Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a Chicago-based nonprofit, announced today its president, Dr. Antony Wood, is leaving the organization. Wood has worked at CTBUH in various capacities for close to twenty years.
As noted by AN contributor Zach Mortice, Wood is known for starting off speeches with his catch mark: “Ninety-five percent of tall buildings are crap; they should have never been built.” Among his many achievements at CTBUH, in 2022, Wood started a new degree program at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s architecture school to help make skyscraper design more ethical and sustainable.
Wood first joined CTBUH in a voluntary role in 2004 as vice president of the Europe and research divisions. Then, in 2006, he was promoted to CTBUH’s CEO, a title he held until 2022. That year, he became CTBUH’s president. Wood is credited with growing CTBUH from a one-person organization, which it was in 2006, into the global entity it is today.
“It has been the honor of my life to lead the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for almost two decades,” Wood shared in a statement. “However, it is time to hand over to a new generation of CTBUH leaders now and to seek other paths to support the industry and influence the sustainable development of cities.”
To date, Wood has worked with seven chairmen throughout his multi-decade tenure at CTBUH. These chairmen include Ron Klemencic, of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (2001–2006); David Scott, formerly of Arup, now Laing O’Rourke (2006–2009); Sang Dae Kim of Korea University (2009–2011); Timothy Johnson of NBBJ (2011–2014); David Malott, formerly of KPF, now AI Planetworks (2014–2017); Steve Watts of Turner & Townsend Alinea (2017–2023); and Shonn Mills of Whitby Wood Mills (2023–present).
In a statement, Shonn Mills added: “On behalf of the current board, past boards, and the seven chairmen that Antony has worked alongside, we would like to thank him for the tireless energy, vision, and passion he has devoted to the organization. Antony has completely modernized the organization over nearly two decades, while growing it into the significant global presence it is today. We wish him the best of luck with his next career step.”
Wood will stay on at CTBUH until the end of 2024. CTBUH will recognize Wood’s legacy in the upcoming CTBUH 2024 International Conference in London and Paris from September 23 to 27.
A new president has not been named and Wood has not announced what he plans to do next.
