Special to Ontario Construction News
International nonprofit organization the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has announced the winners of its 2025 Award of Excellence competition, with nine Toronto and four Vancouver buildings taking awards across more than twenty categories.
Winners in Toronto include the CIBC Square I, 81 Bay Street Tower, Bay Park Centre Phase 1, 45 Bay South Tower, which landed the Urban Habitat Award —ย the Lawrence East, Transit-Oriented Community Future Project Award, and the T3 Bayside at 251 Queens Quay East, which won the Best Tall Building, by Height, under 100 meters.
Vancouver award winners include the Alberni apartment building at 1568 Alberni St., which won the Best Tall Building, by Height and the Best Tall Building, by Region, Americas.
The competition was evaluated by juries specializing in architecture, engineering, planning, construction and real estate development. The CTBUH says selection criteria prioritized performanceโenvironmental, cultural and operationalโover prestige or aesthetics alone.
Spanning 20 countries, the 2025 winners emphasize reuse, low-carbon materials, equitable housing and integrated infrastructure. Submitting companies were asked to share data on the carbon and material usage in their projects.
โVertical urbanism isnโt just about going tallerโitโs about rethinking how height intersects with livability, connectivity and the relationship of tall buildings with the street,โ said James Parakh, urban design manager at the City of Toronto planning division and a juror in the Urban Habitat category.
โThis yearโs submissions illustrate how tall buildings can do more than dominate skylinesโthey can animate streets, enliven their contexts and shape cohesive, healthy neighborhoods.โ
Awardees will present their work during the CTBUH 2025 International Conference, themedย From the Ground Up: Tall Buildings and City-Making, taking place October 6-9 in Toronto, where they will vie for best in category recognition. Results will be announced during the conferenceโs award ceremony and dinner.
The CTBUH annual awards was launched in 2002 with the creation of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award, later adding the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Recognition of team achievement in tall building projects began in 2007 with the introduction of the Best Tall Building suite of awards. The CTBUH is based at the Monroe Building inย Chicago.