The CTBUH Annual Awards program recognizes projects and individuals that have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment, and that achieve sustainability at the highest and broadest level. The objective is to deliver a comprehensive and sophisticated view of these important buildings, spaces, and technologies, while advocating for improvements in every aspect of their performance, especially those that have the greatest effect on the people who use them each day. This means that the buildings highlighted are often not the tallest in a given year, but represent the best qualities and innovations in the typology.
The Council initiated this program in 2001, with the creation of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award, later adding the Fazlur R. Khan Medal in 2004. It began recognizing the team achievement in tall building projects by issuing Best Tall Building awards in 2007.
Celebration of the award winning projects is recognized through the annual Tall + Urban Innovation Conference, where Award of Excellence Winners in each award category present their projects to an international audience and live juries. Overall Category Winners are then selected during the event and awards are conferred at the Dinner & Ceremony held at the close of the event. Projects are judged by live juries during the event itself.
