FRANKFURT, GERMANY – The jury of
the Emporis Skyscraper Award has announced Aqua, an 81-story residential and
hotel tower in Chicago, as the winner of the 2009 Skyscraper of the
Year. The award, now celebrating its tenth year, is given
annually to a building at least 100 meters tall and completed within the award
year. The second place winner is O14 in Dubai. Third place goes to The
Met in Bangkok. All winners were selected from 305 eligible buildings completed
worldwide in 2009. Members of the jury praised Aqua for its fascinating shape,
whose appearance changes dramatically depending on the perspective. It was also
cited as a brilliant technical achievement for the precision of its
construction, and lauded as an application of green design innovations to an
extremely large building project.