Tall Buildings 2025
In May, RECORD peers upward for a survey of six singular tall (and not-so-tall) buildings that innovate in different ways. They include a bulbous, 650-foot-tall tower in Hong Kong’s central business district that pushes the limits of curved glazing; a LEED Platinum high-rise with a base that fosters pedestrian activity in a Seattle-area city’s car-dominated downtown core; a chrysalis-like, 24-story new addition to Milan’s Porta Nuova financial district; a 1969 Lower Manhattan building that recently emerged from the largest office-to-residential conversion in the United States; a 12-story mass-timber structure in a climate-smart district of Malmö that advances what’s possible in wood construction; and a refreshed Modernist office complex, anchored by a space-age cylindrical tower, in central London.
Continuing Education
To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read the articles above and complete the quiz. Upon passing the quiz, you will receive a certificate of completion, and your credit will be automatically reported to the AIA. Additional information regarding credit-reporting and continuing-education requirements can be found at continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss the thermal properties—as well as the fabrication and installation challenges—of advanced facades systems, including those incorporating double skins and curved glazing.
- Describe wind- and seismic-resisting systems suitable for tall buildings.
- Outline strategies for enhancing the energy performance of midcentury towers and for adapting them to new uses.
- Explain the constraints and advantages of the chosen structural system in the mass-timber building featured.
AIA/CES Course #K2505A
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