Abbreviation | CTBUH |
---|---|
Formation | 1969 |
Founder | Lynn S. Beedle |
Type | Non-profit |
Purpose | Studies and reports on all aspects of tall buildings and urban design |
Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Region served
|
International |
Membership
|
Over 450,000 individuals |
CTBUH Chair
|
David Malott of KPF |
Website | www |
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, the CTBUH announces the title of "The World's Tallest Building" and is widely considered to be an authority on the official height of tall buildings. Its stated mission is to study and report "on all aspects of the planning, design, and construction of tall buildings." The Council was founded at Lehigh University in 1969 by Lynn S. Beedle, where its office remained until October 2003, when it moved to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
The CTBUH ranks the height of buildings using three different methods:
A category measuring to the top of the roof was removed from the ranking criteria in November 2009. This is because flat-topped skyscrapers are not as common in the modern era as skyscrapers with intricate spire designs and parapet features atop their roofs, making it more difficult to define the roof of a building.
The CTBUH insist that a building should only be added to the official tallest list when it is (i) topped out structurally and architecturally, (ii) fully clad, and (iii) open for business, or at least partially open. This became the CTBUH official definition of a building’s "completion".
The CTBUH maintains an extensive database of the tallest buildings in the world, organized by various categories. Buildings under construction are also included, although not ranked until completion. The CTBUH also produces an annual list of the ten tallest buildings completed in that particular year. Topping the 2008 list was the 492-metre (1,614 ft) Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, the then tallest building in the world according to the criteria of highest occupied floor, and home to the world's highest observation deck. Second on the 2008 list was the 363-metre (1,191 ft) Almas Tower in Dubai, third was the Minsheng Bank Building in Wuhan which stands at 331 metres (1,086 ft), whilst fourth was The Address Downtown Burj Dubai (306 metres (1,004 ft)). All in all, six of the ten tallest buildings completed in 2008 are located in Asia, three in the Middle East and one in North America.