The winner of the ninth annual Emporis Award for the Best New Skyscraper of the Year is Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, a 50-story school building in Tokyo's main office district. The winning building was chosen from a worldwide pool of 380 eligible skyscrapers (buildings at least 100 meters tall) which were completed in 2008. Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower was designed by Tange Associates in Tokyo, who will be receiving the award. The building was constructed by the Shimizu Corporation, also of Tokyo.
The Silver Award for second place goes to Boutique Monaco in Seoul, a 27-story, 117 meter tower also known as "Missing Matrix" because of the garden-filled voids carved out of its mass. Designed by Minsuk Cho and Kisu Park of the South Korean firm Mass Studies, Boutique Monaco demonstrates a novel way to humanize an extraordinarily dense urban center with architectural spaces that provide the flexibility, variety, and benefits of rural or suburban buildings.
The Bronze Award was given to Shanghai World Financial Center, currently the second-tallest completed building in the world. Often referred to by its initials, the SWFC features a rectangular hole in its top with a public observatory. Architects of the SWFC were Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. The building was developed by the Mori Corporation, and constructed by Shimizu Construction Company, Shanghai Construction General Company, and China State Construction and Engineering Corporation. Shimizu Corporation, remarkably, was involved in the construction of 2 of the 3 winners for 2008.