Market Trends Tall Trends A small increase in completions marks a return to upward trends. by Daniel Safarik and Antony Wood Top: Mercury City Tower ( Butyrskii Igor) Bottom Right: JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower ( JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai) Opposite Page: The Gate Towers ( Sorouh Real Estate) 54 www.elevatorworld.com April 014
Moscow, 339 m/1,11 ft By all appearances, the small increase in the total number of tall-building completions from 01 to 013 is indicative of a return to the prevalent trend of increasing completions each year over the past decade. Perhaps 01, with its small year-on-year drop in completions, was the last year to register the full effect of the 008/009 global financial crisis (ELEVATOR WORLD, April 013), and a small sigh of relief can be let out in the tallbuilding industry as we begin 014. At the same time, it is important to note that 013 was the second-most-successful year ever, in terms of 00-m-plus-tall building completion, with 73 buildings of 00 m or greater height completed. Only the 81 completions of 011 surpassed this figure. When examined in the broad course of skyscraper completions since 000, the rate is still increasing. From 000 to 013, the total number of 00-m-plus-tall buildings in existence increased from 61 to 830 -- an astounding 318%. From this point of view, we can more confidently estimate that the slight slowdown of 01, which recorded 69 completions after 011 s record 81, was a blip, and that 013 was more representative of the general upward trend. For the fourth year running, nine supertalls (at 300-m-plus heights) were again completed in 013. The 36 supertalls built over the last four years comprise nearly half of all supertalls (77). Across the globe, the 01 JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower Dubai, 355 m/1,116 ft 03 Modern Media Center Changzhou, 33 m/1,089 ft 0 Mercury City Tower Continued 04 Al Yaqoub Tower Dubai, 38 m/1,076 ft =05 The Landmark Abu Dhabi, 34 m/1,063 ft =05 Deji Plaza Nanjing, 34 m/1,063 ft 07 Cayan Tower Dubai, 307 m/1,008 ft =08 East Pacific Center Tower A Shenzhen, 306 m/1,004 ft 16 East Pacific Center Tower B Shenzhen, 61 m/856 ft 13 Shimao International Center Office Tower Fuzhou, 73 m/896 ft 15 Bicsa Financial Center Panama City, 67 m/876 ft 14 S uzhou Center Suzhou, 17 Jing An Kerry Centre Tower 68 m/879 ft Shanghai, 60 m/853 ft The tallest 0 buildings completed in 013 =18 Garden Square Shanghai, 58 m/846 ft 11 United International Mansion Chongqing, 87 m/94 ft 10 Dongguan TBA Tower Dongguan, 89 m/948 ft =08 The Shard London, 306 m/1,004 ft 1 Chongqing Poly Tower Chongqing, 87 m/941 ft Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 014 =18 The Metropolitan Office Tower Tianjin, 58 m/846 ft =18 Radisson Plaza Hotel Xiaoshan Tower 1 Hangzhou, 58 m/846 ft Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 014 April 014 ELEVATOR WORLD 55
sum of heights of all 00-m-plus-tall buildings completed globally in 013 was 17,66 m. This is also ranked second in history, behind the 011 record of 1,64 m. Of the 73 buildings completed in 013, 1 (16%) entered the list of 100 tallest buildings in the world. For the sixth year running, China had the most 00-m-plus-tall completions of any nation, at 37, located across cities. The tallest building to be completed in 013 was the 355-m-tall JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower in Dubai. Three of the five tallest buildings completed are in the U.A.E. for the second year in a row. Europe has two of the 10 tallest buildings completed in a given year for the first time since 1953. Panama added two buildings of such a height, and the U.S. contributed 1717 Broadway in New York City (NYC) to the list. Key Snapshots of 013 Asia Asia completely dominated the world tall-building industry, at 74% of worldwide completions with 53 buildings in 013, against 53% with 35 buildings in 01. Asia now contains 45% of the 100 tallest buildings in the world. China remained the continent s heavyweight and overall undisputed champion of tall-building construction. A total of 37 00-m-plus-tall buildings were completed 50% of the global total and up from 4 in 01. Central America (3%) Europe 4 (5%) Middle East 1 (16%) North America 1 (1%) Asia 54 (74%) The Shard ( Terri Meyer Boake) entirely due to the opening of an eight-building complex, the Tanhyun Doosan project. Goyang, a city of 1.5 million near Seoul, is now on the world skyscraper map, in the same way that so many Chinese cities have entered the world s consciousness over the past dozen years. Its achievement is in having eight 00-m-plus-tall buildings complete in 013. Tall Buildings 00 m or Taller Completed in 013 by City 8 8 1,79 m 1750 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 014 Once again, Asia was the forerunner of the world s annual tall-building completions. The sum of heights of all 00-m-plus-tall buildings in China in 013 was 8,876 m, compared to 5,83 m in 01, an increase of 5.4%. These buildings were spread across cities. Shenzhen proved to be the most active skyscraper city, doubling its number of completions from the previous year, from two to