We all know that buildings don't always turn out like the renderings. Last-minute changes and real-life materials can all cause discrepancies between the vision and reality of a project. In our weekly Flash Forward Friday feature, we take a look at how different projects stack up.

LBR&A Architectos' newly complete Torre Reforma now crowns the skyline as Mexico City's tallest building. With 57 storeys stretching to a 244-metre apex, the office skyscraper exceeded the height of the 2015-built Torre BBVA Bancomer just across the street, along with the 225-metre Torre Mayor on the adjacent block. The scalpel-like tower rises high above Paseo de la Reforma in the heart of the city.

The concrete side as depicted in pre-construction renderings, image via LBR&A Architectos

Comprised of 14 four-storey clusters — each with their own interior garden — the design of the sculptural structure is informed by its commitment to eco-friendly practices. The world's tallest exposed concrete structure utilizes the common building material for practical, cultural, and environmental reasons. The impermeable concrete walls prevent the entrance of harsh sunlight, providing a natural cooling effect and limiting solar heat gain. The LEED Platinum building is expected to yield about 25 percent savings on heating costs as a result.

The rendered Torre Reforma, image via LBR&A Architectos

With sturdy concrete outer walls removing the need for disruptive interior columns, the building boasts open and flexible floor plans for the 21st century workplace. The facade — which accommodates slits to permit natural light for the gardens — creates a chamfered rooftop that brings the frenetic tower to an appropriate conclusion. In addition, the use of concrete allows the building to slightly bend during an earthquake, while having the more aesthetic function of recalling the stone structures of vernacular Mexican architecture.

The completed Torre Reforma, image by Alfonso Merchand via CTBUH

There was clearly a lot of thought put into the building. Its calculated environmental considerations, combined with the mix of glazed and concrete exterior finishes, were accurately depicted in the initial project renderings. Though there appears to be one fortunate deviation from the original plan: what turned out to be an open-air terrace about halfway up the tower was ostensibly portrayed as an enclosed amenity in the early illustrations. But the rest of the design — right down to the pattern of the pixelated pores in the concrete — was comprehensively rendered before construction began.

An image of the completed glazed elevation, image retrieved from Google Street View

We will return next Friday with another comparison!