The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat initiated its Awards Program in 2001, with the creation of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award. This inaugural award was bestowed to
Lynn S. Beedle himself, who founded the CTBUH in 1969. Successive winners of this award have been individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and
the urban environment, following in the values and mission of Dr. Lynn S. Beedle.
Two years later, the Fazlur Khan Medal was introduced. This Lifetime Achievement Award was created to recognize an individual for his/her demonstrated excellence in technical design and/or
research that has made a significant contribution to a discipline(s) for the design of tall buildings and the built urban environment.
The Council began recognizing the team achievement in tall building projects by issuing Best Tall Building Awards in 2007, to give recognition to projects 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. It issues four regional awards each year
(Americas, Asia & Australasia, Europe and Middle East & Africa). In addition, from the four "regional" awards, one project is awarded the honor of "Best Tall Building Overall" which is
announced on the night of the awards ceremony.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, based at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, is an international not-for-profit organization supported by architecture,
engineering, planning, development and construction professionals, designed to facilitate exchanges among those involved in all aspects of the planning, design, construction and operation of
tall buildings.
Founded in 1969, the Council's mission is to disseminate multidisciplinary information on tall buildings and sustainable urban environments, to maximize the international interaction of
professionals involved in creating the built environment, and to make latest knowledge available to professionals in a useful form.
The CTBUH disseminates its findings, and facilitates business exchange, through: the publication of books, monographs, proceedings and reports; the organization of world congresses,
international, regional and specialty conferences and workshops; the maintaining of an extensive website and tall building databases of built, under construction and proposed buildings; the
distribution of a monthly international tall building e-newsletter; the maintaining of an international resource center; the bestowing of annual awards for design and construction excellence
and individual lifetime achievement; the management of special task forces/working groups; the hosting of technical forums; and the publication of the CTBUH Journal, a professional journal
containing refereed papers written researchers, scholars and practicing professionals. The Council actively undertakes research into relevant fields in conjunction with its members and
industrial partners, and has in place an international "Country Representative" network, with regional CTBUH representatives promoting the mission of the Council across the globe.
The Council is the arbiter of the criteria upon which tall building height is measured, and thus the title of "The World's Tallest Building" determined. CTBUH is the world's leading body
dedicated to the field of tall buildings and urban habitat and the recognized international source for information in these fields.
