The world’s best tall buildings for 2025 have been unveiled.

The Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) (formerly known as the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) has named the ‘ZIN in No(o)rod’ as the Best Tall Building Worldwide for 2025.

Located in the heart of the Northern Quarter in the Belgium capital of Brussels, the building was constructed on the site of the former World Trade Centre I and II towers.

It was designed by Jaspers-Eyres Architects and 51N4E.

The project saw the transformation of the 1970s-era office complex into a ‘vertical ecosystem’ which combines office space, housing, hospitality and public amenities.

Features include:

• Connection of the two towers with a new volume of fourteen double-height floors (see image).
• Vertical integration of street life, which is achieved by introducing terraces, gardens and public spaces throughout the tower’s height.
• Good thermal and energy performance, through use of a double-skin façade, passive ventilation and integrated photovoltaic elements.
• Extensive material reuse, including retention of 85 percent of the original building structure by weight and 60 percent reuse of material either onsite or elsewhere.

The project also took out the Best Tall Building (100 to 199 meters) award.

(ZIN in No(o)rod © Jaspers-Eyers Architects – 51N4E – L’AUC – Photography Jean-Michel Byl)

In other awards, the Best Tall Building (under 100 meters) award has been taken out by the Sirius building in Sydney (architect BVN) – a redevelopment of a social housing complex which retains the Brutalist architecture of the late 1970s original building.

Copper clad ‘pods’ build on the original design langue and provide a modern interpretation of the original concrete modules.

Supported by prefabricated steel structures, these balcony extensions provide new outdoor living and capitalise on views of Sydney Harbour.

Moving up in height, the Best Tall Building (200-299 meters) award has been taken out by the 246m mixed use Karlatornet skyscraper in Sweeden (architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP).

The building is Sweeden’s tallest and marks a shift from traditional development patterns in the country.

It is the first in a series of nine tall buildings that will form a precinct which incorporates apartments, schools, gyms, universities, hotels, offices, restaurants and healthcare clinics.

(Karlatornet: image credit Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill LLP)

At the top end of the scale for building height, the Best Tall Building (300 meters and above) award was taken out by the 681m Merdeka 118 building in Kuala Lumpur.

Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects for owner PMVSB, the building which was completed in 2023 is the second tallest in the world.

All up, the mixed-use tower accommodates 16,000 office workers over 50,000sqm, a six-star Park Hyatt hotel, a rooftop restaurant and a two-level 360° observation deck which is accessed via double-storey, external glass elevators on the building’s north facade.

The building has been equipped and illuminated at night with 8.4 km of LED light strips which gradually move from one corner to another.

(Merdeka 118 building. Image: Fender Katsalidis Architects)

Broader focus on ‘vertical urbanism’

The revealing of the award winners comes after the Council last week changed its name from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat to the Council on Vertical Urbanism.

In announcing this move, the Council said that its focus on advocating for cities to build higher rather than forever extending outward urban sprawl remained.

However, it says that the Council was broadening its focus to help ensure that building upward is done in a way which is delivers cities that are more sustainable, more integrated and more centered on human requirements.

CVU Chief Executive Officer Javier Quintana de Uña congratulated the winners.

“This year’s winners demonstrate that vertical urbanism has come of age,” Uña said.

“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.”

All up, more than 100 projects were honored across 21 categories.

A full list of winners and projects can be seen here.