Go beyond the presentations.

Fire safety regulation and technical practice vary widely from one region to the next, and this workshop puts that variation on the table. Leading fire safety specialists will compare regulatory frameworks, testing standards, and lessons learned from recent fire events across regions including the UK, the Middle East, and Australia and Oceania, addressing where laboratory compliance and real building performance diverge and where testing gaps remain, such as around curtain-wall fire performance. 

The first session is a moderated panel exploring these regional perspectives; the second opens the floor entirely, with panelists stepping down from the stage into a circle to join attendees as equal participants, guided by anchor topics including dynamic fire modeling case studies and the practical realities of compliance on live projects. Attendees leave with a live, cross-regional comparison of fire safety regulation and technical practice, drawn directly from specialists and audience alike.

Organized by: CVU Fire & Life Safety Committee

Building on last year’s workshop in Toronto, this session takes a more technical look at what it will take, financially and technologically, to deliver “giga-tall” buildings, examined through the lens of an AI-generated 1,500-meter concept tower, Skyspire 1. Subject matter experts will present in turn on cost management and cost plan development, vertical transportation strategy, and massing and structure, addressing how decisions in each area shape a project’s ultimate cost and what technologies still need to mature to support such ambitious schemes. 

Following a coffee break, the workshop moves into a moderated panel and interactive discussion built around the theme “What if…,” bringing the experts back together with attendees to explore the issues raised and their implications for cost control across the industry. The session closes with an open floor for final questions and challenges to the group. 

Organized by: CVU Cost & Construction Assemblies

Vertical transportation remains one of the most defining, and most constrained, systems in a tall building, shaping how occupants move through and experience the spaces above ground. This workshop returns to examine how evolving occupant journeys, smart city integration, and the adaptive reuse of existing buildings are reshaping vertical transportation planning, drawing on lessons from both new construction and buildings being repurposed for new uses.

Discussion is expected to build on previous editions’ focus on integrating intelligent design, technology, and user-centric planning from the earliest stages of a project, opening with presentations on current developments before moving into an interactive discussion of the issues raised.

Organized by: CVU Vertical Transportation Committee 

Kindly sponsored by:

The housing affordability crisis is playing out in cities everywhere, from London to Lagos to Los Angeles, and this working session confronts it directly: who gets priced out when cities build up, and can tall buildings deliver genuine inclusion, or do they simply repackage exclusivity at greater height? The conversation grounds itself in London and the UK, where density has both eased and exacerbated the crisis, before widening the lens to international case studies to ask what aspects of affordability strategy are portable, and what has to change for it to take root elsewhere, particularly as climate resilience and energy efficiency now must become part of the definition of “affordable.” 

Built for practitioners ready to share what has worked, question what hasn’t, and help shape what verticality can actually deliver, the session pairs local grounding with a global comparison to move the conversation from diagnosis toward workable solutions. 

Organized by: CVU Inclusive Excellence Committee 

As cities densify, what does it take for a skyline to still feel like itself? This workshop puts that question to a diverse group of city representatives, who each present their city’s vertical identity through flagship projects and policy, moving beyond form and heritage to explore how people actually live and work at height and how new buildings are absorbed into the local market.

The second session turns the room into an active participant: using a live polling tool, attendees describe the identity of their own cities in their own words, rank the shared principles that make vertical identity work, and identify the projects that best embody each city, comparing where those examples converge and where they diverge. Panelists interpret and challenge the results throughout, so the audience supplies the raw material and the city representatives give it authority. The workshop concludes with a summary of shared principles for defining and preserving authentic vertical identity in global cities.

Organized by: CVU City Advocacy Forum

Kindly sponsored by:

As cities grow denser, the experience inside and around a building is becoming a genuine competitive differentiator. This interactive workshop explores how smart technology can shape human-centered environments, in both new and existing buildings, that tenants actively choose to occupy. Participants will develop personas and map owner and occupier priorities, such as resilience, well-being, and usability, connecting those needs to the digital systems that enable them.

The session also builds the business case for smart buildings, showing how data supports value creation from design through to operation. Bridging vision and delivery, the workshop demonstrates how technology can strengthen a building’s identity, culture, and sense of place while delivering measurable value for developers, owners, and occupiers alike.

Organized by: CVU Smart Technology Assembly & WSP

Kindly sponsored by:

What actually makes high-density, high-rise housing feel livable? This workshop opens with an overview of the planning, program, and unit-layout decisions that shape quality of life at height, illustrated through case studies from Toronto, Guangzhou, and Sydney, followed by a facilitated discussion drawing out what elements speakers and attendees agree matter most in creating livable high-density housing.

The second session turns to London and Dubai, among other cities to be confirmed, to examine successful housing developments there, in those cities, again followed by facilitated discussion building on the themes raised earlier in the day. Attendees leave with a sharper, cross-city understanding of what it takes to create high-rise housing that genuinely feels like home.

Organized by: CVU Urban Habitat Assembly

CVU published its Wind Tunnel Testing of High-Rise Buildings technical guide in 2013, and an update now in preparation extends well beyond wind tunnel testing to cover the full range of approaches available for wind engineering. This workshop brings together some of the world’s leading experts to present the state of the art across that broader field, covering wind climate and the effects of climate change, outdoor comfort, building enclosure pressures, wind loading, stack effect, door operability, and more.

Attendees will have the opportunity to put questions directly to the expert panel, leaving with a clearer picture of how to put wind engineering to work, improving design decisions and building performance.

Organized by: CVU Engineering Assembly

This inclusive workshop, open to all genders, brings distinguished women leaders in vertical urbanism together to share candid reflections on the pivotal moments that shaped their careers and the role allyship has played along the way. The session opens with the official launch of the CVU Women Rising Mentorship Program, introducing this year’s mentors and mentees, before moving into a moderated fireside chat focused on actionable strategies for navigating the industry, achieving professional excellence, and dismantling barriers to advancement. 

Attendees then break into small groups to develop concrete ways to support one another through mentorship and professional alliances, reporting key findings back to the room before the discussion continues at a networking reception overlooking the London skyline. The workshop’s outcomes will directly inform CVU’s Women Rising goals and initiatives going forward. 

Immediately following the workshop, attendees can enjoy an hour of networking and reflection on the workshop outcomes at the Women Rising Reception. 

Organized by: CVU Women Rising Committee

Kindly sponsored by: