The biggest architectural accomplishments are highly visible symbols of what the society values the most. These values have changed a lot over time. The belief system in most parts of the world is now capitalism and the skyscrapers in the world are a proof of that. Jeddah Tower, a skyscraper, which is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia will break the one-kilometer mark when it will be completed in 2019.
Only the large cities have the resources to build and support the extremely tall buildings. The explosion of the urbanization all over the world and developing economies setting themselves for the limelight, the stage is all set for a global skyscraper boom. In the last two years, 39 skyscrapers which were taller than 300m have been constructed. Five of these were higher than the Empire State Building. The Global skyscraper construction has seen an increase of over 402% since 2000 and the average heights have increased.
Every city in China has a skyscraper under construction and their number is also increasing. Since 2012, China has added nearly 38 skyscrapers that were more than 1000 ft in height. In 2018, 16 more skyscrapers will be added to the list. The Pearl River megaregion which is anchored by Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have seen a lot of construction. 20 0ut of 100 tallest buildings are located in this area. Almost 46 out of 100 tallest skyscrapers are located in China. Their number is also expected to increase in the coming years.
In UAE, construction has been non-stop for many decades. And almost all of it has been vertically oriented. There are around 1000 high-rise buildings in Dubai and 13 more undergoing projects are expected to pass the 300m mark. The Russian capital, Moscow, is home to Russia’s top 8 tallest buildings out of which 5 are 300m+ towers.
The United States had been the undoubted champion of the high-rise construction in the early 20th century but now only 6 buildings over 300m have been constructed in last 20 years. There are 30 skyscrapers currently under construction in New York. Soon San Francisco and Philadelphia will have new additions to their cityscape at the completion of Comcast’s and Salesforce’s flagship project. The current number of undergoing projects are the indication of America’s love of skyscrapers being reborn.
Brace for more skyscrapers in the coming decade!