four. It was closely tailed by Chongqing and Shanghai, which tied at three. Nanjing, Shenyang, Suzhou, Hefei, Tianjin, Nanning, Xiamen and Guangzhou each claimed two completions. Of these, Hefei and Xiamen are first-time entries to this list. The tallest building to be completed in China in 013 was the 33-m-tall Modern Media Center in Changzhou. South Korea had the next-largest number of tall completions in the Asian region, though its figure of nine buildings was almost Number 7 6 5 4 3 1 0 5 1,71 m 5 1,485 m 4 1,038 m 3 819 m 3 Number (Total = 73) Sum of Heights (Total = 17,66 m) Note: One tall building 00 m+ in height also completed during 013 in these cities: Banqiao, Changzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Doha, Dongguan, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Liuzhou, London, Makati, Moscow, Nanchang, New York City, Pattaya, Seoul, Shijiazhuang, Taipei, Vienna, Wroclaw, Yuxi. 41 cities in total completed buildings 00 m+ in height during 013. 76 m 556 m 513 m 490 m 468 m 466 m 461 m 448 m 436 m 43 m 400 m Goyang Abu Dhabi Dubai Shenzhen Chongqing Shanghai Nanjing Panama City Shenyang Suzhou Hefei Tianjin Singapore Nanning Xiamen Guangzhou Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 014 Many Chinese cities have been put on the world s map in the last few years thanks to their numerous recently completed tall buildings. 1500 150 1000 750 500 50 0 Sum of Heights (m) 56 www.elevatorworld.com April 014
Middle East The Middle East recorded completion of 1 buildings of at least 00 m in height, forming 16% of the world total in 013. This is a decrease from 16 buildings for 4% of last year s total. While last year s score was boosted by the completion of the Abraj-al-Bait Endowment, a single seven-building complex in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. remained a dominant player in 013, increasing from five to 10 completions, a national total second only to China s. The U.A.E. has been in the top four nations of this category since 008 and in the top three since 010. For the second year in a row, three of the five tallest buildings completed globally this year are in the U.A.E. Dubai and Abu Dhabi continued apace in 013, each completing five 00-m-plus-tall buildings. Dubai laid claim to the title of both the world s tallest building completion of 013, the 355-m-tall JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower, as well as the world s tallest twisting tower with the 307-m-tall Cayan Tower. Abu Dhabi completed The Gate Towers, which was also a finalist in the Middle East category of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat s (CTBUH) Best Tall Buildings awards. Europe Europe completed four tall buildings in excess of 00 m tall in 013 and increased its total number of supertalls from one to three. In 013, Europe also had two buildings (The Shard in London and Mercury City Tower in Moscow) in the world s 10 tallest completions for the first time since 1953, when two of the seven Moscow sisters (MV Lomonosov State University and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs) were completed. Among the two supertalls to be completed in Europe last year was The Shard, which is not only the U.K. s tallest at 306 m, but a world-class victory for developer persistence amidst financial crisis, regulatory scrutiny, and historic-preservation and trafficflow constraints. These plaudits and its aesthetic merits won the building CTBUH s 013 Best Tall Building Europe award. The 339-m-tall Mercury City tower put Russia on top of the continent, while the 0-m-tall DC Tower I brought Austria further into the fold of European Tall. The Americas North America s share of total 00-m-plus-tall completions during 013 dropped from 6% to 1% of worldwide figures. Panama comprised the totality of tall buildings completed in Central America in 013, with none completed in South America. Panama s 67-m-tall Bicsa Financial Tower and 46-m-tall yoopanama inspired by Starck were built in Panama City. The expansion of the Panama Canal and the appeal of buying real estate on an urban, tropical seashore continued to attract commercial and residential interest to a country that now has 19 tall buildings taller than 00 m but had none as recently as 008. In the U.S., heavy construction and a slew of new proposals made 013 an exciting year in NYC, though only one 00-m-plustall building, the 30-m Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn Central Park Hotel at 1717 Broadway, was actually completed. The skyscraper world stage briefly returned to the U.S. decades-long spat between Chicago and NYC in 013, as the Council s Height Committee ruled that the spire of One World Trade Center would count toward its official height (EW, January 014). However, the 541-m-tall building will have to wait until 014 to officially enter the ranks of the world s tallest 10 (likely briefly holding position number three) when completed. The balance of U.S. interest is in the series of super-slim luxury residential towers now cropping up along 57th Street and in Lower Manhattan, New York: here, slenderness ratios, not pure height, are the object of much discussion. Still, it will be several