The Skyscraper Era Is Continuing
In January of each year, CTBUH publishes a review of tall building construction and statistics from the previous year. The annual story represented the record for the most 200 meter or higher buildings completed in a given year. According to tall buildings official site more 200 m+ buildings were completed in 2011 than in any year previous, with a total of 88 projects opening their doors. Shenzhen's "Kingkey 100", at 442 meters, tops the 2011 list.
The buildings completed in 2011 have effected a significant change in the world's tallest 100 buildings, with 17 new buildings added to the list. This change continues the trends of recent years. Perhaps most significantly, for the first time in history the number of office buildings in the tallest 100 has diminished to the 50 percent mark, as mixed-use buildings continue to increase, jumping from 23 to 31.
It is interesting to examine where the predicted continued increase in tall building activity will take place. China and the UAE contain a total of 39 of the projects - over 44 percent of the world's completions in 2011. However, several cities, not previously seen as centers of tall building construction, are quite evident in this group of projects. In fact, the three cities to complete the most 200 m+ buildings in 2011 are all relative newcomers to the list: Panama City, Abu Dhabi, and Busan. Together, this cities contain 34 such buildings and accounted for 32 percent of completions in 2011, surpassing traditional tall building centers such as Dubai, Shanghai, and Singapore.
China: When discussing skyscraper completion, it is impossible to neglect the market of China, which contributed 23 completions in 2011. However, quite surprisingly given the region's impressive market, we have seen China's global percentage of building completions begin to drop off slightly. In 2009, China contained 45 percent of the buildings completed and 33 percent in 2010. In 2011, China contained only 26 percent of the global total of 200 m+ completions. Shenzhen's "Kingkey 100", at 442 meters (1,449 feet), was the tallest to complete in 2011, opening in December.
Dubai: Another significant existing market is the city of Dubai, which added 6 tall buildings in 2011. In 2011, Dubai's 23 Marina became the world's tallest residential building, at 393 meters. Coincidentally, the building sits near both The Torch (the previous world's tallest residential for a short time) and the under construction Princess Tower (set to become the world's tallest in 2012), making the Dubai Marina the tallest residential skyscraper cluster in the world.
Panama: Before 2008, no 200 m+ buildings existed in all of Panama. Then, between 2008 and 2010, 3 buildings opened. In 2011, Panama City completed ten 200 m+ skyscrapers, more than any other city and more than double the number of completions in all of North America. With these completions, there are now 12 such buildings in Panama. One of these buildings, the "Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower", became the tallest building in Central America when it completed in 2011 at 284 meters in height. Additionally, there are another 8 buildings currently under construction and set for completion by the end of 2012.
Abu Dhabi: Another emerging market in 2011 was Abu Dhabi, Dubai's neighbor. This city added nine 200 m+ buildings in 2011, remarkable as it contained only two such buildings at the beginning of the year, another thirteen 200 m+ buildings are currently under construction in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi's largest project to complete in 2011 was "Etihad Towers", a complex comprised of 5 towers ranging between 218 meters to 305 meters.
Busan: The Korean tall building market has also seen significant development in recent years, containing twenty-four 200 m+ buildings by the end of 2010. However, only one such building existed in the country's second largest city, Busan. 2011 saw all this change with 9 of the 11 Korean completions taking place in Busan. This included the completion of the "Doosan Haeundae We've the Zenith Tower complex" and "Studio Daniel Libeskind's Haeundae I'Park complex". These two projects, which sit directly next to each other, added five 250-meter residential buildings to Busan. 2011 also saw the completion of Korea's tallest building, the "Northeast Asia Trade Tower".
United States and Europe: In 2011, two 200 m+ buildings were completed in the US: New York's Eight Spruce Street and Cincinnati's Great American Tower. Europe, another significantly developed tall building market, completed four 200 m+ buildings in 2011, matching its record set in 2008. These buildings, spread through the UK, France, Germany, and Russia, seem to point to a possible resurgence of the tall building in continental Europe. There are currently 20 such buildings under construction in Europe, with some ten set to complete in the next two years.
According to annual report, looking to the future, it is now foreseeable - indeed likely - that the recent trend of an annual increase in building completions will continue for the next several years, perhaps even through the end of the decade. This represents a change in recent predictions. It had been expected that skyscraper completions would drop off very sharply after 2011, as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis and the large number of projects put on hold. With over 300 projects above the 200-meter mark currently under construction internationally, the tall building community is set to continue to develop at an incredible pace. As new markets continue to discover and develop the tall building, it is quite possible that this pace will continue through the end of this decade. Without a doubt, the skylines of the world will see tremendous change by the year 2020.
