences.

Find out more about the Waldorf Astoria Miami ›

Tower 36, Miami, by KPF

Unanimously approved as of October 2023, Tower 36 located in Miami's Design District will be 635 feet (193 metres) tall and will be the tallest office building in the district, according to KPF.

The building will consist of a tapered tower atop a rectangular base, with terraces on all office floors that are detailed with light bronze soffit accents.

Header rendering is of JPMorgan Headquarters courtesy of DBOX for Foster + Partners.

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The impact that The Line megacity in Neom could have on birds has been named among the most pressing conservation issues for 2024.

Planned for nine million people, the planned city in Saudi Arabia was highlighted in the Trends in Evolution & Ecology journal as one of 15 key issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation in 2024.

"It is likely to pose a substantial risk"

In the piece, titled "A horizon scan of global biological conservation issues for 2024", the journal pointed to the scale of The Line along with its planned mirrored facades as a risk to migratory bird species.

"Although marketed as being sustainable, its dimensions (500 metres high, 200 metres wide, and 170 kilometres long), design (including mirrored facades and, potentially, roof-top wind turbines), and east–west orientation at the head of the Red Sea mean it is likely to pose a substantial risk to migratory species, particularly passerine birds."

Set to be built in Saudi Arabia as part of the controversial Neom development, The Line will stretch 170 kilometres across the northwest of the country.

It is planned as a pair of parallel skyscrapers, each 500 metres high, which will sit 200 metres apart and have mirrored facades. Reflective surfaces are understood to be one of the biggest causes of bird deaths each year.

"The magnitude of The Line may pose a novel threat"

The piece highlighted that the location of The Line in a "bottleneck" for migrating birds is also a cause for concern.

"Collisions with buildings kill an estimated 365-988 million birds annually in the USA alone, and 16-42 million in Canada," stated the journal.

"The magnitude of The Line may pose a novel threat to the eastern populations of the estimated 2.1 billion migratory birds of more than 100 species that migrate from Europe to Africa in autumn each year, for which this area forms a bottleneck with downstream ecological consequences."

As few details are known about the design, and "no environmental impact assessment has yet been published", the journal suggested that there were opportunities to lessen the impacts.

"Higher collision risks are associated with lit windows and with larger expanses of continuous glass," it said. "This would suggest that there may be some opportunities for mitigating impacts."

"Designated nature corridors" set to be built into The Line

In an interview with Dezeen, Neom's executive director for urban planning Tarek Qaddumi explained that The Line's facades will be treated to reduce collisions and incorporate "nature corridors" that align with migratory bird paths.

"These exact migration paths and patterns are being mapped by a dedicated team of scientists over the next few years," he said.

"Birds that fly at different heights will also have their designated nature corridors that are designed in combination with the right glass treatment," he explained.

Among the glass treatments that Qaddumi expects to be used in the project are ceramic frits, which are among the most common ways to make buildings more bird-friendly.

Awareness of bird collisions has increased in architecture in recent years. In 2021, NYC Audubon volunteer Melissa Breyer hit headlines when she collected the corpses of over 200 birds that had flown into buildings at the World Trade Center.

In the US, city officials have been introducing more stringent guidelines to prevent bird collisions with their buildings, while the UK is lagging behind. In 2022, Dezeen found that none of the UK's biggest cities have policies in place to protect birds from deadly strikes.

The Line forms part of Neom, which is one of the world's largest and most controversial projects. It will contain 10 regions – all of which have now been announced.

Neom has been criticised on human rights grounds, including by human rights organisation ALQST which reported that three men were sentenced to death after being "forcibly evicted" from its site.

Last year experts from the UN Human Rights Council expressed "alarm" over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabia responded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place.

The renders are courtesy of Neom.

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As Zaha Hadid Architects' The Henderson skyscraper nears completion on the world's most expensive site in Hong Kong, we take a look at 10 other skyscrapers in the works by the studio.

Founded by the late Zaha Hadid in 1980, the studio has designed many well-known buildings ranging from the MAXXI in Rome to London's Aquatic Centre.

Zaha Hadid Architects' portfolio already includes several distinctive skyscrapers around the world, such as One Thousand Museum in Miami and Morpheus hotel in Macau, with many more on the way.

Read on for 10 upcoming skyscrapers by the studio.

The Henderson office, Hong Kong

Zaha Hadid Architects' 36-storey The Henderson in Hong Kong, which has a curved glass facade informed by the buds of an orchid, was recently photographed nearing completion.

The site at 2 Murray Road was widely reported as the world's most expensive plot when it was purchased for the project in 2017.

Find out more about The Henderson office ›

OPPO headquarters, Shenzhen, China

Slated to be completed by 2025, the OPPO Shenzhen headquarters will consist of four interconnected towers designed to house open-plan offices for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer.

Each tower will be characterised by sinuous glass forms that taper inwards toward ground level, despite their varying heights.

Find out more about OPPO headquarters ›

Tower C, Shenzhen, China

Tower C is another skyscraper planned for Shenzhen, which Zaha Hadid Architects designed as a pair of supertalls linked by a multi-storey podium of curved green terraces and aquaponic gardens.

Expected to be finished by 2027, the mixed-use development will reach nearly 400 metres in height and become one of the city's tallest buildings.

Find out more about Tower C ›

Mercury Tower, Paceville, Malta

Currently under construction, Mercury Tower has been the tallest building in Malta since it topped out in 2020.

Reaching 122 metres in height, the skyscraper features a distinctive twist in its structure, which divides the building's residential apartments and hotel rooms.

Find out more about Mercury Tower ›

Discovery Tower, Sarawat Mountains, Saudi Arabia

Discovery Tower is a shard-shaped crystalline skyscraper, which is planned for the Trojena ski resort as part of Neom in Saudi Arabia.

Visuals recently released by Neom show a supertall structure defined by numerous columns that taper toward the peak and will house observation decks and restaurants.

Find out more about Discovery Tower ›

Vauxhall Cross Island towers, London, UK

Construction has reportedly begun on Vauxhall Cross Island towers – a duo of buildings in south London that will be connected by a shared podium and feature 53 and 42 storeys respectively.

Plans for the mixed-use development previously caused a stir when opponents of the scheme were angered by the heights originally proposed for the towers.

Find out more about Vauxhall Cross Island towers ›

Bora Residential Tower, Mexico City, Mexico

Located in the Santa Fe business district in Mexico City, the Bora Residential Tower is currently being constructed with a completion date yet to be confirmed.

When complete, the six-tower building will be over 50-storeys tall, making it the "highest residential tower" in the city, according to Zaha Hadid Architects.

Find out more about The Bora Residential Tower ›

Daxia Tower, Xi'an, China

Planned for China's Xi'an business district, Daxia Tower will reach 210 metres tall when complete.

The mixed-use building will feature a curved form and planted interior terraces that "echo mountainside waterfalls", according to the tower's architects.

Find out more about Daxia Tower ›

The Mayfair, Melbourne, Australia

The Mayfair is an upcoming tower in Melbourne with a completion date yet to be confirmed.

The 64-metre-high apartment block will be defined by facades covered in angular balconies and a roof crowned by a pair of swimming pools.

Find out more about The Mayfair ›

CECEP Shanghai Campus, Shanghai, China

Developed for Chinese renewable energy company CECEP, this mixed-use building will utilise renewable energy technologies and recycled materials when constructed, according to its architects.

Planned for north-east Shanghai beside the Huangpu River, the campus will consist of three interlinked towers when complete.

Find out more about CECEP Shanghai Campus ›

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Portuguese studio OODA has revealed a skyscraper made up of 13 staggered cube volumes as its design for the Hora Vertikale residential development in Tirana.

Scheduled to break ground in spring 2024, the 140-metre-tall building will include apartments stacked over a park with public amenities.

Located in the Albanian capital, OODA wants the building to engage the local community and described it as "a unique vertical village set amidst a large green city".

The studio designed 13 cubes, in seven variations, for the building that each measure 22.5 metres by 22.5 metres and seven stories tall – the typical height of buildings in Tirana, according to the studio.

Three rows of three cubes will form the base of the building, with some set apart and slightly rotated to form narrow gaps. Two side-by-side cubes will sit on top, followed by two singular  to form a building that is six cubes tall.

Some cubes will have gridded facades with regular window openings, while others will have protruding blocks and rounded elements.

The uppermost cube will feature angular balconies supported by columns punctuating the perimeter.

"Each cube embodies a unique concept related to art and is also inspired by the local vernacular," said OODA.

OODA claims the building will be made from materials locally sourced from Albania, intending to reduce its carbon footprint and support local businesses.

"The result is a building that leaves a lasting impact on both city visitors and those who live there," said the studio.

The building was designed to have a striking impression on the landscape, with a staggered blocky exterior that has a distinct appearance from all angles.

"From a distance, the building presents distinct elevations and perceptions from different views around the city," said OODA.

"Up close, the concept's playful interplay reveals its secrets, and the compositions step back from the main road towards the park at the rear, creating the most adequate transition in terms of scale."

Hora Vertikale is the latest high-profile skyscraper with a distinctive design set to be built in Tirana, following Chybik + Kristof's design for a cascading tower made from red concrete.

MVRDV has also revealed plans for a skyscraper in the city, which will have a silhouette modelled on the bust of the prominent Albanian historical figure Gjergj Kastrioti.

With offices based in Porto and Lisbon, OODA was established in 2010 and is led by partners Diogo Brito, Francisco Lencastre, João Jesus, Julião Pinto Leite and Rodrigo Vilas-Boas.

The studio has previously renovated a ceramic-tiled building in Porto into 14 apartments and collaborated with Kengo Kuma to convert a slaughterhouse into a cultural centre.

The images are by Plomp.

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US firm Morris Adjmi Architects has designed a 43-storey residential skyscraper in Chicago with a "deeply expressive" facade that takes cues from the city's industrial past and the work of architect Mies van der Rohe.

The 480-foot (146-metre) building is located in Chicago's Fulton Market District – a former meatpacking area that has undergone extensive redevelopment in the past few decades.

The skyscraper was designed by New York's Morris Adjmi Architects, with interiors overseen by March and White Design (MAWD), which has offices in London, New York and Los Angeles.

The building – which has a blocky, L-shaped footprint – holds 300 residential units and a range of tenant amenities, such as a fitness area, children's room and library.

The ground level holds retail space, and the main entrance is located on Peoria Street.

Designed in homage to the area's industrial heritage and Chicago's "muscular and ubiquitous" elevated rail lines, the building has gridded facades made with steel and glass.

The structural system is reinforced concrete with post-tension slabs.

"The Row features a signature, deeply expressive glass-and-metal facade defined by steel beams and curved aluminum brackets," the team said.

The brackets are a nod to the arched gusset plates found on the elevated rail tracks, some of which date to the late 1800s.

In addition to Chicago's industrial history, the tower's design draws upon the work of German-American architect Mies van der Rohe, who created many glass-and-steel buildings in the city, ranging from twin apartment towers on Lakeshore Drive to SR Crown Hall, which houses the llinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) College of Architecture.

"The exaggerated channels and beams are informed by the detailing and the articulation of Mies van der Rohe's works and vocabulary," the team said.

At the base of the tower is a five-storey podium that aligns with the height of the existing streetwall. At the top of the podium, a setback provides space for a landscaped terrace.

The sides of the podium not facing Peoria Street are clad in brick to match the "neighbourhood's urban fabric".

Within the tower, one finds one-, two- and three-bedroom units. High ceilings, large windows and plank flooring are among the features.

Twenty per cent of the units are designated affordable housing, according to REjournals.

Other projects in Chicago include the 10-storey David Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and the conversion of the city's iconic Tribune Tower into residential apartments by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

A 73-storey, residential skyscraper designed by the late German-American architect Helmut Jahn is currently under construction in Chicago's South Loop.

The photography is by Tom Harris.

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California architecture studio AO has put forward plans for a supertall skyscraper as part of a development in Oklahoma City that, if completed, will be the second-tallest building in the United States.

The skyscraper will be part of a development called the Boardwalk at Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City. Plans consist of three 345-foot-tall (105 metre-tall) towers and one larger tower that could be as tall as 1,750 feet (533 metres).

As it stands, the plan for the three-acre site has gained approval for the smaller towers, but is still seeking approval for the supertall tower. If built, it would be only 26 feet shorter than the SOM-designed One World Trade Center in New York, the tallest building in the US.

Its height puts it well within the supertall range, a category given to skyscrapers with heights between 900 and 2,000 feet tall (300-600 metres).

AO said the height was a response to the city's growing population. The tallest building in Oklahoma City currently is Devon Tower, which has a height of 844 feet (257 metres).

"The tower's height evolved to align with the visionary goals set by both the developer and the city," AO managing partner Rob Budetti told Dezeen.

"As Oklahoma City experiences a surge in market growth, characterized by increasing demand, population, and the development of employment hubs, the design for The Boardwalk at Bricktown has progressed in response to the dynamic expansion and advancement within this thriving urban landscape."

Designed for developers of Matteson Capital and Thinkbox, the complex will hold retail and entertainment spaces and the towers will hold residences and a hotel.

Renderings show three smaller towers flanking a central corridor decked out with storefronts, a mezzanine, water features and light installations, with the supertall skyscraper at the back of the complex.

The supertall skyscraper will be relatively flat with a uniform shape that tapers up slowly towards the structure's crown.

The skyscraper and the towers will be clad with glass and illuminated at points by strips of light at their corners.

Thornton Tomasetti has been brought on for the structural engineering of the project.

AO is based outside of Los Angeles and the project will be its first foray into supertall skyscrapers.

Other supertall buildings in the works in the United States include a 1,388-foot-tall (423 metres) skyscraper for JPMorgan Chase in New York City by Foster + Partners.

The images are by AO Architects.

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New photographs reveal the sinuous glass facade of The Henderson office building by Zaha Hadid Architects as it takes shape in Hong Kong's Central Business District.

The 36-storey skyscraper is nearing completion and is already being hailed as a new landmark for the city, occupying a prime spot next to Chater Garden alongside IM Pei's Bank of China Tower and the HSBC building by Foster + Partners.

The site at 2 Murray Road was reportedly the world's most expensive plot when it was purchased by developer Henderson Land in 2017, coming in at £764,000 per square metre.

"With this site, we were very conscious that we had to create something extraordinary and unique, something 21st century and forward-looking," said Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher.

"We had the ambition to create a special piece of architecture that would be noticed and make waves around the world."

Although construction of The Henderson has overshot its intended 2023 completion date, recent photographs reveal most of its curved glass facade panels are now in place.

The building's organic form was informed by the buds of the Hong Kong orchid, which graces the city's flag, offering a marked contrast with the more traditional skyscrapers nearby.

Its curvaceous volumes combine to create an undulating facade that mimics overlapping flower petals, clad in more than 4,000 panels of double-laminated glass that between them have 1,000 different curvatures.

The body of the building is elevated above the ground and will be connected to Hong Kong's network of raised pedestrian walkways, leading straight into two different Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations and the leafy Chater Garden.

