Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Presents the 2009 Chicago Conference

Two-day event addresses new challenges in a world of global warming and
recession

CHICAGO, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat (CTBUH) at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) presents the
2009 Chicago Conference, "Evolution of the Skyscraper: New challenges in a
world of global warming and recession," on Thursday, October 22, and Friday,
October 23, in IIT's Hermann Hall, 3241 S. Federal St., Chicago. Key
conference speakers include Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, His Excellency
Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the owner of Burj Dubai, and Arthur Gensler, the chairman
of Gensler, San Francisco.

The world's leading experts on tall buildings will gather at the conference,
in Chicago, the city where the global aspiration for tall buildings was first
realized, to outline their thoughts on the next steps for tall buildings and
debate whether or not skyscrapers remain relevant in today's world. For more
than 20 years, tall buildings have been built in greater number, height, and
geographical spread than at any other time in history. That position is now
threatened due to the challenges of global climate change and the
international economic recession. The conference will address the challenges
of climate change when working to create more sustainable urban environments,
the appropriateness of tall buildings being used as icons to project the
vitality of a city or country on a competitive world business stage, and the
soundness of the fundamentals of skyscraper conception, financing, design, and
construction. Participants will also discuss the signs of economic recovery
and explore policies that cities and governments can implement to aid in the
recovery process.

Conference speakers, including financiers, developers, sustainable policy
makers, architects and engineers, will present case studies of completed
projects and look to the future to discuss how sustainable design policies
will affect the property market. Case studies of prominent projects at all
stages in the development cycle -- built, under construction, on hold, or
conceived, will be presented, including those that represent "best practice"
in aspects of sustainability, design, construction, and/or economics.

Several other themes will also be explored during the conference, including a
discussion on the recent completion of Trump Tower Chicago, the tallest
building constructed in the United States since the Sears Tower. The developer
of the Trump Tower project will discuss the motivation behind this project and
other projects in the Trump portfolio. Additionally, in celebration of its
40th anniversary, the CTBUH will offer a retrospective on the last four
decades of the organization.

A conference welcome reception will be held from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday,
October 21, in the Grand Ballroom on the 16th floor of Trump Tower Chicago. In
conjunction with the conference, an awards banquet will be held from 6 p.m.-10
p.m., Thursday, October 22, in IIT's S. R. Crown Hall, 3360 S. State St.,
Chicago, celebrating the achievements of the 2009 international "Best Tall
Building" projects and the distinguished lifetime achievement award winners.

For a complete schedule of conference events and times, and a complete list of
conference speakers, please visit
http://www.ctbuh.org/Events/Conferences/CHI09Home/tabid/899/language/en-GB/Default.aspx.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, based at Illinois Institute
of Technology in Chicago, is an international not-for-profit organization
supported by architecture, engineering, planning, development and construction
professionals, designed to facilitate exchanges among those involved in all
aspects of the planning, design, construction and operation of tall buildings.
Founded in 1969, the Council's mission is to disseminate multi-disciplinary
information on tall buildings and sustainable urban environments, to maximize
the international interaction of professionals involved in creating the built
environment, and to make the latest knowledge available to professionals in a
useful form.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 7,500
students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design,
humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused
curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship,
to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students
from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to
society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.

SOURCE Illinois Institute of Technology

Evan Venie, +1-312-567-3202, venie@iit.edu, or Tanya Pantone, +1-312-567-6930,
tpantone@iit.edu