The Council of Tall Building and Urban Habitat has announced the finalist projects from around the world, with Hickory Building Systems (HBS) nominated for the Innovation Award.

HBS is a prefabricated construction method that integrates the core, shear walls, bathrooms and facade of a building into a unified structure, which is built ex-situ and in parallel with on-site works.

The La Trobe Tower residential development located in Melbourne, Australia pioneered and validated the HBS construction method. Hickory’s approach to building La Trobe Tower was to strategically integrate prefabricated elements in order to overcome limited site access, a small site footprint and a slim tower design.

Designed by Rothelowman, developed by Longriver Investments and managed by Sinclair Brook, La Trobe Tower is Australia’s tallest tower to use prefabricated elements in the construction process and was delivered 30% faster than if a conventional approach was used.

The awards will be presented at the Tall + Urban Innovation Conference, taking place in Chicago on 30–31 May.

The CTBUH 2018 Tall and Urban Innovation Conference will explore and celebrate the very best in innovative tall building, urban spaces, building technologies and construction practices from around the world. Distinguished juries will deliberate and select Winners in each category, which will be announced at a ceremony on the second day of the conference.

“The Finalists for the 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference truly represent the pinnacle of excellence in the field of tall buildings,” said Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director at Fender Katsalidis Architects. “Being recognized by the world’s premier authority on tall buildings is a great honor, and the opportunity to showcase these quality projects to a global audience helps drive innovation across all disciplines in our industry.”

The jury is comprised of Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director, Fender Katsalidis; H.E. Mohamed Ali Allabar, Chairman, Emaar Properties; Kamil Merican, Chief Executive Officer, GDP Architects; CTBUH Chairman Steve Watts, Partner, alinea consulting; and CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.

“Part of our mission at CTBUH is to investigate and highlight the cutting-edge in sustainable urbanism in order to promote a better urban future, and this year’s finalists exemplify the world’s foremost examples in this regard,” Wood said.