By mimicking organic forms and bringing nature into the building via two open-air balconies and an enclosed sky garden, Zaha Hadid Architects says it wants The Henderson to feel like an extension of the public park.

The sky garden will also accommodate a running track while a banquet hall on the top floor is set to offer views across the city and Victoria Harbour.

The office has a column-free, open-plan layout, supported by six "mega-columns" and a one-sided steel core.

As of September, only half of the building's office space had been leased by tenants including Swiss watch brand Audemars Piguet and auction house Christie's, which is setting up its Asia Pacific headquarters across four floors.

This is evidence of a wider slump in Hong Kong's office real estate market with a record 13 million square feet of workspace currently sitting empty across the city.

Zaha Hadid Architects is the studio of the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which she founded in 1979. Today it is led by Schumacher.

The Henderson is the studio's second project in Hong Kong, following the Jockey Club Innovation Tower in Kowloon. Elsewhere, the practice is also nearing completion on the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station in Riyadh.

The photography is by Jennifer Hahn.

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Mercedes-Benz and developer Binghatti have revealed plans for a supertall skyscraper in central Dubai, which will be the car company's first branded residential tower.

Named Mercedes-Benz Places in Dubai, the tower will reportedly be 341 meters high and located close to the Burj Khalifa.

The 65-storey building in the downtown district of Dubai will be car company Mercedes-Benz's first branded residential property.

"With Mercedes-Benz Places in Dubai, we are going beyond automotive to create outstanding brand moments," said Britta Seeger, a member of the management board for Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

"Our aim with our first branded real estate residential tower is to create new, desirable grounds that inherit our brand's DNA and give our customers a place to arrive, unwind and come home to."

Few details of the supertall skyscraper – buildings over 300 metres – have been announced, but renders show a sinuous tower with a curved pinnacle and facades imprinted with the Mercedes-Benz's three-pointed-star logo. It will become one of the city's tallest buildings.

The visuals also show the skyscraper located near the Burj Khalifa, which is the world's tallest building. It will contain 225 apartments along with restaurants, a gym, lounges, exhibition spaces and "VIP parking" facilities.

Dubai-based developer Binghatti has begun construction and the skyscraper is set to complete in 2026.

It is the latest in a series of residential developments being created by car brands across the world. Binghatti is also creating a 42-storey skyscraper with luxury car manufacturer Bugatti in Dubai.

Along with Bugatti and Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Aston Martin and Porsche are also developing residential properties.

Porsche created a 60-storey skyscraper in Miami Beach, which opened in 2017, and Bentley is creating a 61-storey skyscraper nearby. Meanwhile, Aston Martin is designing an angular black home in New York as part of its Automotive Galleries and Lairs service, which launched in 2019.

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Australian architecture studio Fraser & Partners has revealed its design for a nearly 190-metre-tall residential tower named C6 in Perth, Australia, describing it as a "new benchmark in height for mass timber".

Fraser & Partners says C6, which will be 189.1 metres tall, will become the world's tallest hybrid timber housing once it is completed, towering over plans for SHoP Architects' 180-metre-tall hybrid timber tower in Sydney and Schmidt Hammer Lassen's design for a 100-metre-tall housing block in Switzerland.

It will also surpass the 86.6-metre-tall mass-timber building Ascent in Wisconsin, which was certified as the tallest mass-timber building last year.

Fraser & Partners designed C6 to be made from 42 per cent mass timber, including cross-laminated timber floors and glued laminated timber beams, aiming to facilitate the need for more housing with a minimal impact on the environment.

The rest of the building's structure will comprise a concrete core and columns and a steel diagrid.

C6's hybrid structure was carefully designed to make the best use of each material, allowing the design to reach record-breaking heights, according to Fraser & Partners director Reade Dixon.

"To get to 189.1 metres we relied on the hybrid structure model, using concrete where it was the most efficient and required for gravity loads and lateral stability at this height – in the core and the columns – and using timber where it was more efficient than using concrete, the horizontal structure being the floors and beams," Dixon told Dezeen.

"At this height, typical superstructure design was used, such as concrete outrigger walls at three different locations in the tower to deal with lateral loading and reduce core and column sizes," he added. "A steel diagrid was also used to further assist with bracing requirements."

"All these elements combined together to allow this new benchmark in height for mass timber."

According to Fraser & Partners, C6 will be carbon-neutral upon its completion and will fully operate on renewable energy.

"With the help of Australian advisory firm Slattery's Carbon Accounting team, C6's timber structure was calculated to sequester 10,500 tonnes of carbon compared to a typical concrete building of the same scale," Dixon explained.

"At this early stage, we are expecting the structure to be carbon neutral on completion based on the calculations provided by Slattery."

C6 will contain 237 apartments ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, and the mass-timber structure will be exposed in the interior.

The residential tower will sit atop a podium with public space planted with native flora, aiming to provide a place for community engagement and facilitate the rehabilitation of the endangered black cockatoo bird and other local species.

Dixon hopes C6 will encourage architects and developers around the world to build more tall buildings in mass timber.

"We hope that a project like C6 will help give further confidence to the market on how this construction methodology can help reduce the built industries carbon footprint and head towards a carbon-positive future," said Dixon.

"There will always be a place for concrete in tower designs, however, we feel timber is currently heavily underutilised in the tower construction market, and projects like this will help kickstart the further growth of these industries in Australia and around the world."

Recently completed buildings made from mass timber include an office building in Mexico that architecture studio Dellekamp Schleich says is the country's largest mass-timber structure and a six-storey business school in Singapore by Toyo Ito, which claims to be the largest wooden building in Asia.

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Next up in Dezeen's review of 2023, we look back at 10 headline-grabbing skyscrapers that completed this year, including a spiralling supertall, a 1970s retrofit and the highest building in Brooklyn.

The Americas dominate this year's list, with three buildings in New York, two each in Vancouver and Sao Paulo and one in Mexico City. The other two come from the Asia-Pacific region, with one in Shenzhen and the other in Sydney.

Big-name architects feature on the list, including BIG and Kengo Kuma & Associates, as well as firms that are known for tall buildings, such as KPF and SHoP Architects.

Three of the featured projects are renovations of existing structures, demonstrating how outdated skyscrapers can be updated to meet today's standards.

Read on to see all 10:

The Spiral, New York City, USA, by BIG

One of the most-read stories on Dezeen in 2023 revealed the news that BIG had completed a 314-metre-high tower with a "classic ziggurat silhouette" in New York City.

The Bjarke Ingels-led studio gave the supertall building a series of terraces that step up around its exterior, which provided the cues for the name, The Spiral.

Find out more about The Spiral ›

Brooklyn Tower, New York City, USA by SHoP Architects

The 325-metre-high Brooklyn Tower was recently voted by Dezeen readers as the best skyscraper of the past year.

Designed by SHoP Architects, this black and bronze striped tower is now the tallest building in Brooklyn. It is built above the historic Dimes Savings Bank, which is integrated into its podium.

Find out more about Brooklyn Tower ›

Alberni, Vancouver, Canada, by Kengo Kuma & Associates

The studio led by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designed one of the most unusually shaped skyscrapers of this year.

Located in Vancouver, the 43-storey Alberni tower by Kengo Kuma features a rectilinear form that integrates two large "scoops". The idea was to preserve views towards its neighbours and bring extra light into the apartments inside.

Find out more about Alberni by Kengo Kuma ›

Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney, Australia, by 3XN and BVN

This retrofit of a 1970s tower was named tall building of the year by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the leading authority on skyscraper news and data.

A collaboration between Danish office 3XN and Australian firm BVN, the project involved an extensive refurbishment of the modernist AMP Center, including the addition of a solar-shading system on the facade.

Find out more about Quay Quarter Tower ›

Shenzhen Women and Children's Centre, Shenzhen, China, by MVRDV

The most colourful skyscraper in our top 10, this renovation of a 100-metre-high drum tower in Shenzhen is the work of Dutch firm MVRDV.

As with Quay Quarter Tower, solar shading underpinned the design. MVRDV designed a gridded aluminium frame that was installed over the glazed facade and decorated in bubblegum shades of green, pink, yellow and orange.

Find out more about Shenzhen Women and Children's Centre ›

Lever House, New York City, USA, by SOM

November saw SOM complete the restoration of Lever House, 70 years after the studio originally designed the historic Manhattan office tower.

The 94-metre-tall building is known for its green-hued glass facade, which was only the second curtain wall to be installed in New York City.

Find out more about Lever House ›

Mitikah, Mexico City, Mexico, by Pelli Clarke & Partners

Now the tallest building in Mexico City, this 267-metre-high tower was designed by American firm Pelli Clarke & Partners to feature a distinctive curved glass form.

The oval-shaped footprint helps to soften the building's appearance, with the aim of creating a formal similarity with the mountains that surround the city.

Find out more about Mitikah ›

POD Pinheiros, São Paulo, Brazil, by FGMF Arquitetos

FGMF Arquitetos showed how a high-rise could offer indoor-outdoor living with this project in Brazil's largest city.

The 24-storey tower is organised around an open-air atrium located on the eighth floor, which serves as a public plaza. Around it, staggered volumes create a series of balconies, roof terraces and elevated walkways.

Find out more about POD Pinheiros ›

Platina 220, São Paulo, Brazil, by Königsberger Vannucchi

São Paulo is also now home to this 172-metre-high mixed-use skyscraper, which has become the city's tallest building.

Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados designed Platina 220 as four volumes, with three smaller blocks sandwiching the much taller central tower.

Find out more about Platina 220 ›

320 Granville, Vancouver, Canada, by Kohn Pedersen Fox

Undulating curves give character to the glazed facade of this 30-storey tower in Vancouver, designed by skyscraper specialist Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF).

The studio likens the effect to the rippling water, in reference to the building's harbour-front location.

Find out more about 320 Granville ›

2023 review

This article is part of Dezeen's roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.

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This week on Dezeen, we revealed images of BIG's One High Line skyscraper as it nears completion and Foster + Partners' JPMorgan Chase headquarters, which topped out.

Located near New York's High Line, the 122-metre-high development by Danish architecture studio BIG comprises two twisting, condominium towers joined at their base.

Described by BIG founder Bjarke Ingels as "good neighbours", the towers will contain a total of 236 apartments across 36 floors, along with a public courtyard and retail spaces.

Nearby at 270 Park Avenue, Foster + Partners' supertall steel skyscraper for JPMorgan's headquarters has reached its full height.

According to the studio, the 423-metre-high structure will be the city's largest all-electric tower, with 100-percent of its energy sourced from a hydroelectric plant in New York State.

Elsewhere in the US, architecture studio Gehry Partners completed an extension to Warner Bros' Burbank headquarters that was informed by icebergs.

In Tokyo, architecture practice Heatherwick Studio revealed the Azabudai Hills development, which is defined by undulating rooftops and greenery. The development was designed to be "one of Tokyo's greenest urban areas".

Meanwhile in Seoul, dutch studio OMA has designed a cluster of buildings and courtyards beside a mountain for Hongik University's campus expansion.

In other architecture news, plans for the MSG Sphere in east London designed by Populous were rejected by mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Described by the mayor as "unacceptable", the illuminated sphere raised "significant concerns" regarding its height, massing and bulk.

In design news, UK-based company Pure Electric created an electric scooter that folds down to the size of a cabin bag.

The scooter was built with footpads either side of the chassis intended to provide a more intuitive riding position compared to conventional e-scooters.

Also in London, Tom Dixon's retrospective exhibition opened at the Themes & Variations gallery.

Named Tom Dixon: Metalhead, the exhibition features 52 pieces from the designers 40 year career  including his 1986 welded metal chairs.

Popular projects this week included a park built on an island in Copenhagen's harbour, the conversion of a trio of highland outbuildings and the restoration of a 1960s home in Belgium.

Our latest lookbooks featured imaginative home interiors created on a budget and immersive saunas located in peaceful settings.

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New images show the exteriors of two stone-clad skyscrapers designed by Danish architecture studio BIG near New York's High Line as they near completion.

The One High Line development consists of two condominium towers, described by BIG founder Bjarke Ingels as "good neighbours", which will enclose a central, public courtyard with retail spaces at the base.

The towers, which are located between the Hudson River to the west and the High Line to the east, measure approximately 300 feet (91 metres) and 400 feet (122 metres), with the larger of the two facing the water.

The West Tower contains 149 condominium residences over 36 floors, while the East Tower contains 87 over 26 floors. Residents of both towers will share an amenity space on the third floor, which is enclosed in a double-height bridge passageway that connects the building's bases.

BIG gradually offset the floor plate of each tower to form stepped spirals that extend upwards from the development's courtyard.

"The whole philosophy is that from this point of departure, the two towers tried to be good neighbours to each other," Ingels told Dezeen. "It requires certain adjustments of proportions, those proportions trickled down and end up creating all these moments."

"The incline of the [West Tower's] facade is inheriting from the response of the [East Tower] and it resolves itself when the bridge merges," Ingels said.

"So it's almost like from a very simple beginning, you make two strong choices and those choices end up shaping the entire architecture," he added.

"You actually end up having some of the complexity you sometimes find in historical buildings and neighbourhoods that add charm and surprise happening as a result of these interactions."

The building's forms were also designed to twist out of the way of one another, so that they don't block the surrounding views of the Hudson River, the High Line and the surrounding neighbourhood.

Additionally, the architectural language of the Chelsea neighbourhood informed the design.

"We thought in a way inspired by the Chelsea buildings where you have the warehouses where you articulate the columns and the slabs," said Ingels. "So you get these very large framed windows."

The buildings are clad in a light travertine stone and have interiors, which have not yet been unveiled, by Gilles & Boissier and Gabellini Sheppard.

As for the retail spaces surrounding the courtyard, Ingels told Dezeen that a holistic treatment centre in collaboration with Deepak Chopra is in discussion.

Other amenities will include a 75-foot lap pool, fitness studio, golf simulator, and billiards and game room.

As of November 2023, Dezeen was told the building's exterior and the "majority of the interior" is complete, with residents now living at the towers. The courtyard is set to be completed in early 2024.

When asked how he felt about BIG's One High Line joining a line-up of residences along the High Line that includes work by Thomas Heatherwick and other major architects, Ingels told Dezeen: "I think it's coming together quite nicely. The kind of ensemble."

Upon the release of the building's design renderings in 2018, the development was called The XI but was eventually rebranded to One High Line, with Witkoff & Access Industries as developers.

According to the BIG team, it is the last major plot in the Meatpacking District to be developed.

North of One High Line, BIG recently completed its first supertall skyscraper and first commercial high-rise in New York City, called The Spiral.

The photography is by Evan Joseph.

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Foster + Partners has completed the framing for JPMorgan Chase's headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, which the studio claims will be the largest all-electric tower in New York City.

Today marked the completion of the supertall skyscraper's 1,388-foot (423 metres) high steel structure, with the final beam raised and slotted in place.

"In 1811, when this site was countryside, the city commissioners created a masterplan for New York," said Foster + Partners founder Norman Foster. "It was bold, innovative, and reflected an optimism for the future. Today, over two hundred years later, the same things are true of 270 Park Avenue."

