The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released its annual report, CTBUH Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2019, part of the Tall Buildings in Numbers data analysis series. The report shows that 126 buildings of 200 meters’ height or greater were completed in 2019, including 26 “supertall” buildings of at least 300 meters’ height, a new record.
The total number of supertall buildings worldwide is now 170. In 2013, there were 76 buildings 300 meters or higher worldwide; in 2000, only 26. The 530-meter Tianjin CTF Finance Centre in Tianjin, China was the tallest building completed in 2019.
“This is the fifth year in a row that a building over 500 meters has been completed, which is a remarkable accomplishment for the building industry – it was only 15 years ago that such buildings didn’t exist,” said CTBUH Chief Executive Officer Antony Wood.
Overall, the number of completed buildings of at least 200 meters in 2019 declined by 13.7% (there were 146 in 2018). This is the first year in which the overall completion figure declined since the 2010 to 2011 gap, which was attributed to the lag effect of project cancellations due to the 2008 recession. Due to the long lead times inherent to skyscraper construction, many of the projects completing in 2019 were conceived and initiated five or more years ago, and thus reflect the development circumstances of a half-decade prior.
However, 2019 proved to be a significant year for some areas that did not already have an abundance of tall buildings, and in some cases, had never been on the 200-meter-plus list before. The African continent and the nation of Algeria alike got a new tallest building: the Great Mosque of Algiers (265 meters). And on the opposite end of Africa, The Leonardo (227 meters) in Johannesburg, South Africa, became that nation’s new tallest building, and the second-tallest building on the continent. Europe also gained a new tallest building, after a long gestation period (including a change of site) – the Lakhta Center (462 meters) in St. Petersburg. And Brazil completed the Infinity Coast Tower (235 meters), which is the country’s first building to exceed 200 meters, despite being a nation of many tall buildings.
Looking into 2020, CTBUH currently projects a similar range for the expected number of completions for 200-meter-plus buildings: between 115 and 145. Of these, between 17 and 30 are expected to be supertalls (300 meters and higher).
View the full and interactive report on The Skyscraper Center.
Related Stories
AEC Tech | Jan 16, 2020
EC firms with a clear ‘digital roadmap’ should excel in 2020
Deloitte, in new report, lays out a risk mitigation strategy that relies on tech.
Market Data | Jan 13, 2020
Construction employment increases by 20,000 in December and 151,000 in 2019
Survey finds optimism about 2020 along with even tighter labor supply as construction unemployment sets record December low.
Market Data | Jan 10, 2020
North America’s office market should enjoy continued expansion in 2020
Brokers and analysts at two major CRE firms observe that tenants are taking longer to make lease decisions.
Market Data | Dec 17, 2019
Architecture Billings Index continues to show modest growth
AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 51.9 for November reflects an increase in design services provided by U.S. architecture firms.
Market Data | Dec 4, 2019
Nonresidential construction spending falls in October
Private nonresidential spending fell 1.2% on a monthly basis and is down 4.3% from October 2018.
Market Data | Nov 25, 2019
Office construction lifts U.S. asking rental rate, but slowing absorption in Q3 raises concerns
12-month net absorption decelerates by one-third from 2018 total.
Market Data | Nov 22, 2019
Architecture Billings Index rebounds after two down months
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score in October is 52.0.
Market Data | Nov 14, 2019
Construction input prices unchanged in October
Nonresidential construction input prices fell 0.1% for the month and are down 2.0% compared to the same time last year.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 7, 2019
Multifamily construction market remains strong heading into 2020
Fewer than one in 10 AEC firms doing multifamily work reported a decrease in proposal activity in Q3 2019, according to a PSMJ report.
Market Data | Nov 5, 2019
Construction and real estate industry deals in September 2019 total $21.7bn globally
In terms of number of deals, the sector saw a drop of 4.4% over the last 12-month average.