Emporis Selects The Hague’s “Het Strijkijzer” as the Best New Skyscraper of 2007

Emporis, the international construction industry data cataloguer, has presented the award for the Best New Skyscraper of the Year to a 43-story residential tower in The Hague, Netherlands. Het Strijkijzer, which means “The Flatiron” in Dutch, bears striking formal resemblance to Daniel Burnham’s 1902 Flatiron Building in New York City and, like its namesake, “vees” out from the small point on its site to make efficient use of the land. Designed by AAArchitecten, Het Strijkijzer is the tallest residential tower in The Hague and offers 51 luxury rental apartments and 300 studios for persons aged 18-27. Newton Suites in Singapore, a 36-story “green” residential tower by WOHA Architects Private Limited took the Silver Award, while SOM-London’s 36-story, residential Ontario Tower in London received the Bronze Award. Renzo Piano Building Workshop/FXFowle Architects’ New York Times Tower in New York City, the only tower in the U.S. to place in the top 10, came in sixth. The winning building was chosen using a points system by a jury of 25 people, who chose them from a worldwide pool of 634 eligible skyscrapers (buildings at least 100 meters—or 328 feet—tall) completed in 2007. For more information, visit Emporis’ Web site. (Photo © Michiel van Dijk/Emporis.)