"The building is a great investment in the city, the bank, and the well-being of the 14,000 people who will occupy it," Foster added. "It does more with less – more public space, fresh air, light and views – and less carbon through electric, green energy."

According to the studio, the 60-story building will be New York City's "largest all-electric tower with net zero operational emissions" and will be 100 per cent powered by energy sourced from a hydroelectric plant in New York State.

It consists of several verticle volumes of differing heights pressed together to form a stepped tower. These are placed on a stilted base that rises 80 feet (24 metres) off the ground.

The lifted base was designed to create more outdoor space on the ground level on Park and Madison Avenues, which the studio plans to outfit with a public plaza and greenspaces.

The tower will host approximately 14,000 employees throughout 2.5 million square feet (232,257 square metres) of working spaces.

It will take the place of the 1960's SOM JPMorgan Chase Tower that was located in the same lot before being demolished between 2019 and 2022 in favour of Foster + Partner's design.

Foster + Partners claims it reused "97 per cent" of the building materials from the demolition to construct the new tower.

The demolition of the SOM JPMorgan Chase Tower marked the world's largest and tallest voluntary demolition at the time.

Nearby, Foster + Partners recently completed a long-awaited office tower at 425 Park Avenue, the "first full-block office building" to be built along in the avenue in 50 years.

The photography is by Nigel Young. 

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This week on Dezeen, Saudi Arabian mega-project Neom revealed its sixth region, Epicon, which will feature a pair of jagged skyscrapers on the Gulf of Aqaba.

Designed by architecture studio 10Design, the project will be distinguished by two steel-clad towers measuring 225 and 275 metres tall. They will be connected by horizontal levels set to contain an outdoor pool and other spaces.

Accommodating 41 hotel and luxury residences, the skyscrapers will be joined by the Epicon resort to form a luxury tourist destination.

In other architecture news, a concrete pavilion with a reflecting pool designed by architect Tadao Ando was unveiled as this year's MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia.

Created as a place to reflect on the surrounding gardens, the centre of the pavilion features a large concrete column topped by a 4.4-metre aluminium disk.

We looked closer at two architecture festivals this week. In the USA, the Chicago Architecture Biennial returned for its fifth edition with installations and pavilions that centred on themes of collaboration and community building.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial focused on reuse and adaptability and featured twelve "very obviously architectural" installations.

In design news, a hands-free intravenous device designed for disaster zones won this year's James Dyson Awards International prize.

Named Golden Capsule, Hongik University students developed the device to function from elastic forces and air pressure instead of relying on gravity and electricity, like existing IV packs.

Journalist Mona Chalabi spoke with Dezeen in this interview about her hand-drawn infographics that accurately depict statistics, often relating to social injustices, and the limitations of illustrating skewed data.

Chalabi, who won this year's Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, explained that while she knows her illustrations won't save the world, she hopes the combination of digital accuracy and hand drawing makes the statistics more tangible.

Popular projects this week included a home in Amsterdam with a hexagonal footprint and Alzheimer's Village, a care home in France designed for dementia patients.

Our latest lookbooks featured cosy living rooms with industrial material palettes and kitchens with well-placed glazing that fills the interior with sunlight.

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US-based architecture studio SOM has completed a restoration of the Lever House seventy years after the studio originally designed the historic New York City office building.

Under developers Brookfield Properties and WatermanClark, the project includes a restoration of the building's lobby, plaza, interior office spaces, terraces, third-floor lounge and mechanical systems.

The 22-storey building consists of a rectangular base that is suspended over a courtyard and plaza by columns, with a tower of office suites extending from the northern corner of its city plot.

Upon the developers' purchase of the building in 2020, many of the interior spaces had fallen into disrepair.

"It still had all of the good bones, it had all its original parts, but it had, over that 70-year period, sort of suffered," said vice president of design at Brookfield Properties Scott Kirkham.

"It wasn't in particularly good repair and it certainly was showing certain signs of its ageing."

Along with interior designer Marmol Radziner and landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand, the team overhauled both interior and exterior spaces.

"This renovation reactivates Lever House for the 21st century," said SOM partner Chris Cooper. "We've restored the plaza and podium to its original 1952 glory while comprehensively overhauling the mechanical systems."

"The result is a landmark that is both renewed and reminiscent of its midcentury splendour – with revamped outdoor spaces, more natural light inside, and an efficient use of energy."

In the building's lobby, which is enclosed in floor-to-ceiling windows, SOM restored the terrazzo flooring, stainless steel-clad columns, white-marble planters, black limestone and white marble walls and a yellow tile mosaic wall that sits at the entrance to the elevators.

SOM design principle Frank Mahan explained the team used a "variety of data points" including the existing materials, historic drawings, photos and "contemporaneous descriptions" in order to closely match contemporary materials to their 1950s predecessors.

This included sending aged samples of the original terrazzo flooring to a lab, where they were used to create a new, stronger material composed of similar ingredients.

Interior designer Marmol Radziner created rosewood, mohair, and leather furniture and a large bar unit for the building's newly restored third-floor common space, which is located in the building's elevated rectangular base.

The central bar consists of two rosewood cabinets that bookend a glass screen by John Lewis Glass, while the floors were clad in "galaxy green" marble with a similar-hued soapstone on the walls.

"Experientially, it was important that Lever Club feel warm and refined, almost residential in feel," said Marmol Radziner design partner Ron Radziner.

"This translated to our intentional colour-blocking of interior materials, the basis of which was the iconic green of the building facade."

On either side, the lounge area leads out onto a terrace overlooking the street below. Along with horticultural designer Patrick Cullina, Reed Hilderbrand outfitted the terraces with Whitespire birch trees interspersed with low-lying vegetation, flowers, and shrubs.

The studio also restored architectural elements, including replacing red pavers on the terrace with grey precast concrete.

Finally, "a series of sweeping changes" to the mechanical systems, including replacing original induction units throughout the interior, will help push the building towards LEED Gold and WELL Platinum certification targets.

Originally designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 307-foot (94 metre) high building housed the headquarters of soap company Lever Brothers.

It is known for its green-hued glass curtain wall and small stature compared to surrounding office buildings, with each tower floor plate measuring just 11,000 square feet (3,350 square metres).

The curtain wall was the second to be installed in New York City amidst the era's largely masonry architecture, helping to evolve the city's office buildings to an International style.

SOM previously replaced the building's facade in 2001.

The studio is known for the construction of multiple skyscrapers internationally, including the world's tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Nearby, the studio recently completed a black terracotta-clad office building in Chelsea.

The photography is by Lucas Blair Simpson/SOM.

Project credits:

Lead architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Interior design: Marmol Radziner
Landscape architect: Reed Hilderbrand
Preservation consultant: Higgins Quasebarth & Partners

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Saudi Arabian mega project Neom has revealed its latest region, Epicon, a tourist destination on the Gulf of Aqaba that will feature two jagged skyscrapers by 10 Design.

Set to be built on the Gulf of Aqaba coast in northwestern Saudi Arabia, Epicon is the sixth of Neom's planned 10 regions to be announced.

It will be designed by architecture studio 10 Design and comprise two jagged towers, one measuring 225 and the other 275 metres, which will contain 41 hotel and luxury residences.

The steel-clad skyscrapers are visualised as being interconnected by horizontal levels that hold an outdoor pool, among other spaces.

The region will also be home to the Epicon resort, which will have 120 rooms as well as 45 beach villas. Among the amenities on offer will be a beach club, spa and restaurants.

"Designed as a gateway to the future, Epicon provides an opportunity to escape the stresses of the everyday," Neom said.

"Whether relaxing at the beach club, visiting the spa for bespoke wellness treatments, exploring the surrounding nature, participating in one of the many watersports on offer, or dining at destination restaurants for an unforgettable culinary experience, Epicon has been conceived to meet the full array of guest and resident needs."

The resort will also have a library and a gym as well as pools, lounges and workspaces.

Epicon was created by 10Design

The unveiling of Epicon follows the announcement of Neom's fifth region, Leyja, which will also house high-end boutique hotels and include designs by Shaun Killa, Mario Cucinella and Chris van Duijn.

The Neom project will contain 10 regions in total, including the controversial The Line project – a linear mega-city that will be 170 kilometres long. It will also include an octagon-shaped port city named Oxagon, the mirrored mega-city The Line and an island resort called Sindalah.

However, the project has been criticised on human rights grounds, including by human rights organisation ALQST which reported that three men were sentenced to death after being "forcibly evicted" from the Neom site.

Earlier this year experts from the UN Human Rights Council expressed "alarm" over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabia responded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place.

In an opinion piece for Dezeen about The Line mega project, Dana Cuff wondered "Why would architects let themselves be so vitiated?"

The images are courtesy of Neom.

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American architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox has created a glass-clad skyscraper with an undulating facade and parapets on a sloped site in downtown Vancouver.

Located on a sloping site near Vancouver's waterfront, 320 Granville is a 30-storey skyscraper designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) to host offices in the Canadian city's urban core.

The building, which is clad in glass with powder-coated aluminium framing, sits among the modern and classical buildings of its surroundings. KPF wanted it to also respond to the site's waterside location.

"The brief was to design an office building that would take best advantage of an amazing site, where Granville comes down to the Waterfront Station," said KPF president James von Klemperer.

"Given this location, the natural inclination was to design a building that would respond to the seaside environment."

The skyscraper's relationship to the water was expressed formally in a series of concave and convex undulations on the facade of the building, which give it rounded edges at its three corners, where it conforms to the corner of the block.

Between each of the floor plates, the glass that bands the 10-foot-tall storeys were given additional variety up the facade, adding to the rippling effect.

"The curved form of the tower, and the waved top parapets, reflect our idea of giving the building an aqueous form," said von Klemperer.

"The resulting light reflections and scalloped shadows have the effect of breaking down the scale of the tower."

Because of the city's restrictions to maintain the lines of sight for surrounding buildings, the tower's height was capped.

Von Klemperer said that the form of the tower was designed to create a visual effect that would make it seem taller when viewed from certain angles.

"When seen from oblique angles, the volume of the tower appears to be made up of bundled turrets, accentuating the building's vertical proportions," he continued.

At street level, the building engages with the busy thoroughfare by having a recessed entry, with massive columns supporting the cantilevered edges of the upper floors, which reach out towards the street.

Flanking the entry program is a series of floor plates that work to shelter the area around the building from the rainy Vancouver winters.

Also on the ground floor is a cafe that is open to the public, while the lobby and other ground floor programs are open to the street via the double-height glass curtain wall.

The building's interiors are pared back, with stone floors and wooden battens on the ceilings of the public spaces. It also houses bike storage and other amenities such as a rooftop terrace.

KPF was founded in 1976 in New York. Other recent projects by the studio include the Scalpel skyscraper in London and an upcoming supertall skyscraper in Austin, Texas.

The photography is by Ema Peter. 

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Promotion: Italian brand Casalgrande Padana has released five tile collections suitable for a range of interior and exterior spaces.

Casalgrande Padana specialises in the design and manufacturing of tiles and its Petra range is designed to mimic the textural appearance of natural stone.

The tile's dimensional finish nods to the organic variation in colour found in naturally mined stone – "[Petra tiles appear to have] imperfections left by the passage of time," said the brand.

Six neutral-coloured hues constitute the collection, including the warm-toned Bianco, Oro and Sabbia to cooler grey Anthracite, Grigio and Perla, which all share characterful naturalistic striations.

These tiles are suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications on floors and walls and come in a selection of sizes and shapes.

The company's Atelier tiles come in a single large-format 6.5 millimetre-thick panel that has a ceramic materiality.

Atelier tiles come in eight single-colour hues, giving them a modern and stable block-colour presence when applied inside and outside.

The collection was created to complement some of Casalgrande's more complex patterned tiles including tiles in its stone, concrete and wood-effect ranges.

As well as tiles, the brand has also created a collection of integrated basins, shower trays and shelves called Aquatio, which are made up of porcelain stoneware slabs that come in customisable dimensions, allowing project-bespoke fittings to be created.

The pieces can be used alongside tiles for walls and flooring to create a seamless, continuous effect, especially when specified in the same marble-, stone-, concrete- or metal-effect finish.

"[Porcelain stoneware's] wide range of formats and textures has expanded its use beyond floors and walls and turned it into an essential material for interior design," said Casalgrande Padana.

The brand's Nature tile range recalls naturally-occurring textures and colours found in nature. They're suitable for wall and floor applications and come in six mottled shades ranging from dark Lava to light beige Sabbia.

The tiles can be used in both private and public interiors, from domestic bathrooms to high-traffic areas in restaurants.

In contrast to their stone-effect tiles, Casalgrande Padana's Metropolis tiles aim to mimic the smooth, gently mottled aesthetic of concrete.

The tiles can be laid seamlessly to provide the same continuous visual effect as poured concrete in an easy-to-install format.

Seven colourways make up the collection, including Almond, Graphite, Mud and Silver.

Casalgrande Padana is an Italian tile designer and manufacturer, which has been producing ceramic and stoneware tiles since 1960.

The brand has grown in size and now operates out of six factories across Italy, with a headquarters in Casalgrande, northern Italy.

Find out more about Casalgrande Padana by visiting its website.

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This article was written by Dezeen for Casalgrande Padana as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Norwegian studio Snøhetta drew on textiles and tailoring for its design of the Airside skyscraper, which has opened at the old Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.

The project is formed of five interconnected glazed buildings in a stepped arrangement, with the lowest volumes located next to the Kai Tak river.

These lower volumes form Airside's base and merge with two towers, the tallest measuring 213 metres.

Snøhetta also designed landscaped plazas and roof terraces for Airside, which sits above the Kai Tak MTR station in the district that formerly held Kai Tak, Hong Kong's international airport from 1925 to 1998.

Inside, the lower buildings house 60,000 square metres of retail space, while the tower holds 100,000 square metres of office space.

The project's design is informed by Hong Kong's legacy of textile manufacturing and draws on different aspects of tailoring.

Airside's shape is formed of chamfered edges in reference to textile cutting, while the fluted glass that covers part of the facade is a nod to fabric draping.

"The building negotiates scales ranging from the urban to the human," said Snøhetta partner Robert Greenwood.

"It shapes a meaningful, inviting, and vibrant public realm for the thousands of people that will pass through it each day while bringing a new icon to the skyline and a focal point for the district," Greenwood continued.

Airside has received a LEED Platinum certificate and is the first private development in Hong Kong to receive five of the highest green building certifications, according to Snøhetta.

Inside, a retail atrium has spandrels decorated with a custom-designed woven textile that was made from upcycled plastic bottles.

Snøhetta aimed to create "inviting pedestrian landscapes" by using undulating and folding shapes throughout the interior, which features sloping walkways and multiple plazas.

Airside, which opened in September, has more than 1,350 square metres of photovoltaic panels on its roof and also links to the Kai Tak District Cooling System, which uses chilled seawater from a central plant for climate control.

It also features urban farms and a landscape design with a focus on native species, as well as water features that help against the urban heat-island effect.

Other recent projects by Snøhetta include an extension for the Norwegian-American museum in Iowa and an elliptical planetarium in France.

The photography is by Kevin Mak.

