This was a year for rapid skyscraper development and new highs in the tall buildings industry. To chronicle the achievements of industry professionals, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) cherrypicked the top moments from 2014, including a record concrete pour, a cautionary note about high-rise development, and two men's daring feat.
Here are CTBUH's top skyscraper moments from 2014:
1. 31-Story Vertical Garden Sprouts in Sydney
Patrick Blanc's One Central Park in Sydney contains his largest vertical gardens yet. It won the 2014 CTBUH Best Tall Building in Asia and Australasia, and the Best Tall Building Worldwide.
2. Record-Breaking Pour At Wilshire Grand
When construction crews poured the Wilshire Grand Tower's 30-meter foundation all at once on February 15, 2014, they set a record for the largest continuous concrete pour ever conducted.
3. Study: 236 Skyscrapers Will Rise in London
New London Architecture performed a study showing that 236 tall building projects had been approved or were already under way in 2014. This prompted the creation of the Architect's Journal and Observer newspapers' Skyline Campaign.
4. World’s Tallest Building Hosts Daring Duo's Leap
Two men jumped from the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, gaining the Guinness Book of World Records' "Highest Base Jump from the Tallest Building” title.
5. Cape Town Gets First New High-Rise in 21 Years
Portside, a 142-meter tower and Cape Town's first in over two decades, was completed this year.
6. World’s 100th Supertall Tops Out in Nanchang
China's Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Central Plaza, made up of two towers, became the world's 99th and 100th supertall buildings.
7. “Tower of David” Squatters Evicted in Caracas
Venezuelan authorities began moving people out of the world's tallest slum, a 45-story skyscraper in Caracas.
8. Melbourne Approves Australia 108
Australia 108, at 319 meters, will become the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.
9. Bosco Verticale Opens Its Doors in Milan
Five years after construction began, Bosco Verticale has allowed residents to move in. The towers support over 1,000 species of trees, shrubs, and plants.
10. One World Trade Center: World’s Third Tallest
At 541 meters (1,776 feet), the One World Trade Center became North America's tallest building and the world's third tallest.
11. ThyssenKrupp’s MULTI: Up, Down, and Sideways
MULTI elevator technology would use magnetic linear induction, allowing multiple cars to move in the shaft at once, as well as horizontally. Tests will begin in 2016.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Biloxi’s convention center bigger, better after Katrina
The Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi is once again open for business following a renovation and expansion necessitated by Hurricane Katrina.
| Oct 13, 2010
Tower commemorates Lewis & Clark’s historic expedition
The $4.8 million Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, Ill., commemorates explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at the point where their trek to the Pacific Ocean began—the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
| Oct 13, 2010
Campus building gives students a taste of the business world
William R. Hough Hall is the new home of the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The $17.6 million, 70,000-sf building gives students access to the latest technology, including a lab that simulates the stock exchange.
| Oct 13, 2010
Science building supports enrollment increases
The new Kluge-Moses Science Building at Piedmont Virginia Community College, in Charlottesville, is part of a campus update designed and managed by the Lukmire Partnership. The 34,000-sf building is designed to be both a focal point of the college and a recruitment mechanism to get more students enrolling in healthcare programs.
| Oct 13, 2010
Cancer hospital plans fifth treatment center
Construction is set to start in December on the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s $55 million hospital in Newnan, Ga. The 225,000-sf facility will have 25 universal inpatient beds, two linear accelerator vaults, an HDR/Brachy therapy vault, and a radiology and imaging unit.
| Oct 13, 2010
Apartment complex will offer affordable green housing
Urban Housing Communities, KTGY Group, and the City of Big Bear Lake (Calif.) Improvement Agency are collaborating on The Crossings at Big Bear Lake, the first apartment complex in the city to offer residents affordable, eco-friendly homes. KTGY designed 28 two-bedroom, two-story townhomes and 14 three-bedroom, single-story flats, averaging 1,100 sf each.
| Oct 13, 2010
Residences bring students, faculty together in the Middle East
A new residence complex is in design for United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, UAE, near Abu Dhabi. Plans for the 120-acre mixed-use development include 710 clustered townhomes and apartments for students and faculty and common areas for community activities.
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 13, 2010
New health center to focus on education and awareness
Construction is getting pumped up at the new Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. The four-story, 94,000-sf building will focus on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