The buildings completed in 2011 have effected a significant change in the world's tallest 100 buildings, with 17 new buildings added to the list. This change continues the trends of recent years. Perhaps most significantly, for the first time in history the number of office buildings in the tallest 100 has diminished to the 50 percent mark, as mixed-use buildings continue to increase, jumping from 23 to 31.
It is interesting to examine where the predicted continued increase in tall building activity will take place. China and the UAE contain a total of 39 of the projects - over 44 percent of the world's completions in 2011. However, several cities, not previously seen as centers of tall building construction, are quite evident in this group of projects. In fact, the three cities to complete the most 200 m+ buildings in 2011 are all relative newcomers to the list: Panama City, Abu Dhabi, and Busan. Together, this cities contain 34 such buildings and accounted for 32 percent of completions in 2011, surpassing traditional tall building centers such as Dubai, Shanghai, and Singapore.
China: When discussing skyscraper completion, it is impossible to neglect the market of China, which contributed 23 completions in 2011. However, quite surprisingly given the region's impressive market, we have seen China's global percentage of building completions begin to drop off slightly. In 2009, China contained 45 percent of the buildings completed and 33 percent in 2010. In 2011, China contained only 26 percent of the global total of 200 m+ completions. Shenzhen's "Kingkey 100", at 442 meters (1,449 feet), was the tallest to complete in 2011, opening in December.
Dubai: Another significant existing market is the city of Dubai, which added 6 tall buildings in 2011. In 2011, Dubai's 23 Marina became the world's tallest residential building, at 393 meters. Coincidentally, the building sits near both The Torch (the previous world's tallest residential for a short time) and the under construction Princess Tower (set to become the world's tallest in 2012), making the Dubai Marina the tallest residential skyscraper cluster in the world.
Panama: Before 2008, no 200 m+ buildings existed in all of Panama. Then, between 2008 and 2010, 3 buildings opened. In 2011, Panama City completed ten 200 m+ skyscrapers, more than any other city and more than double the number of completions in all of North America. With these completions, there are now 12 such buildings in Panama. One of these buildings, the "Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower", became the tallest building in Central America when it completed in 2011 at 284 meters in height. Additionally, there are another 8 buildings currently under construction and set for completion by the end of 2012.
Abu Dhabi: Another emerging market in 2011 was Abu Dhabi, Dubai's neighbor. This city added nine 200 m+ buildings in 2011, remarkable as it contained only two such buildings at the beginning of the year, another thirteen 200 m+ buildings are currently under construction in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi's largest project to complete in 2011 was "Etihad Towers", a complex comprised of 5 towers ranging between 218 meters to 305 meters.
Busan: The Korean tall building market has also seen significant development in recent years, containing twenty-four 200 m+ buildings by the end of 2010. However, only one such building existed in the country's second largest city, Busan. 2011 saw all this change with 9 of the 11 Korean completions taking place in Busan. This included the completion of the "Doosan Haeundae We've the Zenith Tower complex" and "Studio Daniel Libeskind's Haeundae I'Park complex". These two projects, which sit directly next to each other, added five 250-meter residential buildings to Busan. 2011 also saw the completion of Korea's tallest building, the "Northeast Asia Trade Tower".
United States and Europe: In 2011, two 200 m+ buildings were completed in the US: New York's Eight Spruce Street and Cincinnati's Great American Tower. Europe, another significantly developed tall building market, completed four 200 m+ buildings in 2011, matching its record set in 2008. These buildings, spread through the UK, France, Germany, and Russia, seem to point to a possible resurgence of the tall building in continental Europe. There are currently 20 such buildings under construction in Europe, with some ten set to complete in the next two years.
According to annual report, looking to the future, it is now foreseeable - indeed likely - that the recent trend of an annual increase in building completions will continue for the next several years, perhaps even through the end of the decade. This represents a change in recent predictions. It had been expected that skyscraper completions would drop off very sharply after 2011, as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis and the large number of projects put on hold. With over 300 projects above the 200-meter mark currently under construction internationally, the tall building community is set to continue to develop at an incredible pace. As new markets continue to discover and develop the tall building, it is quite possible that this pace will continue through the end of this decade. Without a doubt, the skylines of the world will see tremendous change by the year 2020.
