While 2013 didn't see the completion of a mega tower like Burj Khalifa, it was a near-record-setting year in terms of the number of super-tall skyscrapers completed.
Led by the 82-story, 1,166-foot JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower 2, a total of 73 buildings of 200 meters or greater height were built in 2013. It was the second-busiest year ever, behind only 2011, when 81 super-tall projects opened, according to a report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Last year also saw the completion of nine 300-meter-plus towers. In fact, nearly half (47%) the world's 77 300-meter-plus skyscrapers were completed during the past four years.
The top 10 skyscrapers completed in 2013 are:
1. JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower 2, Dubai, UAE (82 stories, 355 meters, 1,166 feet)
2. Mercury City Tower, Moscow, Russia (75, 339, 1,112)
3. Modern Media Center, Changzhou, China (57, 332, 1,089)
4. Al Yaqoub Tower, Dubai, UAE (69, 328, 1,076)
5. The Landmark, Abu Dhabi, UAE (72, 324, 1,063)
5. Deji Plaza, Nanjing, China (62, 324, 1,063)
7. Cayan Tower, Dubai, UAE (73, 307, 1,008)
8. East Pacific Center Tower A, Shenzhen, China (85, 306, 1,004)
8. The Shard, London, UK (73, 306, 1,004)
10. Dongguan TBA Tower Dongguan, China (68, 289, 948)
See the full list
Tall buildings 200 meters or taller completed each year from 1960 to 2014 © CTBUH (click image to enlarge)
Other milestones from 2013, according to the CTBUH report:
• Across the globe, the sum of heights of all 200-meter-plus buildings completed globally in 2013 was 17,662 meters – also the second-ranked in history, behind the 2011 record of 21,642 meters.
• Of the 73 buildings completed in 2013, 12 – or 16 percent – entered the list of 100 Tallest Buildings in the World.
• For the sixth year running, China had the most 200-meter-plus completions of any nation, at 37 – located across 22 cities.
• Three of the five tallest buildings completed are in the United Arab Emirates, for the second year in a row.
• The city of Goyang, Korea, has debuted on the world skyscraper stage with eight 200-meter-plus buildings completing in 2013.
• Europe has two of the 10 tallest buildings completed in a given year for the first time since 1953.
• Panama added two buildings over 200 meters, bringing the small Central American nation’s count up to 19. It had none as recently as 2008.
• Of the 73 buildings over 200 meters completed in 2013, only one, 1717 Broadway in New York, was in the U.S.
For the full report, visit: http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/HeightStatistics/AnnualBuildingReview/Trendsof2013/tabid/6105/language/en-US/Default.aspx
The tallest building completed each year since the year 2000. © CTBUH (click image to enlarge)
© CTBUH (click image to enlarge)
© CTBUH (click image to enlarge)
Related Stories
| Aug 27, 2014
Designs for community-based workspace in Carlsbad unveiled
Cruzan announced make, a 175,000-square-foot office redevelopment project on the coast of Carlsbad, Calif. Cruzan will usher this next generation of community-based, integrated workspace into existence in fall 2014.
| Aug 26, 2014
6 lessons from a true IPD project: George Washington University Hospital
In its latest blog post, Skanska shares tips and takeaways from the firm's second true integrated project delivery project.
| Aug 26, 2014
Ranked: Top industrial sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, Jacobs, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2014
High-rise concept uses 'sky street' to link towers [slideshow]
The design for a new complex in Shenzhen’s bay area consists of highly reflective glass towers, expansive garden space, and a horizontal glass structure that connects the buildings.
| Aug 25, 2014
Restoration of quake-ravaged Atascadero City Hall affirms city’s strength [2014 Reconstruction Awards]
The landmark city hall was severely damaged by the San Simeon earthquake in 2003. Reconstruction renewed the building’s stability, restored its exterior, and improved the functionality of the interior.
| Aug 25, 2014
Ranked: Top cultural facility sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Arup, Gensler, and Turner head BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
| Aug 25, 2014
Glazing plays key role in reinventing stairway design
Within the architectural community, a movement called "active design" seeks to convert barren and unappealing stairwells originally conceived as emergency contingencies into well-designed architectural focal points. SPONSORED CONTENT