• Wilshire Grand Complex - AC Martin

    Wilshire Grand Complex - AC Martin

  • Wilshire Grand Complex - AC Martin

    Wilshire Grand Complex - AC Martin

  • Salesforce Tower - Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

    Salesforce Tower - Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

  • Landmark 81 - Atkins China Limited

    Landmark 81 - Atkins China Limited

  • Landmark 81 - Atkins China Limited

    Landmark 81 - Atkins China Limited

  • Forma ITAIM tower - b720 Fermín Vázquez Architects

    Forma ITAIM tower - b720 Fermín Vázquez Architects

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World’s tallest buildings: the sky’s the limit

Find out more about some of the world’s tallest buildings

by Emilia Nuzzaci 29 August 2019 2019 Tall Buildings

In the heart of downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) the new Wilshire Grand Complex - AC Martin rises as the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It was Korean Airlines’ vision to create an iconic tower symbolising the friendship between South Korea and the U.S. The new tower is an iconic addition to the Los Angeles skyline and to the renaissance of DTLA. The building is also configured to maximize views with floor-to-ceiling glass to take full advantage.

The Salesforce Tower – Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects is the tallest building in San Francisco, joining the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Building as one of the skyline’s defining elements. The tower has the simple, timeless form of the obelisk, giving the 61-story tower a slender, tapering silhouette. Certified LEED Platinum, each floor of the tower has integrated metal sunshades, calibrated to maximize light and views while reducing solar gain High performance, low-emissivity glass also helps to reduce the building’s cooling load. 

With a height of 462m, Landmark 81 - Atkins China Limited  is the tallest building in Vietnam and the 12th tallest in the world. The architectural design is based on a bundle of bamboo canes that symbolises the strength, diversity and fast-emergence of the city. Landmark 81 achieves many construction firsts in Vietnam, not only is the super-tall building the tallest tower in Vietnam it has many features such as lift assisted evacuation strategy and a centralised air conditioning system that are the first in Vietnam.

The Forma ITAIM Tower - b720 Fermín Vázquez Architects  apartments tower is located in Itaim Bibi in São Paulo; a neighbourhood in a deep transformation, which is moving from the traditional fabric of horizontal single-family homes to a skyline of buildings in height. The tower; highly conditioned by the volumetric limitations imposed by the regulations and the strict requirements of functional optimization, hosts small houses with large individual terraces. The project seeks to maximize the slenderness of the volume and highlight, without stridency, in the monotonous sea of undifferentiated skyscrapers of São Paulo as a “singularity of good manners”.

To see more amazing entries from this year’s WAN Awards please click here.


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