CVU Announces 2026 Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) announced the recipients of its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), recipient of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award, and Dr. Hossein Rezai, Global Design Director at Ramboll and Professor of Practice at the National University of Singapore, recipient of the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award.

Quintana de Uña adds, “OMA has transformed architectural thinking through decades of research, experimentation and published and built work that has challenged conventional approaches to density and urban form. Dr. Rezai has advanced structural engineering as a creative discipline, demonstrating how innovative thinking is key to facing the complex challenges confronting architecture today. CVU is proud to recognize their lasting influence on the evolution of vertical urbanism.”

Founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis, Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp, OMA has earned global recognition for inventive and provocative architecture, urban research and thought leadership, including iconic tall buildings, mixed-use developments and master plans that have challenged prevailing ideas about density, program and city-making. OMA is now led by 10 partners working across a global network of offices.

Throughout its history, OMA has explored the relationship between architecture, ideology and the city, investigating how buildings can change urban environments. Its work spans cultural institutions, civic projects, residential developments and large-scale urban interventions, including influential tall building projects such as CCTV Headquarters in China and De Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Beyond its built work, OMA’s research-driven approach has shaped global conversations around urban transformation, infrastructure, technology and the future of cities. Through AMO, its research and design platform, the practice has further expanded the role of architectural thinking in addressing broader social, economic and environmental questions.

Through both built work and research-driven exploration, OMA has consistently expanded the conversation around tall buildings and urban density, investigating how vertical structures can become more deeply connected to the life and complexity of cities. Its work continues to challenge assumptions about typology, program and urban form, offering new perspectives on the role buildings can play in shaping the future of urban environments.

For OMA Partner Iyad Alsaka, this approach means treating height as an urban design challenge: “Vertical urbanism means treating height as a planning problem, not an engineering one, mixing program across floors instead of stacking single uses, and designing circulation as public space rather than pure infrastructure. Done well, a tower behaves like a compressed neighborhood; done poorly, it’s just density without urbanity. The goal isn’t to build taller—it’s to make height do the work that streets and plazas used to do.”

OMA Partners Chris van Duijn and Iyad Alsaka will represent the firm and be honored during the closing plenary of the 2026 VU Summit, taking place 26–29 October in London.

A leading advocate for integrated design and innovative structural systems, Dr. Hossein Rezai has championed a holistic approach to the built environment, one that brings together architecture, structure, technology and environmental performance from the earliest stages of design. His work has advanced the role of engineering beyond technical problem-solving, positioning it as a creative discipline capable of enabling more sustainable, resilient and adaptable cities. His recently published book, On Regenerative Design, on Systems, and on Complexity: The Polimi Lectures, explores new ideas and perspectives on key design considerations for the built environment, both today and into the future.

As the originator of the concept of fusion engineering, Dr. Rezai has pioneered an approach that unites multiple disciplines to create more responsive and regenerative design solutions. His contributions to professional discourse have been recognized through appointments including service on the Master Jury of the 13th cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and as jury member, vice chair, and chair of the Singapore President’s Design Award. He was also the first—and remains the only—engineer to receive the prestigious title of Designer of the Year from the President of Singapore. He has engineered a number of high-profile and tall buildings across Asia and beyond, including Troika in Kuala Lumpur, Lincoln Modern and Mediacorp headquarters in Singapore and BRAC University in Dhaka.

“As our cities confront increasingly complex environmental and social challenges, collaboration across disciplines is essential,” said Dr Rezai, “I am deeply honored to receive the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award and to join the distinguished group of engineers and innovators who have advanced the design of tall buildings.”

Dr. Rezai will be honored during the closing plenary of the 2026 VU Summit, taking place 26–29 October in London.

The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual or organization whose sustained body of work has profoundly influenced the evolution of tall buildings and cities. Whether through design excellence, research, technological innovation, industry leadership or transformative ideas, recipients leave an enduring legacy that advances the practice of vertical urbanism and improves the quality of urban life.

The Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual whose career has advanced the science and practice of structural engineering for tall buildings and the built environment. The award recognizes lasting technical achievement, innovative thinking and contributions that have expanded the possibilities of high-rise design while inspiring future generations of engineers.

Learn more about the CVU awards.