A record-breaking total of 106 skyscrapers over 200 meters (656 feet)were completed in 2015, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), breaking the previous record of 97 reached in 2014.
The total number of skyscrapers worldwide now totals 1,040, exceeding 1,000 for the first time and marking a staggering 392% increase from 2,000, when the total was just 265.
The CTBUH calls this trend a “skyscraper surge” and predicts that skyscraper construction will continue to break records in 2016.
As in previous years, Asia continues to dominate the list, particularly China. Excluding the Middle East, 81 of the year’s 106 skyscrapers were located in Asia, 76 per cent of the total.
Despite fervent building activity in Japan in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, no 200+ meter buildings were completed in Japan in 2015, so Japan did not make last year’s 200+ meter Top 100 List.
Super-Tall 300+ Meter Buildings
Thirteen “super-tall” buildings (buildings which are over 300 meters (984 feet) in height) were completed in 2015. These included 432 Park Avenue and Shanghai Tower, the world’s second-tallest building.
The CTBUH writes in the report that “We currently project the completion of between 110 and 135 buildings of 200 meters height or greater [in 2016].”
“Perhaps even more staggering is the fact that 18 to 27 of these buildings are expected to be in the super-tall range. If true, 2016 alone would see the global total of super-talls increase by 18 per cent to 27 per cent.”
As in previous years, Asia continues to dominate the list, particularly China.
China Dominates the List
“Despite an overall slowdown in the Chinese property market, which has taken hold of the country since 2013, it appears that this has yet to manifest itself in the construction of 200-meter-plus buildings,” writes the CTBUH.
“China continues to build more of these towers than any other country, and with over 300 such buildings under construction at the time of this report, it’s plausible to assume that the country’s momentum will continue in the near future.”
“The country’s long-term prospects are more uncertain,” it added. “As the country continues to transition from a growth economy to a consumption economy – one that caters to the added buying power of its rising middle class – large-scale government-funded construction projects might begin to take a backseat.”
Jakarta: Top City in 2015
But it was Jakarta that saw the highest concentration of new skyscrapers. The Indonesian capital has seven new buildings of over 200 meters, including the 258-meter-high Sahid Sudirman Center, almost double its previous record of four.
Mega-Tall Buildings
The CTBUH predicts that super-tall skyscrapers will soon be replaced by an even taller category the mega-tall, which are buildings of over 600 meters (1,969 feet). The 1,000-meter-high Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, currently under construction in Saudi Arabia, would fall into this category. If completed as planned, it will be the tallest building in the world.
Tallest Structures in Japan
At 634 meters, the Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan.
The tallest building in Japan is the Abeno Harukas building, which was completed in 2014. It is 300-meters in height and has 60 floors.
The tallest building in Tokyo is Toranomon Hills at 256 meters and 57 stories. It was completed in 2014.
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