Sixty-six buildings taller than 200m were completed during 2012, the third most in history, but down from the 82 finished in 2011. The global number of buildings taller than 200m has almost tripled since 2000, increasing from 263 to 756 at the end of 2012.
London’s 309.6m-tall Shard doesn’t feature on last year’s list – it is due to open next month.
CTBUH said the consequential effects of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis became evident last year in tall building construction in many Western countries. This number of completions was slightly lower than expected, with some projects under construction delayed or stalled. However, several of the projects forecast to finish in 2012 are now expected to complete in 2013 and 2014, with global completion numbers expected to rise again next year.
The year also saw several milestones including the completion of the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Saudi Arabia. At 601m, it is second tallest building in the world and only the world’s second ‘megatall’, defined by the CTBUH as a building of more than 600m.
Four of the six tallest buildings completed in 2012 were in Dubai, including the world’s tallest hotel, the 355m JW Marriott Marquis.
The title of ‘tallest residential building’ exchanged hands twice in 2012, with both recipients located in the Dubai Marina.
Fast-growing China finished 22 buildings taller than 200m in 2012, 33% of the global number. Mecca was the city with the most 200m completions in the world, with five.
The United States completed only two buildings over 200m, including the 257m Devon Tower in Oklahoma City. Canada added four buildings taller than 200m, the most Canada has ever completed in a single year.
Twelve of the 66 buildings completed in 2012 broke onto the list of the Top 100 tallest buildings in the world, representing a 12% change in the tallest 100 in a single year.
The four tallest residential buildings in the world are now located in Dubai.
China’s tall building boom will continue in the next few years. Projects far along in construction include the 660m Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen, the 636m Wuhan Greenland Center and 632m Shanghai Tower—three of the tallest towers in the world. Also on the horizon is the much-discussed 838m tower built using a pre-fabricated system proposed by Broad Sustainable Building.
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