“Everything I learned I learned from the movies.”
― Audrey Hepburn
“Everything I learned I learned from the movies.”
― Audrey Hepburn
But who decides what a "supertall" is? Who tracks the race for the "World’s Tallest"? And more importantly, who ensures that as we build higher, we build smarter?
The Council argues that a skyscraper cannot exist in a vacuum. A tower that blocks sunlight, creates wind tunnels, or destroys street-level interaction is a failure, regardless of its height. The CTBUH pushes for:
If a building claims to be the tallest in the world, it has to go through the CTBUH. They are the official scorekeepers of the skyline. council on tall buildings and urban habitat
Tall buildings are critical to making this vision a reality. By vertically stacking amenities, offices, and residences, we reduce the need for long commutes and car dependency. A well-designed tall building is not an island; it is a micro-city.
But as the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has long championed, the true measure of a tall building is not how high it stands, but how deeply it connects with the urban fabric below. But who decides what a "supertall" is
It is the only place where the person who designed the elevator meets the person who has to evacuate 50,000 people during an emergency. Their research papers are considered the "gold standard" for building codes around the world.
In the late 1960s, a structural engineer named Dr. Lynn S. Beedle noticed that while cities were growing taller, the research behind them was scattered. He founded the Council to bring architects and engineers together to share knowledge. What started as a small committee at Lehigh University grew into a global network headquartered in Chicago, now serving over 2 million individuals in 10,000 offices worldwide. The Council argues that a skyscraper cannot exist
At CTBUH, we maintain the definitive database of the world’s tallest buildings. While the "Tallest" lists capture the imagination, our research is increasingly focused on "Best" rather than "First."
One of the biggest criticisms of skyscrapers is their carbon footprint. Concrete and steel are energy-hungry, and elevators use massive amounts of electricity.