years before many of these billionaire needles are completed. Noted Absences After a burgeoning 01, Canada seemed to be catching its breath in 013, registering no completions taller than 00 m in 013, while having finished four in 01. A busy but sporadic tall-building market, Australia also failed to complete such buildings in 013, after churning out three in 01. Most of Australia s activity in 013 was restricted to design proposals and heated discussions about where it is appropriate to build tall, particularly in Melbourne. After completing the world s secondtallest building in 01, Saudi Arabia dropped out of completions in 013 but saw the important milestone of breaking ground on The yoopanama inspired by Starck ( Jaime Justiniani) Continued April 014 ELEVATOR WORLD 57
Kingdom Tower, the 1-m-tall plan set to be the world s tallest building when completed in 019. Tall Buildings in 013: Analysis Of the 73 00-m-plus buildings completed in 013, the share of pure office buildings continued to decline, from 39% to 34%. Purely residential functions comprised 30% of 013 completions. Mixed-use buildings ticked up slightly, to 30%, up from 9% in 01. Four of the completions were hotels, comprising 5% of the total (against 1% in 01). Concrete remains the building material of choice for tall buildings globally, holding steady at 63% of completions. A Look to 014 It s fair to say that 013 was a year of recovery and a return to the still relatively new normal of year-on-year growth in skyscraper completions. While zero megatall (600-m-plus) and nine supertall buildings were completed in 013 (against one megatall and nine supertalls in 01), there was no shortage of activity in planning phases, suggesting that the malaise of the global recession may finally have been shaken off in many regions. In 014, CTBUH predicts that 65-90 buildings at least 00 m tall or more will be completed. This year will no doubt be an exciting Residential (30%) Hotel 4 (5%) Mixed-use (30%) Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 014 A chart of 013 s completed buildings by function Office 5 (34%) one and a year of continued growth. Up to 13 of scheduled completions in 014 will be supertalls, The Gran Torre Santiago (at 300 m) will be South America s tallest building and first supertall, and twisting towers will continue to enter the vanguard of tall in Tall Buildings 00 m or Taller Completed Each Year from 1960 to 015 58 www.elevatorworld.com April 014
014 (for example, the KKR Tower in Kuala Lumpur and the Spine Tower in Istanbul). One World Trade Center in NYC is to stand at its intended symbolic 1,776 feet (541 m), gaining status as North America s tallest building. A typically curvaceous Zaha Hadid-designed tower, the Wangjing SOHO T1, will be completed in Beijing this year. This building was the subject of piracy rumors early last year when a highly similar tower group, the Meiquan nd Century in Chongqing, was revealed. The race is on in earnest to see if the original finishes before the copy. The Shanghai Tower finished its concrete core in 013. The 63-m tower, originally set to be completed in 014, will boast the world s fastest elevators (EW, July 013), as well as innovative use of double skins and sky lobbies. Its construction has been and will continue to be one of the most closely watched tall-building spectacles. Even if its completion date slips into 015, as now seems likely, Shanghai Tower will likely be China s tallest building for at least a while, depending on the progress of rivals Ping An Finance Center (planned for 660 m in height), Wuhan Greenland Center (to be 636 m tall) and, possibly, the 0-story, underconstruction Sky City in Changsha, planned to reach 88 m in height upon its 014 completion (EW, October 013). Daniel Safarik is editor of CTBUH. A technical and marketing writer, he was the director of marketing for Brooks + Scarpa Architects from 008 to 011 and, for 14 years, has covered technology for such business publications as Waters Magazine, Fast Company, Advanced Trading and Individual Investor. He was a web editor for The Wall Street Journal and contributing writer on several books on industrial processes, and architectural and engineering design. Safarik holds a bachelor s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and a master s degree in Architecture from the University of Oregon Antony Wood has been executive director of CTBUH since 006. Prior to this, he was CTBUH vice-chairman for Europe and head of Research. Based at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Wood is also a studio associate professor at the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), where he convenes various tall-building design studios. A U.K. architect by training, his specialty is the design of tall buildings. Prior to joining the Council and IIT, he was an associate professor/lecturer in Architecture at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. from 001 006 and was an active member of various research teams. Prior to becoming an academic, he worked as an architect in practice in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and the U.K. from 1991 to 001. April 014 ELEVATOR WORLD 59