Project credits:

Architect: Snøhetta
Executive architect: Ronald Lu & Partners (Hong Kong) Limited
Landscape architect: Snøhetta
Structural, geotechnical and civil engineer: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited
Building services engineer: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited / J. Roger Preston Limited
Executive landscape architect: Urbis Limited
Quantity surveyor: Arcadis Hong Kong Limited
Building sustainability engineer: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited
Facade & BMU engineer: Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited
Lighting designer: Lighting Planners Associates (HK) Limited
Main contractor: Hip Hing Construction Company Limited

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The Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney by Danish studio 3XN and Australian studio BVN has won the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's award for best new tall building.

The 206-metre-high skyscraper, which is a refurbishment of the modernist 1970s AMP Center, was named the winner at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's (CTBUH) annual awards for 2023.

CTBUH explained that the building was selected as it exemplifies "forward-looking strategies" for dealing with high density in a more sustainable way.

"The global construction industry confronts an emerging dilemma: should we build new structures, or should we renew existing ones to accommodate the anticipated growth in urban density?" said CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Uña.

"The pursued remedies can impact not only individual structures but also entire cities and the built environment in general and must take into account environmental, economic and social sustainability," he continued.

"Sydney's Quay Quarter Tower exemplifies the forward-looking strategies and solutions that address this density dilemma head-on, significantly reducing carbon emissions and helping to mitigate the impact of climate change while meeting the needs of its occupants and the surrounding community."

Located near the Sydney Opera House in downtown Sydney, the 49-storey skyscraper was entirely retrofitted and reclad.

According to 3XN, 65 per cent of the original structure – beams, columns and slabs – was retained alongside 95 per cent of the original core.

Alongside this original structure, the studios added a series of angular extensions that created five shifted volumes, which doubled the building's floor.

The building was wrapped in a facade with an external sunshade that blocks 30 per cent of solar radiance.

Alongside Quay Quarter Tower, the CTBUH also announced the winners of its regional and height-based awards.

Among the the winners was BIG's Spiral skyscraper, which was unveiled earlier this week, DJI Sky City in Shenzhen designed by Foster + Partners and the mass-timber Sara Kulturhus Centre in Sweden by White Arkitekter.

The winners of the regional and height-based categories are below:

Best Tall Building Worldwide: Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney, Australia
Best Tall Building, Americas: Engineering laboratories | Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Columbia
Best Tall Building, Asia: CapitaSpring, Singapore
Best Tall Building, Oceania: Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney, Australia
Best Tall Building, Europe: Sara Kulturhus, Skelleftea, Sweden
Best Tall Building, Middle East and Africa: Atlantis The Royal Resort, Dubai, UAE
Best Tall Building Special Commendation: DJI Sky City, Shenzhen, China
Best Tall Building under 100 meters: Valley, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Best Tall Building 100–199 meters: Lighthouse 2.0, Aarhus, Denmark
Best Tall Building 200–299 meters: CapitaSpring, Singapore
Best Tall Building 300–399 meters: The Spiral, New York City, United States
Best Tall Building 400 meters and above: Guangxi China Resources Tower, Nanning, China

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This week on Dezeen, we reported that BIG completed its first supertall skyscraper, a 66-storey commercial high-rise wrapped with a series of stepped terraces.

Located along New York's High Line, The Spiral reaches 314 metres-high and its footprint reduces towards the top as the ascending terraces cut into the building.

Studio founder Bjarke Ingels described the building as combining "the classic ziggurat silhouette of the premodern skyscraper with the slender proportions and efficient layouts of the modern high-rise."

Also in architecture news, the Pyramid of Tirana in Albania reopened as a cultural hub with a stepped roof and colourful boxes designed by Dutch architecture studio MVRDV and local studio IRI Architecture.

Originally built in the 1980s as a pyramid-shaped museum dedicated to Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, the building's form was retained with sections of the sloping concrete roof kept as a slide.

Dutch Design Week was in full swing this week, with events and exhibitions taking place across Eindhoven including a pop-up shop where customers exchanged urine for soap in a bid to encourage more ethical consumption.

Elsewhere at the festival, design student Willem Zwiers showcased marbled furniture made from salvaged second-hand books and designer Emy Bensdorp exhibited her proposal to clean PFAS "forever chemicals" by firing contaminated soil into bricks.

In other design news, product design engineer Jasper Mallinson aimed to bridge the gap between man-made and robotic construction with a lightweight, wearable CNC machine named Mecha-morphis.

Mallinson hopes that in the future, the device will be used on worksites to help realise parametric designs with "superhuman precision".

Also this week, American architecture critic Aaron Betsky wrote about his views on the lack of exciting architecture projects built in the Netherlands in recent years.

To Betsky, Dutch architecture has lost the sparkle it once had, comparing OMA's 1987 Netherlands Dance Theater with the "box festooned with fluted columns" that replaced it (pictured above).

Popular projects this week included a home in British Columbia with fluted pillars made by pouring concrete into fabric formwork and a Mexican seaside resort with wooden guesthouses raised on stilts.

Our latest lookbooks featured dining rooms with built-in seating and bathrooms where subway tiles lined the walls and surfaces.

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Following the completion of The Spiral in New York, we take a look at seven of the latest skyscrapers designed by its architect, Danish studio BIG, along with a "landscaper".

From CapitaSpring in Singapore to O-Tower in China, a mix of recently completed projects and others still under construction make up the list of towers by the studio, which was founded in 2005 by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels.

Common threads throughout the projects are the incorporation of greenery to bring occupants closer to nature and unusual forms that challenge traditional boxy skyscrapers that dominate many city skylines.

Read on for eight of the latest skyscrapers designed by BIG:

The Spiral (2023)

Appropriately named The Spiral, this 304-metre-tall supertall skyscraper is defined by a series of stepped terraces that wind up and around its exterior.

The terraces were intended as a continuation of the High Line, the raised linear park positioned beside it. Ingles said this "expands the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light".

CapitaSpring (2022)

Completed in 2022 in collaboration with Carlo Ratti Associati, CapitaSpring is a 280-metre-tall skyscraper in Singapore with dramatic facade openings.

These sculptural openings frame pockets of greenery, including a four-storey vertical park named the Green Oasis placed in the middle of the tower.

"CapitaSpring is like a vision of a future in which city and countryside, culture and nature can coexist, and urban landscapes can expand unrestricted into the vertical dimension," said Ingels.

Iqon (2022)

The shortest building on the list is Iqon, a residential skyscraper completed by the studio last year in Quito. Yet, at 133 metres in height, it is the tallest building in the Ecuadorian capital.

Iqon is animated by a facade of cascading balconies dotted with planting, arranged by BIG to frame views over the city and the Pichincha volcano.

Telus Sky Tower (2020)

BIG opted for a "feminine silhouette" when creating Telus Sky Tower, in a bid to diversify the skyline in Calgary, Alberta.

"Surrounded by blocky skyscrapers occupied by petroleum companies, Telus stands like a lady in a cluster of cowboys," Ingels said.

Its pixelated facade twists diagonally 222 metres upwards from its base, signifying the shift between the office and residential programs inside.

Vancouver House (2020)

The form of 155-meter-high Vancouver House in Canada also twists upwards from its base. However, in this case, it is a response to site constraints.

According to BIG, the sculptural silhouette sets the building back 30 metres from an adjacent bridge and prevents the overshadowing of a local park. BIG's ambition is for the project to serve as a blueprint for transforming awkward sites in cities.

Qianhai Prisma Towers (under construction)

A pair of leaning volumes that taper upwards towards the sky will define Qianhai Prisma Towers, which are currently under development in Shenzhen, China.

The skyscrapers, which will contain a mix of residences and offices, are designed with "open seams" that are filled with outdoor gardens and terraces.

While the office tower will reach 250 metres in height, the other will reach 300 metres – reaching the height required to be classed as a supertall skyscraper.

O-Tower (under construction)

Another skyscraper currently under construction by BIG is O-Tower, designed for Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO in Hangzhou.

It will be distinguished by its unusual infinity-loop shape that will frame an open courtyard at its centre. According to the studio, the circular skyscraper is intended to serve as an "iconic landmark and gateway" to the Future Sci-Tech City.

Google campus (under construction)

Stretching to 330 metres in length, the upcoming Google headquarters is not a skyscraper but rather described as a landscraper. In fact, it is longer than the Shard – the UK's tallest building – is tall.

The building, currently under construction in London is being designed in collaboration with Studio Heatherwick and will feature a rooftop garden and a running track.

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A large sky garden filled with plants will be the focal point of Terrarium Cheong-Dam, a skyscraper that architecture studio ODA is designing in South Korea.

Measuring 200 metres in height, the 45-storey tower will be located in Cheongdam-dong in Seoul's Gangnam district and contain a mix of homes and offices.

Alongside the semi-private sky garden, which is described by ODA as a "terrarium", there will also be a podium with an accessible public park intended to enhance the surrounding urban landscape.

According to studio founder Eran Chen, these were designed to align with Seoul's efforts to expand "its public realm to create a more meaningful urban environment".

"For the tower's podium, we want to bring the community a space that serves as both a respite from the streetscape," Chen explained.

"We're also bringing this porous design to the building's greenery-filled terrarium, giving future tenants and residents another valuable space to engage with one another and enjoy nature."

Terrarium Cheong-Dam, which will have a concrete structure, was the winner of a recent competition held in South Korea called the Creative Innovation Architecture Design Pilot Project.

It is being developed by ODA in collaboration with local companies including real estate agency Miraein, space planning studio Index Partners and architecture studio Heerim Architects.

Inside, Terrarium Cheong-Dam will comprise a mix of office space and "high-end residences". There will also be a membership club in the basement and retail in its two-storey podium.

The podium's park, which is designed to be highly accessible with multiple entry points, will be landscaped with greenery, water features, sculptures and gallery space.

Meanwhile, the residential elements of the skyscraper will be defined by loggias that aim to maximise residents' connections to the outside.

Just below the homes will be the semi-private "terrarium", which will be open to both residents and office tenants. According to ODA, it is intended to offer the building "a dramatic, sculpted look".

The tower will be the latest in the city where the tallest skyscraper is the Lotte World Tower in the Sincheon-dong neighbourhood, which is depicted in the render above. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the Lotte World Tower became the world's fifth-tallest building upon completion in 2017. Today it is the sixth tallest.

ODA was founded by Chen in New York in 2007. The Terrarium Cheong-Dam proposal is visually similar to another skyscraper it is developing in Seattle that will also feature a greenery-filled opening.

The studio is currently developing a cylindrical skyscraper and a pair of tapered towers that will be wrapped in a steel grid in Florida.

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Architecture studio BIG has announced the completion of The Spiral, the studio's first supertall skyscraper and first commercial high-rise in New York City that features a "ziggurat silhouette".

It reaches 1,031 feet (314 metres) into the sky, making it a super tall skyscraper, which is a skyscraper between 300 meters (984 feet) and 600 meters (1,968 feet) tall. Located along the High Line, the 66-storey building gets its moniker from a series of stepped terraces wrapped around its exterior.

"The Spiral punctuates the northern end of the High Line, and the linear park appears to carry through into the tower, forming an ascending ribbon of lively green spaces, extending the High Line to the skyline," said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels.

"[It] combines the classic ziggurat silhouette of the premodern skyscraper with the slender proportions and efficient layouts of the modern high-rise."

On its lower levels, the building features glazed, recessed openings at the street-level lobby and office spaces above.

As they move upward along the building, the openings shift into terraces populated with "a landscape that has never been installed at or above 300 feet elevation in New York City", according to the team.

"The Spiral ensures that every floor of the tower opens up to the outdoors, creating hanging gardens and cascading atria that connect the open floor plates from the ground floor to the summit into a single uninterrupted workspace," said Ingels.

"The string of terraces wrapping around the building expands the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light."

"As the trees and grasses, flowers and vines have taken root over the last two summers, The Spiral is slowly becoming an ascending ribbon of green wrapping around the entire silhouette of the tower–like a 1,000-foot-tall (304 metres) vine at the scale of the city's skyline."

The stepped terraces slowly cut into the building's floor plates as they ascend, reducing the overall volume of the tower towards its top.

The outdoor spaces created by the terraces total 13,000 square feet (1,207 square metres) and are populated with a mixture of drought and wind-resistant plant species native to the American prairie, shrubbery and trees that will bloom in the wintertime, and trellises adorned with English and Boston Ivy.

The plant arrangement differs depending on orientation to the sun and high-velocity winds. A water management system will sequester rainwater for redistribution through the landscape.

The 2.8 million-square-foot (260,128 square metres) structure will host offices and a private event space on the uppermost floor.

Some floors contain double-height amenity spaces and "the option to connect adjacent floors via a grand staircase",  as an alternative to elevators and to encourage interaction amongst colleagues.

The lobby contains cladding in "seven different metals", meant as a homage to the industrial heritage of the surrounding Hudson Yards neighbourhood, while its stepped design nods to other Manhattan skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center.

The Spiral was developed by Tishman Speyer and built by Turner. BIG collaborated with Adamson Associates and structural engineer WSP Cantor Seinuk on its design.

The team is pursuing LEED Silver certification for the building.

BIG unveiled the design for The Spiral in 2016 to mixed reviews by Dezeen commenters. Elsewhere in New York, the studio has released images for mixed-use skyscrapers along the Williamsburg waterfront.

The photography is by Laurian Ghinițoiu.

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Revery Architecture has designed the Sen̓áḵw residential skyscrapers for the Squamish Nation's land in Vancouver, which will aid economic development and "benefit all Canadians", according to the Indigenous group.

More than 11 residential towers, with heights ranging from 12 to 58 storeys, are planned for the development, as well as a series of smaller buildings.

Sen̓áḵw will be arranged around the Burrard Bridge, which connects Downtown Vancouver with the southwestern portions of the city.

The parcel of land is owned by the Squamish Nation government and is a fraction of the Indigenous group's ancestral homeland, which was expropriated from the group by European colonial settlers gradually over the last three centuries.

Sen̓áḵw is planned on land that was won back in 2003 by the Squamish from the Canadian government after a lengthy legal dispute.

Design architect Revery Architecture based the development on the concept of a "village in the park", which it says was informed "by the values and traditions of the Squamish Nation".

"The idea is to optimize the public realm with a new urban park supporting various forms of activity, circulation and landscapes," Revery Architecture principal Venelin Kokalov told Dezeen.

The studio used two distinct typologies when designing the towers, which together spread out like a "Y", flanking the bridge and extending past it in two directions. The first typology has wider towers with sloped sides and is called "mountain" – the other, "long", has more vertical towers with copper fins running their height.

The "long" towers have cores that are lifted off the ground to create the sensation of walking through a forest on ground level.

"This gesture increases the openness and porosity through the site, creates natural cover for outdoor areas, and forms a seamless connection between interior and exterior spaces at the ground level," said Kokalov.

Glass facades will be punctuated with copper details on both structures, a material that was chosen for its "cultural significance" to the Squamish Nation.

Squamish Nation culture to be integrated "at all scales"

The team said it is working with community members to integrate the culture of the Squamish Nation "at all scales of the project".

