On 8 October, the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU), also known as Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), named ZIN in No(o)rd, located in Brussels, Belgium, the Best Tall Building Worldwide for 2025. The recognition was announced at the organization’s annual international conference, in Toronto, Canada, which convened thought leaders and practitioners from around the world to explore how urban density, when designed responsibly, can serve as both a climate solution and a social framework for thriving communities.
The 2025 Award of Excellence program honored more than 100 outstanding projects that exemplify innovation in design, engineering, sustainability, and community-building. Collectively, these projects illustrate the emergence of vertical urbanism as a defining global paradigm, one that integrates architecture, infrastructure, ecology and equity into the vertical dimension of the city.
“This year’s winners demonstrate that vertical urbanism has come of age,” said Javier Quintana de Uña, CEO of CVU. “These projects go beyond creating efficient buildings; they create ecosystems. They show that we can design upward not merely for density, but for regeneration, reducing carbon, restoring nature and enriching the social life of cities in the process.”
Selected from entries across 24 countries, ZIN in No(o)rd was recognized for its transformative reuse of a 1970s-era office complex into a mixed-use vertical ecosystem combining workspace, housing, hospitality and public amenities. The project embodies the tenets of vertical urbanism—verticality, sustainability, livability and innovation—by knitting together new and existing structures within an energy-efficient, carbon-conscious framework.
“We envisioned ZIN as a vertical neighborhood that redefines how existing buildings can live again…where people work, live and connect in a continuous urban ecosystem,” explained John Eyers, CEO of Jaspers-Eyers Architects, which led the ZIN in No(o)rd project. “To have this vision recognized by CVU affirms that sustainable density is not just a design strategy, but a cultural and environmental imperative for cities worldwide.”
In addition to the Best Tall Building Worldwide award, winners were announced in multiple height, regional and functional categories, each highlighting a distinct facet of performance, from structural innovation to adaptive reuse and urban habitat integration. (A complete list of categories and winners appears below.)
Read more news coverage of Zin in No(o)rd and the CTBUH 2025 award winners:
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2025 Award of Excellence category winners:Â
Best Tall Building Worldwide: ZIN in No(o)rd, Brussels, Belgium
Best Tall Building (under 100 meters): Sirius, Sydney, Australia
Best Tall Building (100-199 meters): ZIN in No(o)rd, Brussels, Belgium
Best Tall Building (200-299 meters): Karlatornet, Gothenburg, Sweden
Best Tall Building (300 meters and above): Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Best Tall Building Americas: Ontario Court of Justice, Toronto, Canada
Best Tall Building Asia: The Henderson, Hong Kong
Best Tall Building Europe: ZIN in No(o)rd, Brussels, Belgium
Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa: Ciel Tower, Dubai, UAE
Best Tall Building Oceania: 1 Elizabeth, Sydney, Australia
Urban Habitat Award: CIBC Square 1, Toronto, Canada
Future Project Award: Vertical Landscapes, Tokyo, Japan
Construction Award: One Bloor West, Toronto, Canada
Repositioning Award: PENN 2, New York City, United States
Innovation Award: (Re)Euston—Towards Concrete Reuse at Scale
Structure Award: One Bloor West, Toronto, Canada
Façade Award: The Henderson, Hong Kong
Systems Award: Punggol Digital District, Singapore
Space Within Award: Booking.com City Campus, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Award: 495 Eleventh Avenue, New York City, United States
10-Year Award (joint winners): Shanghai Tower, China & Sky Habitat, Singapore