Abstracts

From the Ground Up: Tall Buildings and City-Making explores the multifaceted approach required to grow and transform cities, emphasizing that meaningful urban development transcends physical structures. It involves not only the creation of towering buildings and efficient transportation systems, but also the nurturing of social and cultural networks that bind people, institutions, and businesses together, shaping a city’s unique identity and character. The tall buildings we construct must exhibit quality and porosity on the ground and first few floors, so as to enrich and sustain those networks. The core to our success is in how these buildings work together to create and frame great streets and the public realm.

To help inspire your submission process, below are select key topics that are likely to be discussed. As you formulate your submittals, consider how your proposed presentation addresses some of these points. Please consider this a list of suggestions, rather than a prescriptive program or agenda. If appropriate to the topic, it is also encouraged to submit an abstract with a regional focus. 

Elements of the “From the Ground Up” theme that will be discussed in the upcoming conference:

• Reflecting on Global Trends in High-Rise and High Density
• Toronto as a Reference for High-Density Urban Policy
• Tall Buildings and Street Intersections / The 3-Dimensional Street
• Tall Buildings Topology, Reinvented
• Urban Policy and High-Density Growth
• Community-Centric Design and Placemaking
• Intersections of Vertical and Horizontal Transportation in Urban Environments
• Innovation in Materials and Resilience
• Industry Advocacy and Urban Economics

What are key topics and themes that could be presented? 

• G(TB)TA (Greater (Taller, Better) Toronto Area): Transformation of a traditional center-city and suburban model to a polycentric region through selective densification.
• Managing Growth: What is the right mix of density, development, technology, and preservation that will allow cities to thrive?
• The First Five: How cities, developers and architects around the world are placing greater emphasis on the street-level experience of tall buildings.
• Community Engagement Models: How to build from the bottom up, yet within a coherent planning regime, with the support of diverse stakeholders.
• Material Frontiers: Exploring alternative, more sustainable construction materials to build our future cities (mass timber, lower-carbon concrete and steel, and beyond).
• Designing for Safety and Resilience: Facing climate change, man-made and natural disasters, presenters offer sophisticated strategies to make our buildings and cities safer than ever.
• Elevating Transit-Oriented Developments: How to make transit-oriented developments that elevate the overall regions and cities where they are built and still meet the bottom line.

Key Dates

• Abstract submissions are due by Friday, 21 February 2025
• Accepted abstracts will be notified by early-May 2025
• Conference: 6-9 October 2025, in Toronto

Important Notes

• The call for abstracts is only open to CTBUH Members at the organizational level and in good standing for the 2025 membership year.
• A maximum of two individuals can be associated with a single abstract. Due to the limited presentation time, only one speaker per abstract will generally be allowed to present on stage.
• At CTBUH, we are committed to collectively driving positive change in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) across our industries. We encourage submitters to consider how their presentations might contribute to EDI through your topic, examples you might present, or in your speakers.