"The process was collaborative with a goal to honour the culture and heritage of the Squamish Nation," a representative from Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation, the Squamish government's development arm, told Dezeen.

"This included consultation with Squamish members leading up to the land designation," said the representative, adding that a Cultural Working Group has been formed in the development process.

According to Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation, possessing a large rental development in the middle of one of the most expensive cities in North America will help the nation on the path to "complete economic independence".

"As such, the project needs to consider the context of potential future development of the lands nearby, which are expected to increase in density significantly. In this context, the design and density of Sen̓áḵw is appropriate," the Nch'ḵay̓ representative said.

"It looks like the future of Vancouver."

While the project will bolster the economic future of the Squamish Nation, it said that it will also help to alleviate the housing crisis in Vancouver by adding thousands of apartments, some affordable, in a "relatively short amount of time".

"The new development at Sen̓áḵw demonstrates that reconciliation is not zero-sum," said Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation.

"It will ease Vancouver's housing shortage, will include tens of thousands of square feet of publicly accessible amenities, and will contribute tens of millions of dollars to service improvements in the City of Vancouver."

Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation also noted that the City of Vancouver has been "supportive" and an "excellent stakeholder", and added that the Squamish have an agreement with the city that works toward integrating the new development with already-existing infrastructure and adding new infrastructure, including a transit hub.

With its focal point on the Burrard Bridge, the Squamish Nation and Revery Architecture have stated that parking will only be available for about 10 per cent of the residences.

"Instead, the project shifts attention on alternative transportation through a unique on-site transit hub, and a transformative new underground bike hub providing storage and maintenance facilities for thousands of bikes," said Kokalov.

"The intent is to create a new infrastructure for a more integrated, inclusive and sustainable multi-modal network."

A number of other sustainable infrastructures will be implemented at the site, and the architecture team has claimed it will be the "first large-scale net-zero operational carbon housing development" in the country.

Some of the infrastructure will be built with mass timber, according to Kokalov — and green roofs, permeable paving and rainwater collection will be included on the site.

"Sen̓áḵw is reconciliation in action"

Canada-based energy company Creative Energy will also include and install a system that will utilise excess heat from the adjacent Metro Vancouver's infrastructure to generate energy.

Sen̓áḵw consists of mostly residential space, all rental, which will be open to the general public, with 250 units reserved for members of the Squamish Nation.

The project comes after the Canadian government's 2015 recommendations for a policy of reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada after centuries of violence and expropriation.

It will be developed in phases, with the final occupancy planned for 2029. Kasian Architecture will be the architect of record, while Revery Architecture will carry out the project design and interior design.

"The development at Sen̓áḵw is reconciliation in action," said Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation, which is working alongside local developer Westbank to complete the project.

"When First Nations utilize their lands for value-creating developments within their jurisdiction, everyone benefits. This project is a legacy for the Squamish Nation, but also for the City of Vancouver – and for all of Canada".

Other recent skyscraper projects in Vancouver include a "sculptural and iconic" skyscraper by Kengo Kuma and a twisted skyscraper by BIG.

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Rapidly growing Austin is set to see its skyline transformed by the emergence of several supertall skyscrapers in the coming years, but is this a cause for celebration or concern?

As America's second-fastest growing economy, Austin's population is expected to reach 3.6 million people by 2040, and various city initiatives are addressing growth in the region.

The population growth has spurred an influx of global manufacturing industries and necessitated a rise in construction, according to Emily Risinger, the director of planning and urban design for the Downtown Austin Alliance, an NGO involved in advocacy.

"The construction of supertall towers very much fits within this larger context of growth and of downtown Austin being the biggest nexus of activities in our region," she told Dezeen.

Skyscrapers under construction in the city include Gensler's 875-foot-tall (268 metres) Sixth and Guadalupe mixed-use skyscraper and another by HKS called The Republic, a 710-foot-tall (216 metres) office tower, designed with North Carolina-based Duda Paine Architects that is estimated to open in 2025.

Rising above them all will be Kohn Pedersen Fox's (KPF) 1,022-foot-tall (311 metre) Waterline project, which will be the tallest building in Texas when it is completed.

Supertalls bringing liveliness

Predictably, their presence is controversial among the city's residents, although some see them as exciting symbols of Austin's rise.

"These supertalls are bringing this liveliness and neighborliness back to our downtown because they are really well designed and made for urban living," said Reisinger.

Others are less complimentary, with accusations of elitism levelled at the projects.

Dean Almy, the program director for urban design at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, said that as building heights continue to rise they form "sky cities" far above the public space.

Embedded parking levels on the lower storeys creates a class-dividing dead zone between those who live above the city and the ground-level tenants, he argued.

"They're not really dealing with the problems of Austin," said Almy, who previously served as the chair of the city's Design Commission and the founding chair of the Texas Society of Architects Urban Design Committee.

"You can go a quarter-mile high if you want to. What are the limitations?"

In 2012, the city's Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan pushed for additional housing that was dense in downtown but preserved the landscape as much as possible.

And since 2014, a variety of code changes have made it easier for developers to build skyscrapers in the city as long as they provide funding for the streestscape, utilise sustainable design and contribute to affordable housing.

At the same time, Austin has attempted to introduce guardrails to ensure that constructing large buildings doesn't sacrifice public accessibility, urban friendliness or market affordability in favour of breaking records.

For instance, the city's Great Streets program, an urban initiative to increase pedestrian friendliness and access to public transit infrastructure, has taken on the challenge of keeping up with the rapid development.

Sometimes, the city's embracing of supertalls comes into conflict with these priorities – as in the case of HKS's Wilson Tower.

Originally intended to be Texas's tallest building at 80 storeys when its design was unveiled in January, the tower's height was halved following an unsuccessful review with the City of Austin's Design Commission, though the commission was careful to note that it wasn't its decision that prompted the revision.

A non-binding report by the commission said the tower should make changes to comply with guidelines that benefit the general public.

"Downtown belongs to everyone"

The Design Commission pointed to the tower's failure to acknowledge the neighbouring Brushy Square and fully support pedestrian safety and Austin's public art culture.

"Downtown belongs to everyone, and should be accessible to the general public," Austin Design Commission chair Jen Weaver told Dezeen.

"The project sits on one of four open public squares downtown – and did not acknowledge the square," Weaver continued, noting that the architects and developers on the project were frustrated with the commission's motion.

"Large empty lobbies, monolithic walls, unsafe pedestrian zones, tall parking podiums, service spaces fronting public squares downtown – could not be more elitist."

While the original design of the tower did not exceed Austin's 25:1 floor area ratio density cap, it fell short in addressing the city's guidelines for public space and art, pedestrian safety, approachability and connection to the street, and creating a human scale on the ground floor.

As well as reducing its height, HKS Austin and developer Wilson Capital have since reimagined how the tower interacts with the ground floor and the site's public square in order to comply with guidelines and requirements. The company said that economic factors were the deciding factor in the revision.

Wilson Tower is scheduled to break ground this summer.

"We are making some changes to the ground floor in response to the Design Commission's feedback and changes to the vertical nature of the building in response to current market conditions," Wilson Capital president Taylor Wilson told Dezeen in July.

Looking ahead, economic factors are likely to continue playing a leading role in determining the future of Austin's skyline, says Almy.

"It's driven by the market, and as best that I can tell, it seems to have a kind of economic horizon," he said, explaining that developers are hedging their bets with mixed-use programming, rather than building the office towers of the 1980s.

While he doesn't expect Austin's market to drop, saying that a project in the sweet spot is a "relatively safe" endeavour, he is unconvinced about the viability of a tower measuring over a thousand feet (300 metres), when taking into account current interest rates.

"Six hundred feet tall (180 metres) seems to be the sweet spot right now," he said.

A variety of supertall skyscrapers have been built or proposed for the first time in many North American cities such as Brooklyn, Miami and Toronto. Last year, Dezeen rounded up six North American supertalls currently in the works.

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Renders have been revealed of a supertall skyscraper designed by UK studio Zaha Hadid Architects for the Trojena ski resort at Neom in Saudi Arabia.

Neom have released images of the skyscraper, named Discovery Tower, which was initially revealed on the development's stand at the Cityscape conference in Riyadh last month.

Designed to stand on top of a mountain overlooking an artificial lake at the centre of the Trojena development, the crystalline skyscraper will be 330 metres tall.

Renders of the tower, which will contain observation decks and restaurants, show a crystal-like structure made of numerous columns that taper towards the peak.

"Elegant and monumental, this iconic tower will combine high-end retail, dining and the dream-like experience of living in the clouds," said the developer.

"This iconic commercial, high-rise tower will provide a rich platform for groundbreaking and tech-infused artistic content and experiences."

The skyscraper forms part of the wider Trojena plan, which is being masterplanned by German studio LAVA architects.

It will stand on the opposite mountain to the ski resort also designed by LAVA architects and will be connected to a series of hotels alongside the lake by a cable car.

The development will also contain buildings designed by Dutch practices UNStudio and Mecanoo, US studio Aedas and Australian studio Bureau Proberts.

Trojena, which is one of the four regions of Neom that has been announced, is intended to be fully complete before the region hosts the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

Being developed in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, the Neom project is one of the largest and most controversial projects in world and includes the 170-kilometre-long city called The Line.

Human rights group ALQST reported that three people who were evicted from the Neom site have been sentenced to death and earlier this year, UN Human Rights Council experts expressed "alarm" over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabia responded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place.

Speaking to Dezeen, Amnesty International's Peter Frankental said that companies working on Neom were facing a "moral dilemma" and should "think twice" about their continuing involvement in the project.

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Dutch architecture studio MVRDV has added a colourful gridded facade to a skyscraper in Shenzhen, to create a hotel and centre dedicated to the welfare of women and children.

Aiming to set an example of adaptive reuse in the city, the Shenzhen Women and Children's Centre contains a library, auditorium, children's theatre, therapy rooms and staff offices.

Originally completed in 1994, MVRDV retained the majority of the original structure, which is made up of a 100-metre-tall tower surrounded by a 5,500-square-metre, six-storey structure on the corner of a crossroads.

The studio added a colourful gridded aluminium frame to the exterior, increasing the depth of the facade by one metre to help shade the internal spaces and reduce thermal heat gain.

The bright green, pink, yellow and orange facade fades to white towards the upper levels of the building, where a hotel with 201 rooms is located.

"Retaining and refurbishing a building is more sustainable than demolishing and building anew, particularly when a building is this young and contains as much concrete as this structure," MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs told Dezeen.

"We also wanted to blaze a trail for the city of Shenzhen in repurposing buildings, particularly high-rises, as we believe this is just the beginning of a great wave of adaptive reuse."

The facade colours were used throughout the building to guide visitors and highlight passages to a courtyard.

MVRDV redesigned the main lobby to make it a colourful and inviting space that draws people into the retail spaces in the building, and a separate children's lobby was added to a side entrance, leading to the education and play spaces.

"The whole theme of the building is connected to children's well-being and to fresh, colourful, and fun design solutions," said Van Rijs.

MVRDV topped the building with a "tower crown" that covers a roof terrace, where visitors can enjoy 360-degree views of the surrounding city.

Originally used for car parking, the studio transformed the terrace into a public space with a food court.

An entrance to the metro station was moved from the pavement outside to inside the building, creating a larger public space in front of the centre with colourful circles decorating the paving.

Approximately 24,000 cubic metres of concrete was saved and reused from the original structure and small additions were made to simplify the floor plans.

According to MVRDV, the original structure was built during Shenzhen's first period of rapid growth and due to its rushed construction, it was later deemed not fit for purpose.

It was selected as one of 24 projects to revitalise by the National Development and Reform Commission, aiming to contribute to China's goal to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

"The rushed approach to its original design was immediately clear. Due to persistent fire safety concerns, the commercial units in the plinth were not opened until 2002, and the tower itself remained empty indefinitely," said MVRDV.

"With the changing needs of the building's users, it fell short of environmental requirements, and by 2019 it was clear that the building was no longer fit for purpose."

Dutch studio MVRDV was founded in Rotterdam in 1993 by Van Rijs, Winy Maas and Nathalie de Vries.

Other tall buildings completed by the studio include a pair of L-shaped skyscrapers in Nanjing and a housing tower in San Francisco designed to appear like a canyon.

The photography is by Xia Zhi.

Project credits:

Architect: MVRDV
Co-architect, landscape architect and MEP: SZAD
Facade Consultant: King Glass Engineering
Structural engineer: Yuanlizhu Engineering Consultants
Lighting Consultant: Brandston Partnership Inc.
Interior architect: Jiang and Associates

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Dutch studio OMA has unveiled visuals of the geometric Dhaka Tower, its first project in Bangladesh, which "expresses the aspirations of a dynamic nation".

The 150-metre-high skyscraper will house offices and be located on the shore of Hatirjheel Lake in a new commercial district at the edge of Tejgaon, Dhaka.

Dhaka Tower was designed for developer Shanta Holdings by OMA partner Iyad Alsaka and will be the studio's first-ever project in the South Asian country.

The skyscraper will have a pyramidal base and an extruded form. A rectangular core with panoramic lifts that will have views of the lake will connect two triangular floor plates.

"Our design for Dhaka Tower is inspired by the spirit of Bangladesh's thriving economy," Alsaka said. "Its shape expresses the aspirations of a dynamic nation, making a bold statement on the city's skyline."

Both sides of the 180,000-square-metre Dhaka Tower will feature atriums that will connect to exterior spaces.

Triple-height lobbies will sit at the centre of the building's two triangular volumes and be surrounded by retail and dining spaces.

At the base of the building, OMA has created a 40-metre-high exhibition space, while the top level of the tower will house a restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a two-tier observation deck.

Tejgaon, which Dhaka Tower will be located next to, is a former industrial area in Dhaka that now houses both local and multinational companies.

OMA recently unveiled an art museum extension in Buffalo with a transparent "veil", and topped Tiffany & Co's Fifth Avenue flagship with a "jewellery box".

The visuals are courtesy of OMA unless otherwise stated.

Project credits:

Architect: OMA
Partner: Iyad Alsaka
Project director: Carol Patterson
Project architect: Jonathan Telkamp
Team: Shatha Altoyan, Margarida Amial, Titouan Chapouly, Anita Ernődi, Adrianne Fisher, Marco Gambare, Lucien Glass, Alicja Krzywinska, Davide Masserini, Roza Matveeva, Bart Nicolaas, Jozef Olsavsky, Daan Ooievaar, Ana, Otelea, Michael den Otter, Saskia Simon, Iason Stathatos, Koen Stockbroekx, Karolina Szczygiel, Anahita Tabrizi, Timothy Tse, Camilla Wisborg, Michele Zambetti, Yushang Zhang
Local architect: DWm4 Architects
Structure: Meinhardt Group
MEP: Meinhardt Group
Facade engineer: Meinhardt Facade Technology
Landscape: One Landscape
Lighting: Lightbox
Fire: IGnesis Consultants

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Construction work has resumed on Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, a skyscraper designed by Chicago-based studio Adrian Smith + Gill Gordon Architecture, which is expected to become the world's tallest building.

