EduStack: By Yang Jiang, from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Credit Yang Jiang, Courtesy of CTBUH
The CTBUH 13th International Student Tall Building Design Competition 2025
The CTBUH 13th International Student Tall Building Design Competition culminated at the CTBUH 2025 International Conference in Toronto. During the conference, the top five finalists presented their projects before the international jury, who determined the 1st–5th place rankings. See below the final ranking and project descriptions. This competition advances critical discourse on the role of tall buildings in shaping urban, cultural, and environmental futures.
EDUSTACK is a vertical K–12 school in Sydney that fuses adaptive reuse with modular design. Retaining 73% of a 1970s brutalist office, it extends building life while stacking flexible learning boxes tuned to children’s scale and solar needs. Guided by Fascinate, Comfort, and Connect, it reimagines vertical education as civic infrastructure that nurtures wellbeing, community, and sustainability. By Yang Jiang, from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Timescraper: By Yuan Hao Lee, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Credit Yuan Hao Lee, Courtesy of CTBUH
Timescraper: As we move further into the decades to come, more buildings that once symbolized prosperity will become historical structures. While some deserve preservation, others may be torn down for new development. This project proposes coexistence between past and future in Taipei, focusing on street-level preservation, ground circulation, and relationships across generations of buildings.
DittoCrew by Yu-Hsiang Hu, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
Credit Yu-Hsiang Hu, Courtesy of CTBUH
DittoCrew transforms Taipei’s long-abandoned Zhi-Ma Hotel into a vertical housing model that blends social housing, service apartments, and flexible residences. Anchored by transit, it fosters coexistence across timelines—students, nomads, and families—while activating the city with plazas and shared spaces. A sustainable, inclusive approach, it redefines housing as infrastructure for belonging.
Summit Living: Not seen here is Set in USJ7 Subang Jaya, reimagines the high-rise as a vertical urban trail that restores lost topography and memory. Inspired by local trails, each level becomes a checkpoint of healing and connection—plaza, farms, rest pods, climbing, and an observatory. With modular structure, biophilic design, and sustainable systems, it uplifts lives while redefining dense urban living in Southeast Asia, by Gee Nee Chew, University Malaya, Malaysia.
Plug-In Wave: By Nguyễn Huy Du, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Credit Yu-Hsiang Hu, Courtesy of CTBUH
Plug-In Wave: Ho Chi Minh City faces rising density and housing demand as migration grows. Current low-rise rental models offer flexibility but strain land use, while apartments remain unpopular and rigid. This project reimagines housing by “stacking” townhouse units vertically into modular, plug-in apartments—combining personalization, adaptability, and smart systems to meet future urban need. by Nguyễn Huy Du, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
