The Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi has been declared as The Best Tall Building in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as part of its Annual Awards programme for 2015.

The council named the winners in tall buildings category from the four competing regions in the world - the Americas, Asia and Australia, Europe and MEA. The winners were selected from nominees representing a total of 33 countries.

This year’s selection was the most competitive yet, with winners selected from a pool of 123 entries, up nearly 40 per cent compared to 2014, said the council, a leading resource for professionals focused on the inception, design, construction, and operation of tall buildings and future cities.

The Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower was selected for blending its cultural and geographic context through its design and use, said the jury noting the tower’s undulating cladding that "creates a mirage effect that alludes to its desert ambience."

A marketplace based on the traditional suq, with offerings ranging from modern luxury goods to regional artisanal crafts, helps integrate the tower to its surroundings, the jury members stated in theire review.

Al Hilal Bank Tower, Abu Dhabi was  one of the finalists in the MEA category.

The winners in the other categories are: One World Trade Center in New York, US (Americas); CapitaGreen in Singapore (Asia and Australia); and Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy (Europe).

An overall winner for the Best Tall Building Worldwide will be selected from these four winners, and announced at a dinner following the CTBUH 14th Annual Awards Symposium, to be held at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, US on November 12, said the council in its statement.

The symposium itself will feature an exciting series of presentations from the owners and architects of each building.

Winners and finalists will also be featured in the annual CTBUH Best Tall Buildings Book, being published in conjunction with Images Publishing and distributed internationally each year, it added.-TradeArabia News Service