According to Dubai-based magazine Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), work will resume on the project after nearly a decade of construction.

Designed by Adrian Smith + Gill Gordon Architecture (AS+GG), the skyscraper is planned to reach a height of 1,000 metres.

This would make it taller than the current record-holder, the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a tower that Smith led during his time at architecture studio Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM).

Renderings of Jeddah Tower, formerly known as Kingdom Tower, have shown a sleek glass-clad structure with a triangle footprint and fin-like indents on the side that tapers up to a pinnacle.

Jeddah Tower will hold a Four Seasons hotel, residences, offices as well as the world's highest observation deck on a constructed building.

The first images of the prospective tower were released in 2011, and ground was broken in 2013, but the project has been harried by constant starts and stops.

These delays included ones caused by labour issues after contractor the Binladin Group was taken off the project due to its owner Bakr bin Laden, who was arrested as part of the 2017 corruption purges in the country.

According to MEED, developer Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) is currently seeking new bids for a contractor to complete the project.

The pilings and foundation for the project have been completed and as of 2018, the building had reached the 63rd floor.

AS+GG did not respond to requests for confirmation of the project's status.

Saudi Arabia is undertaking a slurry of development projects, and is currently underway on at least 14 "giga projects", including the 170-kilometre-long city called The Line. This is part of the Neom project, which has been criticised by the United Nation's Human Rights Council.

In an interview with Dezeen, Amnesty International's Peter Frankental said that companies working on Neom were facing a "moral dilemma" and should "think twice" about their continuing involvement in the project.

In Jeddah, plans have been put forward for a 5.7 million-square-metre residential and arts complex called Jeddah Central, funded by the country's sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund.

Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill founded their eponymous firm in 2006 after both departed from SOM.

The studio's recent projects include The Central Park Tower in New York, which at the time of its construction was the world's tallest residential building.

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UK studio Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a 330-metre-tall skyscraper as part of the Trojena ski resort at Neom in Saudi Arabia.

On display as part of the Neom stand at the Cityscape conference in Riyadh, the 330-metre-tall skyscraper will form part of Trojena, which is being masterplanned by German studio LAVA architects.

It will stand on a mountain opposite the main ski area, overlooking an artificial lake that will form the centrepiece of the leisure development.

Renders of the skyscraper show a crystal-like structure made of numerous columns that taper towards the peak. It will be connected to the lakeside development by a cable car.

Although full details of the building's use have not yet been revealed, the tower will contain shops, restaurants and exhibition spaces along with observation decks at three different levels.

"Elegant and monumental, this iconic tower will combine high-end retail, dining and the dream-like experience of living in the clouds," read the display.

"This iconic commercial, high-rise tower will provide a rich platform for groundbreaking and tech-infused artistic content and experiences," it continued.

The skyscraper forms part of Trojena, which is one of the four regions of Neom that has been announced.

Masterplanned by German studio LAVA architects, the region will contain a building topped by ski slopes along with numerous hotels and other attractions. Along with LAVA and Zaha Hadid Architects, other studios working on the project include UNStudio, Aedas and Bureau Proberts.

Announced in 2022, the developers of the project intend for it to be fully complete before the region hosts the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

The Neom development in the northwest of Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest and most controversial projects. The plan includes a 170-kilometre-long city called The Line, which has been widely criticised on liveability, sustainability and human rights grounds.

Human rights group ALQST reported that three people who were evicted from the Neom site have been sentenced to death and earlier this year, UN Human Rights Council experts expressed "alarm" over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabia responded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place.

Speaking to Dezeen, Amnesty International's Peter Frankental said that companies working on Neom were facing a "moral dilemma" and should "think twice" about their continuing involvement in the project.

The photography is by Tom Ravenscroft.

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To mark World Skyscraper Day today, Dezeen readers have voted the Brooklyn Tower by SHoP Architects as the best skyscraper from the past year.

After over 1,000 votes, the Brooklyn Tower in New York City was the clear winner, with over 30 per cent of people picking it from the poll.

Designed by SHoP Architects, the 325-metre-high supertall skyscraper is now the tallest building in Brooklyn. The distinctive 93-storey tower is clad in blackened stainless steel panels with bronze and copper pilasters.

Dezeen readers picked the skyscraper from an international shortlist including buildings designed by architecture studios BIG, Kengo Kuma Associates and OMA. Brooklyn Tower received 31 per cent of votes in total.

Commenters were also positive about the skyscraper, with one saying it was "one of the most beautiful skyscraper additions to New York in a long time" and another describing it as "very distinctive".

With 21 per cent of the vote, Foster + Partners' DJI Sky City towers in Shenzhen, China, was Dezeen readers' second favourite skyscraper from the past year.

Built for drone manufacturer DJI, the building comprises a pair of 200-metre-high towers connected by an open-air suspension bridge 105 metres above ground level.

Studio Gang's 11 Hoyt residential skyscraper in Brooklyn came in third place with 16 per cent of the vote. The 189-metre-high tower has a scalloped facade made from precast concrete panels.

Also in Brooklyn, one of three towers in the borough in the top four, OMA's Eagle + West skyscrapers received the fourth most votes.

Ateliers Jean Nouvel's Tours Duo in Paris was Dezeen readers' fifth pick, with the remaining five skyscrapers receiving less than five per cent of the vote each.

Dezeen carried out the poll to mark World Skyscraper Day, which takes place 3 September. To mark the day last year, we rounded up fifteen supertall skyscrapers being built around the world.

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To mark World Skyscraper Day, we are inviting Dezeen readers to pick the best skyscraper project of the past year from a shortlist of 10.

Ahead of World Skyscraper Day on 3 September, the Dezeen team has selected the 10 most interesting tall buildings from the past 12 months and is inviting you to vote for the best, with the winner revealed on the day.

Read on for this year's skyscraper highlights, then vote here or by using the form at the bottom of the article:

11 Hoyt, New York City, USA, by Studio Gang

One of three skyscrapers in Brooklyn on the list, the 11 Hoyt residential skyscraper was designed by Studio Gang with a scalloped facade made from precast concrete panels.

Rising to 189 metres, the skyscraper contains 481 apartments with interiors designed by architecture studio Michaelis Boyd. Dezeen commenters weren't overly impressed, with one describing the building as "quite boring".

Vote for 11 Hoyt by Studio Gang ›

Alberni, Vancouver, Canada, by Kengo Kuma & Associates

Set near Vancouver's waterfront in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood, the 43-storey Alberni skyscraper by Kengo Kuma & Associates has a distinctive curved form.

Studio founder Kengo Kuma explained that the building was designed to be "something different" to the surrounding more traditional skyscrapers. However, readers had reservations. Several described it as "ugly" with one stating it was "remarkably pointless" and "impressively ugly".

Others disagreed, calling it "a beautiful building" and a "cool structure".

Vote for Alberni by Kengo Kuma & Associates ›

Brooklyn Tower, New York City, USA, by SHoP Architects

Designed by SHoP Architects, the Brooklyn Tower is 325 metres high, making it a supertall skyscraper and the tallest building in the New York borough.

Rising from a podium that incorporates the historic Dimes Savings Bank, the 93-storey skyscraper was clad in blackened stainless panels with distinctive bronze and copper pilasters adding character to the facade.

Commenters were broadly positive about the skyscraper, with one saying it was "one of the most beautiful skyscraper additions to New York in a long time", and another describing it as "very distinctive".

Vote for Brooklyn Tower by SHoP Architects ›

DJI Sky City, Shenzhen, China, by Foster + Partners

Named DJI Sky City, this pair of 200-metre-high skyscrapers, designed by British architecture studio Foster + Partners for drone manufacturer DJI, are connected by an open-air suspension bridge. The 90-meter-long suspension bridge is 105 metres above the ground.

Commenters enjoyed the project, with several calling it "spectacular" and another saying they had "nothing bad to say about this building".

Vote for DJI Sky City by Foster + Partners ›

Eagle + West, New York City, USA, by OMA

Another Brooklyn skyscraper, the Eagle + West skyscraper by OMA in the borough's Greenpoint neighbourhood was revealed this year. Described by OMA as "complementary siblings", the pair of towers were made from a series of stacked boxes that rise to 30 and 40 storeys.

Readers described the building as a "harmoniously balanced composition", "cool project" and "a spectacular structural tour-de-force".

Vote for Eagle + West by OMA ›

Kō'ula, Honolulu, USA by Studio Gang

Named Kō'ula, which means red sugar cane in native Hawaiian, the form of this 41-storey residential tower was informed by the local plant. Studio Gang explained that the undulating facade was also designed to be an interpretation of covered verandas that are common in Hawaii.

While one reader described the building as "elegant" and "smart" others thought it was "strange".

Vote for Kō'ula by Studio Gang ›

Mitikah, Mexico City, Mexico, by Pelli Clarke & Partners

The 267-metre-tall Mitikah building in the Benito Jaurez neighbourhood of Mexico City was designed by skyscraper specialists Pelli Clarke & Partners and is now the tallest building in the city.

The largely glass-clad tower has a curved form that, according to the studio was designed to relate to a nearby cluster of skyscrapers and the dramatic mountains that surround the city.

One reader described the tower as "nice and clean", however, others called it "forgettable" and a "gigantic glass tube".

Vote for Mitikah by Pelli Clarke & Partners ›

Platina 220, São Paulo, Brazil, by Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados

Described by Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados as a "monolith carved into the landscape", Platina 220 is the tallest building in São Paulo. The 172-metre-tall central tower, which was clad in porcelain panels with deep window cut outs, was flanked by four shorter towers.

Although one reader called the building "horrific" others were more positive, saying that it was "great to see a more responsible level of window-to-wall ratio on a new tower".

Vote for Platina 220 by Königsberger Vannucchi Arquitetos Associados ›

Tours Duo, Paris, France, by Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, this pair of inclined skyscrapers lean away from a central plaza and were positioned to be more visible from the River Seine and the Périphérique ring road. The skyscrapers are 180 and 125 metres high, with the former becoming the second-tallest building in the city.

One reader suggested the building would make people feel "uneasy" and others were more critical, describing it as "entirely superficial and exceedingly pretentious at the same time".

Vote for Tours Duo by Ateliers Jean Nouvel ›

Vancouver House, Vancouver, Canada, by BIG

Designed by BIG "in the tradition of Flatiron" the 155-meter-high Vancouver House skyscraper rises from a triangular base with a curved profile to form a rectangular block.

"Should a building be designed to evoke anxiety?" one commenter asked, but others called it "a very unique solution", "really cool" and "one of the most striking buildings on the West Coast".

Vote for Vancouver House by BIG ›

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Photos have been released of a pair of skyscrapers designed by local studio Selldorf Architects at the Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment site on the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, NewYork.

Located in the Domino development in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood, the twin skyscrapers called One Domino Square have nearly reached their full height of 550 and 450 feet (168 and 137 metres).

The skyscrapers rise from a single podium that is clad in granite with acid-etched glass spandrels. The granite forms columns rise from street level giving the base a distinct appearance and contrast with the iridescent porcelain tile that will clad the remainder of the skyscrapers' facade.

The buildings will be Selldorf Architects' first completed residential skyscrapers. Studio founder Annabelle Selldorf said that her studio used principles from its other residential projects for the tower.

"We bring the same principles of design to an eight-storey or 20-storey or 50-storey building," said Selldorf.

"We are interested in designing buildings that are beautiful and comfortable places to live in but that also contribute to the urban fabric and the overall quality of life in the city."

One Domino Square will contain 700,000 square feet (65,032 square metres) of usable space. Wedged between the two staggered towers will be a raised area with outdoor amenities including a swimming pool.

To deal with the possibility of flooding, the ground floor has been elevated and there is no basement space on the site.

"Minimum below-grade scope dramatically reduces carbon footprint," added Selldorf.

"It reduces the use of concrete and excavation; it is rare for this size of tower building to not have any cellar levels."

The structures are part of the Domino Sugar Factory masterplan, an 11-acre complex masterplanned by SHoP Architects and developed by Two Trees Management.

Landscape architecture studio James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) designed Domino Park along the riverfront.

JCFO is in the process of designing another outdoor area, Domino Square, between the Selldorf towers and the forthcoming redevelopment of the historic Domino Sugar Refinery by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU).

Structures by CookFox Architects and another by SHoP Architects have already been completed on the site.

"Domino Park is a wonderful fertile ground for a series of new buildings and one amazing old building, the Refinery, that read almost as a necklace of charms on the skyline," said Selldorf.

"Each one stands on its own like solitaires but come together to frame the Park."

German-born architect Annabelle Selldorf founded her firm in 1988. Other forthcoming projects by the studio include a revamp of the Sainsbury Wing at London's National Gallery and an addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The photography is by Nicholas Venezia. Renderings courtesy of Two Trees Management.

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A residential skyscraper designed by the late German-American architect Helmut Jahn has topped out in Chicago's South Loop.

Sited in the city's Historic Michigan Avenue District, the skyscraper reached its final height of 788 feet (240 metres) after construction began in 2019. It sits on the western edge of Grant Park.

Designed by architecture studio Jahn, the 73-storey skyscraper's concrete structure has been completed and work on the glass facade will complete shortly.

1000 M has two components, a relatively square base with a lip on one side. On top of this is a tower that sits back from the edge of the base, has rounded edges and twists slightly as it rises. Balconies for the residencies have been set back from the glass facade.

The original plan for the skyscraper had the tower at 832 feet (254 metres) tall but restrictions in the area forced the developers, Time Equities, Inc, JK Equities and Oak Capitals, to reduce the height.

To support the tower's height, Chicago construction firm McHugh Construction had to drive caissons 87 feet (26 metres) below ground to reach bedrock.

The finished skyscraper will have 738 apartments as well as a rooftop observation deck with views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. According to the developers, it will be the tallest observation deck in the city.

Chicago-based designer Kara Mann is currently set to design the interiors for both the apartments and for 80,000 square feet (7,432 square metres) of indoor and outdoor amenity areas located throughout the building.

Jahn was born in Germany in 1940 and moved to Chicago in 1966, where he conducted a majority of his work. In 2021, Jahn died aged 81 after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle outside the city.

He is known for his postmodern James R Thompson Center in the city, which in 2021 was saved from demolition after being sold by the Illinois state government. Technology company Google has since expressed interest in purchasing the structure.

The images are courtesy of Jahn.

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Architecture studio ZGF has completed phase one of Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia that includes a park designed by James Corner Field Operations.

The Metropolitan Park campus completes the first phase of online retail firm Amazon's headquarters located in Arlington's National Landing neighbourhood, a 20-minute drive to downtown Washington, D.C.

The new 2.1 million square feet (185, 800 square metre) campus contains two 22-storey office buildings with retail space surrounding a central public green space.

For the design, Amazon "envisioned a second headquarters that would integrate into and enhance an existing neighbourhood," according to the company.

ZGF Architects placed the headquarters' two towers, called Merlin and Jasper, perpendicular to one another on the corner of a 6.2-acre (2.5 hectare) site with a public park located in front.

Merlin and Jasper are similar in form, although Merlin features metal fins painted in "colour-shifting pearlescent hues" and Jasper was clad in iridescent dichroic glass.

