Alums’ projects named ‘Best Tall Buildings’

Sean Gallagher ’00 and Jeff Kenoff ’92, alumni of the Ravin School of Architecture, recently earned Awards of Excellence from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat at the 2022 CTBUH International Conference.

Gallagher was project director for the David Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago, which won Best Tall Building Worldwide, the top honor, along with Best Tall Building Americas and Best Tall Building Under 100 Meters.

A 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in Architecture from the College of Arts + Architecture, Gallagher is an associate principal and the director of sustainable design at DS+R, and his commitment to environmental sustainability is evident throughout the LEED-Gold certified Rubenstein Forum. In addition to using abundant natural lighting and energy-efficient conditioning systems, the building integrates bird-safe technology in its glass façade, green roofs, rain gardens and landscaping that incorporates native flora.

Kenoff is principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, which received Awards of Excellence for Best Tall Building 400 Meters and Above, Best Tall Office Building and Best Geotechnical Engineering for One Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City. The building is the fourth tallest building in New York City and the fifth tallest building in North America.

Gallagher and Kenoff presented their projects to multidisciplinary juries assembled at the organization’s annual conference, held in Chicago. According to the CTBUH release, juries were comprised of CTBUH members from across the globe with expertise in architecture, engineering, construction and other diverse disciplines.

Photo: Sean Gallagher, left, and Jeffrey Kenoff at the 2022 CTBUH International Conference