CHICAGO — The Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU), formerly known as the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, has named ZIN in No(o)rd, in Brussels, Belgium, the Best Tall Building Worldwide for 2025.
The recognition was announced at the organization’s annual international conference in Toronto recently.
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,” states a release. “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.’
The design extends urban street life vertically with terraces, gardens and public spaces throughout the tower’s height. It features a highly efficient double-skin façade, passive ventilation system and integrated photovoltaic elements reduce operational energy use.
Eight-five per cent (in mass) of the existing structure, including cores and basements, was retained, and more than 60 per cent of the project material has been reused onsite or elsewhere.
“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.”
The 2025 Award of Excellence program honoured more than 100 projects.
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, the release adds.
2025 Award of Excellence category winners
- Best Tall Building Worldwide: ZIN in No(o)rd, Brussels, Belgium
- Best Tall Building (under 100 metres): Sirius, Sydney, Australia
- Best Tall Building (100-199 metse): ZIN in No(o)rd, Brussels, Belgium
- Best Tall Building (200-299 metres): Karlatornet, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Best Tall Building (300 metres 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: 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
“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.”