"As the sun and clouds move overhead, the color and luminosity of these materials shift and change, creating a design that is dynamic and ever-evolving, no matter the angle," said ZGF principal Brian Earle.

"Sometimes prominent, sometimes subdued, never the same. This design intent is reflective of Amazon’s identity and constantly evolving quest to innovate."

Both buildings were made using a series of interconnected rectangular volumes.

Copper-coloured louvres were placed on smaller volumes that contain the buildings' amenities zones for employees.

Employee offices were placed in the remaining volumes, which differ in height. They were placed in different arrangements on the individual buildings to form a "U" shaped setback where they meet.

The buildings were placed atop ground-level volumes that were topped with charcoal-coloured terracotta in reference to the site's prior use as a brickyard.

"The stepped form of the terracotta cradle responds to the surrounding context with each step aligning with neighbouring building heights," said Earle.

"The deep setbacks allow light and air to filter throughout the space and into the surrounding park, while also providing over an acre of rooftop landscaped area for building occupants."

They contain the buildings' double-height lobbies, which are open to the public and feature a coffee shop and seating areas.

The lobbies will "usher thousands of Amazon staff to work each day" and were modelled after a bird's nest using geometric wooden ceiling tiles.

"Drawing inspiration from the concept of a bird’s nest, the lobbies elicit playful curiosity and a sense of belonging," said the studio. "Their textured ceilings evoke the geometries of a perfectly thatched aerie while echoing the corrugated cardboard packaging recognizable to all Prime shoppers."

Large ceiling fans and operable garage doors open towards the central park and were used to create a more gradual transition between Arlington's hot, humid weather and the interior of the buildings.

A mirrored sculpture indicative of bird wings by Los Angeles-based artist Rob Ley was installed on the lobbies' wall. A hanging pink light installation by Kristen Hassenfeld placed above the reception desks calls to a cherry soda once made in the area.

"Both lobbies are studded with whimsical moments, provoking those who pass through to shift their perspectives and adopt a creative mindset," said the team.

The ground-level spaces will eventually contain additional retail spaces, eateries and a daycare.

An event centre located on the second floor of Merlin was created using ten 70-foot-long (21 metre) glued-laminated timber beams.

Metal screens cut with geometric patterns called Kintec were installed in the space to follow the path of the sun, while overhead skylights provide diffused light.

The space will be used by employees and the public alike.

Through electricity powered by a solar farm in southern Virginia, which electrifies the building HVAC and water heaters, the buildings are powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

Green roofs, thermal transitions, energy-efficient facades, timber construction and specialized low-carbon concrete further decrease environmental impact.

James Corner Field Operations designed several terraces throughout the buildings, eight of which as accessible to employees to provide "moments of reprieve away from their desks,".

The terraces were outfitted with curvilinear benches, seating areas, and barbeques.

In front of the two buildings, Field Operations renovated the existing Metropolitan Park to include dog runs, a children's playground, a community garden, an open lawn and permanent art pieces by Iñigo Manglano-Ovall and Aurora Robson amidst curving pathways.

At the centre of the park, a brick tower artwork by DC-based artist Nekisha Durrett pays homage to Queen City, a thriving, Black neighbourhood that was razed during the Pentagon's construction, which lies nearby.

The landscape studio also designed protected bikeways and intersections around the 2.5 acre park.

Over 50,000 plants were used, including 160 native species.

The Metropolitan Park development concludes the first phase of Amazon's HQ2 after a contested race for the headquarters' home city in 2018.

After Arlington was chosen, NBBJ studio designed a spiralling glass tower likened to the poop emoji for phase two of the project called "Pen Place".

As of March of 2023, construction on Pen Place has been stalled indefinitely.

The photography is by Magda Biernat.

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New York studio SHoP Architects has completed the black and bronze facade of the supertall skyscraper Brooklyn Tower, the tallest building in the borough.

At 93 storeys and 1,066 feet (325 metres) tall, the supertall skyscraper topped out in March 2023, but the intricate cladding of its exterior was only recently completed.

The skyscraper features blackened stainless panels running from the top of the tower towards the bottom, where it meets the preserved, historic Dimes Savings Bank, which has been integrated into the tower's podium.

Running the length of the tower are bronze and copper pilasters that give definition to the black facade, which at certain points comes to edges, creating a staggered appearance. The building has quickly become one of, if not the most, visible structures on the Brooklyn skyline.

Last year, SHoP principal Greg Pasquarelli told Dezeen in an exclusive interview that the structure, because of its special zoning, "would be kind of like the Empire State Building of Brooklyn."

"We wanted to make sure that no matter what grid you were on, looking at it from wherever you were in Brooklyn, you felt like you were looking at the front," he continued.

The residential skyscraper, which has more than 500 residences as well as retail at its base, has a wider base than many other supertalls because of the winds in Brooklyn.

The larger base means that the tower tapers, drawing attention to the smaller peaks of the tower as it narrows towards the tops. The base is clad in white marble, reflecting the art deco bank, and darkens as it rises.

The tower also has a number of "wind floors" throughout its length that allow heavy gusts to pass throughout without rocking the massive structure. According to New York magazine Curbed, one of the taller wind floors has been outfitted with a basketball court, the highest in the world.

The tower's distinct form and colour have led some in the city to compare the building to the architecture of Sauron's Dark Fortress, a tower in Peter Jackson's filmatisation of the Lord of the Rings novels.

Inside, the art deco design of the Dimes Saving Bank has been carried through many of the public spaces, including the lobby design by Krista Ninivaggi.

The tower features multiple entrances, one directly from the street and another through the renovated bank, which has become a retail and pedestrian space.

Local interior firm Gachot Studios carried out the design of most of the residences.

SHoP Architects is also responsible for the nearby Barclays Center, a stadium clad with thousands of steel panels.

It has designed a number of other buildings throughout the city, including 111 W 57th Street on Billionaires Row in Manhattan, the world's skinniest supertall skyscraper.

The photography is by Max Touhey.

Project credits:

Developer: JDS Development Group
Builder: JDS Construction Group
Architect: SHoP Architects
Residential interior design: Gachot Studios
Amenities interior design: Krista Ninivaggi of Woods Bagot
Landscape design: HMWhite
Structural engineer: WSP
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineer: JB&B
Curtain wall consultant: MW Skins
Civil engineer: AKRF
Geotechnical engineer: Mueser Rutledge
Wind engineer: RWDI

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Real estate developer Silverstein Properties has enlisted architecture studio CetraRuddy for a proposed entertainment complex near New York City's Hudson Yards neighbourhood.

Designed in collaboration with Las Vegas-based architecture studio Steelman Partners and New York firm CetraRuddy, the project will feature two 46-storey skyscrapers.

Called the Avenir, the project's proposed site is a 92,000-square-foot lot of undeveloped land just north of New York's Javits Convention Center. Renderings show a series of glass-clad forms with metallic details.

The complex will house a hotel, affordable housing units, and a theatre atop an eight-story casino and entertainment complex.

According to the developers, affordable housing is a "cornerstone" of the property, which will feature more than 100 apartments that will be available through New York City's housing lottery.

"Our city and state face a confluence of historic challenges right now,” said Silverstein Properties chairman Larry A Silverstein.

"These include a housing crisis, public safety challenges, budget shortfalls, and a commercial real estate market in transition."

The residential units will feature a mixture of unit types and sizes.

1,000 luxury hotel rooms are also proposed to be housed in the skyscrapers.

The towers will be connected by an enclosed walkway at the 45th floor, which will feature a 1,000-seat performance hall that will host local community and public performances.

The 600,000-square-foot (55,741 square metres) casino at the project's base will feature at least 12 restaurants, gaming and entertainment spaces.

According to the developers, the Avenir will feature sustainable design strategies and will be built to the "highest contemporary sustainability standards."

Silverstein Properties is also exploring strategies to mitigate pollution and smog caused by traffic at the nearby Lincoln Tunnel to lessen its effect on the hotel and surrounding neighbourhood.

The developer will also partner with consulting firms AKRF on environmental impact, traffic, and public safety analysis for the project and Karp Strategies to provide a deeper understanding of the local community.

Upon approval, the project is "shovel ready" according to the team.

Silverstein Properties will partner with Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment (Greenwood) and affiliates on the Avenir casino.

Greenwood currently owns and operates Pennsylvania's Parx Casino, which is the "highest-grossing" casino complex in Pennsylvania.

With the project, Silverstein Properties hopes to receive one of up to three casino licenses currently available in the greater New York City region.

The developer is well-known for its development of high-profile architecture projects in the city including the Two World Trade Center skyscrapers that are being built in downtown Manhattan.

The Avenir is one of several projects recently proposed and completed in New York City, including designs for a Penn Station renovation and a glulam bridge addition to the High Line.

The imagery is courtesy of Silverstein Properties.

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International architecture studio HKS has reduced the plans for its Wilson Tower in Austin, Texas just six months after unveiling the designs for the skyscraper.

The 80-storey residential tower was set to be the tallest building in Texas at 1,035 feet (315 metres) tall with 450 apartments.

After an unsuccessful January review with the City of Austin's Design Commission, HKS Austin and the local development group Wilson Capital have lowered the building to 45 storeys and 350 residential units.

The shorter building reduces the planned density and addresses concerns over accessibility and approachability.

Market conditions a factor

"We are making some changes to the ground floor in response to the Design Commission's feedback and changes to the vertical nature of the building in response to current market conditions," Wilson Capital president Taylor Wilson told Dezeen.

"Construction costs and interest rates are both higher now than they were when we originally designed the project," Wilson said.

The ground-floor podium originally included a restaurant, movie theatre, coworking space and a fitness centre topped by a pool deck.

But its connection to the streetscape prompted concerns from commissioners, while the building's height proved increasingly challenging for Wilson Capital to finance.

"We believe this new design is more appropriate to provide an activated ground floor while remaining feasible in today's environment," Wilson said.

While half the size of the original tower, the new design maintains the brise soleil-wrapped facade with a blocky metal exoskeleton that climbs up the narrow sides and over the rounded rooftop, while glass covers the broadsides.

The lower corner volume is banded with thin vertical louvres that curve around the corners.

Austin currently has three skyscrapers under construction that will dwarf the reduced Wilson Tower, which is scheduled to break ground this summer. The current tallest completed skyscraper – The Independent by Texas studio Rhodes Partners – is 688 feet (212-metre) tall.

Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) is constructing the 1,022-foot-tall (311 metres) Waterline luxury residential, office and hospitality project that is set to be completed mid-2026.

The three-part, sloping tower will unseat Houston's 1,002-foot-tall (305 metres) IM Pei-designed JPMorgan Chase Tower when it tops out in August 2025.

Meanwhile, the 875-foot-tall (267 metres) Sixth and Guadalupe skyscraper by Gensler will open this year.

HKS is also constructing The Republic, a 710-foot-tall (216 metres) office tower, with North Carolina-based Duda Paine Architects that is estimated to open in 2025.

The renderings are courtesy of Wilson Capital.

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Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye has unveiled the 130 William skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, which was informed by the history of New York City's skyline and industrial waterfront.

Located in Manhattan's Financial District, the 800-foot-tall (244 metre) building is the first skyscraper completed by Adjaye and his studio Adjaye Associates.

Named 130 William, the skyscraper has a striking facade clad with hand-troweled concrete panels that have a texture and colour similar to volcanic stone.

The panels, which run the height of the 66-storey skyscraper, have arched windows reminiscent of the industrial architecture common to New York's waterfront in the 19th and 20th centuries.

"New York history was the inspiration, and the new scale of it, this is New York history in the 21st century," said Adjaye.

"That sort of romance is not neutral – I'm not trying to make an industrial warehouse literally, rather some kind of acknowledgement of what that was in this particular part of Manhattan," he continued.

"I wouldn't make this building elsewhere. It just made sense."

Adjaye said that the unique position at the "helm" of the city and the largely commercial function of many of the surrounding towers made this, his first skyscraper, a "unique opportunity".

It stands out against many of the surrounding skyscrapers, especially the largely glass-clad office structures including the nearby One World Trade Center, which have been built in the last few decades.

"It's also like a ruin in the city," explained Adjaye, referencing the historical influences in the design.

Another aspect of the design, which the architect said was "the compelling part of the project", is a pocket park at street level. The park consists of an inset stone-clad area with landscaping and seating, surrounded by the same facade panels that clad the skyscraper.

As much of the infrastructure of the Financial District comes out all the way to the build line, this area was created as a space for residents and the public to gather.

"The idea of making the project not just a condo building but also a public piece of infrastructure piece of the city is really important," said Adjaye.

The facade panelling for the structure was made in Canada and shipped down to the city via trucks, a logistical challenge that was made easier by the fact that the city's skyscraper-building capabilities allowed for the superstructure to be constructed as the panelling was installed. Because of the porous face, the panels will patina over time.

"That negative thing [within the cladding] collects the dirt and creates the shadow," said Adjaye. "So it's actually one of those things that's not about having to spray wash it, it actually has a patina."

The building contains 242 luxury residences and amenities, with the top floors occupied by penthouses that have access to a series of loggia that crest the top of the building.

Adjaye Associates carried out the interior design of the structure, which features marble and dark wood with metal accents in the public areas of the building. Exercise rooms, an indoor basketball court, a pool and spa, a children's play area and an IMAX theatre are among the amenities.

Many of the apartments, which range in size from one-bedroom homes to a full-floor penthouse, have lightly coloured interiors to contrast the dark tones of the facade and public areas.

The arches of the facade are a primary detail for the interiors, each maintaining its form for the interior setting and given bronze casings.

Developed by local firm Lightstone, the building is almost completely sold and occupied.

The building's dark cladding is reminiscent of another Adjaye project in Harlem, the Sugar Hill affordable housing complex. The studio is set to design an even taller skyscraper in the city, an "inverted" structure called Affirmation Tower.

Project credits:

Architecture and interior design: Adjaye Associates
Architect of record: Hill West

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Complexity Science Hub Vienna researchers Rafael Prieto-Curiel and Daniel Kondor have calculated the mobility issues that The Line linear city in Saudi Arabia is likely to experience.

In a piece titled Arguments for building The Circle and not The Line in Saudi Arabia published in journal NPJ Urban Sustainability, Prieto-Curiel and Kondor argued that a line was an inefficient shape for a city.

"We should seriously consider whether the truly unique attribute of The Line – its form – is the best shape for a new city," wrote the duo.

"In The Line, people are as far away from others as possible"

In the piece, Prieto-Curiel and Kondor aimed to analyse the transport implications of The Line, which is planned as a city for nine million people that would consist of two parallel 170-kilometre-long skyscrapers.

"We note that there are other possible reasons for choosing this unique form, such as the creation of a unique identity that will create and reinforce a status of global city for The Line," wrote Prieto-Curiel and Kondor.

"However, it is important to understand the impact of this choice on sustainability outcomes, especially if The Line is expected to have a global impact as a showcase of modern construction and city planning technologies."

The authors calculated the average distances between people, commuting times and transport network for the city based on existing information on The Line.

"One of the most critical aspects related to The Line is distance," wrote the authors. "If its nine million inhabitants are homogeneously distributed in the city, each kilometre will have roughly 53,000 people. If we randomly pick two people from the city, they will be, on average, 57 kilometres apart."

"Keeping the surface fixed, a line is the contiguous urban form that maximises the distance between its inhabitants," they continued. "In The Line, people are as far away from others as possible."

"Active mobility is not viable in The Line since distances are too long"

According to the authors, the large distances will greatly reduce "active mobility" within the proposed city.

"Considering that a walkable distance is one kilometre, in The Line, only 1.2 per cent of the population is at walking distance from others," they wrote.

"Active mobility is not viable in The Line since distances are too long. The plan for The Line has no cars but also gets rid of most active mobility."

The authors accepted that there are "positive aspects" of the planned city, including its car-free nature, focus on high-speed railway for transportation and small footprint due to its form. However, they highlighted several potential flaws in the plans.

"Travelling between two locations in The Line will take an hour on average"

Prieto-Curiel and Kondor calculate that the city will need 86 train stations "to guarantee that everyone is within walking distance of a station". And the required stopping time at the stations would reduce the speed of trips.

"With so many stations, trains stop too frequently, reducing their average speed and spending too much time at stations," they said.

"Travelling from one random location of The Line to the other will take, on average, at least 60 minutes, including walking to and from a station, waiting for the next service and riding a train that frequently stops."

The duo calculated that with 86 train stations people would need to walk 18 minutes on average to a station, but increasing or reducing this number would increase overall travel times.

They concluded that "the population of The Line will experience higher commuting times than much bigger cities, such as Seoul".

"A round urban form is the most desirable"

In response to The Line's form, Prieto-Curiel and Kondor suggested that a circle may be a more efficient shape for a city.

They calculated that taking The Line's skyscrapers and arranging them in a circle, in a city they dubbed The Circle, would dramatically reduce commuting distances.

"The Circle occupies roughly the same surface as Pisa, Italy, but has 50 times its population," they said.

"A round urban form is the most desirable since it reduces commuting distances and the energy required for transport."

The duo also calculated that turning The Line into The Circle would reduce average distances between people and allow people to walk and cycle more.

"A circle that occupies the same surface as The Line has a radius of only 3.3 kilometres," they said.

"In The Circle, the expected distance between two random people is only 2.9 kilometres. In The Circle, a person is at a walking distance of 24 per cent of the population (and within two kilometres, they could reach 66 per cent of the destinations), so most of their mobility could be active."

The Line is planned as one of 10 regions within the wider Neom development in northwest Saudi Arabia. The project, which is one of the largest and most controversial in the world, has been criticised on sustainability grounds and due to its human rights impact.

We recently published a guide to the development, which explains the project and why it is controversial.

It has been criticised for its human rights record, with ALQST reporting that three members of the Huwaitat tribe, who are believed to have criticised displacements connected to Neom, have been sentenced to death.

In October, human rights organisation ALQST reported that three men forcibly evicted from the site of the project had been sentenced to death.

Earlier this year, the UN Human Rights Council expressed alarm over the imminent executions.

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Japanese architecture studio Kengo Kuma & Associates has completed a skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada, with a curved form and a semi-enclosed amphitheatre at its base.

Called Alberni by Kengo Kuma, the 43-storey residential skyscraper by Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) is located in downtown Vancouver, near the waterfront in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood.

Its curved structure has a massing that arches away from the street as it rises and straightens out near the top.

The studio described this form as "Boolean scoops", which were included to both preserve the views of the existing buildings on the block and to bring light to the apartments deeper in the skyscraper.

The curve also allows for each apartment in the building to have a recessed balcony and for air to flow through the building.

"The result is sculptural and iconic, distinct on the skyline, but also arising from neighborly and experiential reasons," studio founder Kengo Kuma told Dezeen.

The sides and top of the structure are clad in glass and aluminium panels, while the apartments within the "scoop" have long balconies with wooden details.

The panels are layered in different ways across the facade, creating a textured visual pattern reminiscent of patchwork.

According to KKAA, the skyscraper was designed to respond to the skyline of Vancouver, which is known for its dense cluster of glass-clad skyscrapers.

"The uniformity of Vancouver's skyscraper materiality is both its strength – a characteristic, unified cityscape – and its opportunity to provide something different," said Kuma.

"Our decisions were less a direct reaction to the ubiquitous glass and more an intent to create a tower whose tall mass was made of smaller pieces, keeping to the realm of metal and wood," he continued.

"The tower does not deploy glass as a mass-defining material, and more of a practical enclosure – that is, for the design, the glass is conceptually 'not there'".

The structural beams that run up the facade extend over the entrance massing and connect with the ground, creating an enclosed space where an amphitheatre and moss garden have been created.

The fins that define the long balconies along the "scoop" continue down and work to further shield the semi-enclosed area.

Within the amphitheatre is a Fazioli piano designed by Kuma, a collaborative element included in all the projects carried out by local developer, Westbank, which led the Alberni project.

According to Kuma, the semi-enclosed space was meant to function as an entry lobby for the building. A series of mirror-clad columns transect the open-air space.

"Instead of enclosure, the entrance is a cloud of thin, light elements floating over a performance space," said Kuma.

"Activity and ephemeral elements welcome the city and the building's residents, a very different and much bigger gesture than a small, fortress-like vestibule."

Above the amphitheatre and in the interior pool area is a suspended sculpture meant to resemble a kigumi, a work of Japanese wood joinery. Because of fire restrictions, the sculpture was made out of aluminium treated to look like wood.

KKAA partner in charge Balazs Bognar said that the studio originally wanted to use wood and that the "heartache of giving up this material aspect was a challenge".

The interiors of the public spaces are minimal, with stone and wood details that reference the exterior of the tower. Amenities include the aforementioned swimming pool and a music room with a selection of records and speakers built into the cork-lined walls. A Japanese restaurant will also be opened in the tower.

Kuma said that the structure is in-line with much of his previous work that demonstrates how large buildings can be made from a series of "smaller pieces".

"Our interest is in the relationships to the surroundings rather than solely in the things themselves, and multiple smaller pieces suggests a more porous relationship, as opposed to heavier, solid volumes, to the site via views, air, light," he said.

"For us, a building is not a self-contained object but a series of relationships enabled by architectural actions, he continued. "Some see a building; we see connections and activities."

Other recent projects by Kuma, who founded his studio in 1990, include the Japan National Stadium, created for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Currently, the studio is working with the developer on a plant-covered building in California's Silicon Valley that will feature a "green lung".

Westbank has developed a number of other buildings in Vancouver, including Danish architecture studio BIG's Vancouver House, a 52-storey skyscraper that twists up from a triangular base.

The photography is by Ema Peter.

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Paris has reimposed a height limit for new buildings in the city, following the controversial construction of Tour Triangle tower designed by Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron.

The height limit, announced yesterday, will limit new buildings in the French capital to a height of 37 metres or 12 storeys.

It reinstates the same Parisian planning law that was introduced in 1977 following the construction of Tour Montparnasse, a 210-metre-tall office tower by architects Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan and Louis Hoym de Marien that was also highly contested.

The 1977 height limit was in place until 2010. It was overturned by former mayor Bertrand Delanoë for a limit of 180 metres for office towers and 50 metres for housing blocks.

The ban has been reintroduced as part of mayor Anne Hidalgo's Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan, which is aimed at reducing Paris' carbon emissions.

It was also prompted by the construction of the pyramid-shaped tower Tour Triangle by Herzog & de Meuron, which started in 2021 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.

Its construction, which has faced backlash and was delayed by 12 years due to various legal and planning battles, has become the focus of the council's drive to limit building heights, alongside the 180- and 125-metre-high Tours Duo skyscrapers by Jean Nouvel.

Once complete, Tour Triangle will be the city's third tallest building. Its trapezoidal form means that from central Paris it will resemble a thin tower, but from the east and west, its full width will be visible. Inside it will contain a hotel and offices, alongside a conference centre, shops and restaurants.

According to newspaper The Times, the ban is part of a wider "bioclimatic" plan for the city that Hidalgo said aims to ensure Paris remains "attractive and pleasant in coming years despite the acceleration in the temperature".

It also reported that the fight for the ban was led by Green councillor Émile Meunier.

"They said Paris was naff and needed high towers to compete with London's city," Meunier said. "Now it's the end of towers in Paris."

On Twitter, Meunier also described the move as "historical".

"The new local urban plan of Paris marks the end of the towers and returns to a reasonable height," he wrote.

Elsewhere, China also recently limited the height of buildings in the country. The construction of supertall skyscrapers has been limited to 500 metres, with buildings over 250 metres "strictly restricted". The new policy, released on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's website, also banned "copycat behaviour" and established the role of chief architects in its cities.

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Developer Uribe Schwarzkopf has unveiled the design for the residential YOO GYE skyscraper in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which will be designed in collaboration with YOO Inspired by Starck.

Set to be built in Guayaquil, the 176-metre-high skyscraper will be located alongside the Rio Guayas river, which runs through Ecuador's largest city.

French designer Philippe Starck, who leads YOO Inspired by Starck, described the building as a "paradise designed for the happiness of the people who will live in it".

"YOO projects, and YOO GYE in particular, are about 'you'," said YOO Inspired by Starck creative director Philippe Starck.

"I wanted to create a place that draws people together, that makes them laugh, makes them more in love, more sparkling, more intelligent," he continued.

"I wanted to create fertile surprises to awake people, to create conversations, to create interactions and to trigger creativity. A place where us, humans, are at its heart. YOO GYE will be this place, this island, this sort of paradise designed for the happiness of the people who will live in it."

The 46-storey residential tower will contain a total of 633 apartments arranged in blocks that are set back as the skyscraper rises.

Each of the setbacks, which will be fronted with a series of arches, creates an outdoor space that according to the developer will contain communal spaces and "native vegetation".

Alongside the apartments, the skyscraper will contain numerous facilities including a spa, outdoor pools, cinema and "party room" as well as retail spaces on the lower floors.

Although renders of the building show it located in a rural location, it is set to be built in the downtown Puerto Santa Ana neighbourhood alongside several other high-rise buildings.

The facade makes use of multiple arches, described as "a common motif found in the area" and will be clad in a combination of glass and stone.

"With a conscious emphasis on using local materials, such as limestone, YOO GYE combines earthy textures of soft woods and stones with solid, high-sheen glass and metal finishes to create a contemporary minimal scheme for functional living," said the developer.

Set to be complete in 2027, the skyscraper is the latest development by Ecuadorian developer Uribe Schwarzkopf, which has previously commissioned MAD's first South American building and Quito's tallest building, which was designed by Danish studio BIG.

"We're excited once again to be working with YOO Inspired by Starck and announce plans for our third project with them; YOO GYE, our latest contribution to the growing transformation of Guayaquil," said Uribe Schwarzkopf general manager Joseph Schwarzkopf.

"The mixed-use scheme reflects the local architecture and natural surroundings. We are looking forward to seeing the building come to life and to continue to be a part of the fabric of Guayaquil."

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Modernist City of London landmarks have been given a traditionalist makeover in honour of King Charles III ahead of his coronation this weekend.

Run by an anonymous British architect, Featherbottom & Partners (FAP) is a satirical project that reimagines well-known modernist buildings in a style more in line with the King's tastes.

Charles has a well-known preference for classical architecture over modern designs and has made several controversial interventions into the built environment over the years.

For its first work, titled A City for a King, FAP has produced concepts for City of London skyscrapers that were "inspired by examples praised by the King."

These including Foster + Partners' 30 St Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin, and RSHP's The Leadenhall Building, commonly called the Cheesegrater.

Also refashioned are 22 Bishopsgate by PLP Architecture and Kohn Pedersen Fox's 52 Lime Street, sometimes dubbed the Scalpel.

Glass facades make way for stone, while sleek forms are altered by ecclesiastical gabled roofs and spires, with added touches such as dormer windows, arches and pillars.

The tongue-in-cheek FAP project describes itself as "redefining British architecture in devotion to King Charles III".

"Our new monarch has dedicated himself to enlightening British architects on how to conduct themselves and build a Britain to his liking," a spokesperson for FAP told Dezeen.

"Featherbottom & Partners' manifesto is to embrace traditional and classical design principles inspired by our majesty's teachings and architectural critique."

"Our vision for the heart of our majesty's capital is to align to the King's critique of the carbuncle that is the City of London," the spokesperson added.

"The four largest and most significant towers of the City cluster are to be redesigned, inspired by examples praised by the King, such as Poundbury in Dorset where the facade redesign, in particular, is emulating this English architectural gem."

Charles' opposition to modernist architecture goes back a long time. In 1984, Charles gave an infamous speech at the Royal Institute of British Architects in which he described a proposed high-tech extension to the National Gallery as "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", with the design later scrapped.

The then-prince also spearheaded a successful campaign to kibosh plans for a Mies van der Rohe tower in the City, which would have been the hugely influential architect's only UK building.

Charles has also helped develop new towns built in a classical style, most notably Poundbury in Dorset.

The images are courtesy of Featherbottom & Partners.

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Promotion: glass-fibre-reinforced concrete panels by Austrian cladding brand Rieder animate the facade of the 277 Fifth Avenue skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City.

More than 1,200 square metres (13,000 square feet) of concrete wall panels adorn the 55-storey residential tower, which was completed by late architect Rafael Viñoly in 2018.

Rieder's 13-millimetre-thin facade product, or "concrete skin", has been used by Rafael Viñoly Architects to create tall, slender columns up the exterior of the building.

Projecting outwards as they rise 205 metres, these columns also frame large portions of glazing outside each apartment and have become a defining feature of the 277 Fifth Avenue tower.

"One of the main features of the building is the reduced yet striking facade of glass and dark concrete pilasters," said Rieder.

"The large glass surfaces are structured and framed by longitudinal concrete ribs. The pronounced verticality creates attractive highlights on the outer shell."

The dark-coloured concrete panels used at 277 Fifth Avenue were developed by Rieder as a low-maintenance, durable and easy-to-install building material.

"It was the panels' low maintenance requirements, durability, comparatively low weight, ease of installation and their sustainability that convinced the internationally renowned architect Rafael Viñoly of the 13-millimetre-thin facade panels," said the company.

The concrete panels are available in several different colours and shapes, as well as with different surface finishes and textures.

Recently, Rieder developed facade panels with reduced cement content, which ensure a lower carbon footprint than traditional concrete facade panels, according to the company. This is through the use of pozzolanic materials – clays, shales and rocks of volcanic origin – which are used as a substitute for high-carbon cement, helping to minimise carbon dioxide emissions in their production.

"Rieder has made it its mission to reimagine the world of concrete," said Rieder. "The delicate-looking concrete solutions for the building envelope are available for a wide range of applications."

"It sets even more sustainable standards and makes the durable, large and versatile elements an absolute game changer for the construction of high-rise buildings worldwide," the company continued.

For more information about Rieder and its glass-fibre-reinforced concrete panels, visit the company's website.

The photography is courtesy of Rieder and Ditz Fejer.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Rieder as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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