Tall Building Milestones of 2013
By Lucas on Feb 04, 2014
Modern Media Center - Image via building.am
By Penny Munoz
Coming in just eight buildings short from the all-time record set in 2011, 2013 was the second most successful year on record for completing buildings of 200 meters or higher, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). With 73 such buildings reaching completion this past year, the organization speculated on the apparent increase from 2012 suggesting that "Perhaps 2012, with its small year-on-year drop in completions, was the last year to register the full effect of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, and a small sigh of relief can be let out in the tall-building industry as we begin 2014."
For 2013, the CTBUH has outlined some of the most ground-breaking moments in the industry, recognizing excellence all over the world. This short list of the milestones will keep you up to date!
Nine super tall towers were completed for the fourth consecutive year, including the 82-storey, 1,166 foot JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower 2, Moscow’s Mercury City Tower and London’s The Shard. This is an epic achievement, as almost half of the world’s super tall towers (47%) have been completed in the last four years, bringing us to a total of 77 super tall towers worldwide.
Between 12-16% of all the buildings completed were listed as one of 100 Tallest Buildings in the World, making the combined sum heights of all 200 meter or greater buildings for the year 17,662 meters—second again to 2011’s record of 21,642 meters.
At the top of the list for most completions of 200 meters or higher was China...for the sixth year in a row! With 37 buildings spread across 22 cities including the Modern Media Center in Changzhou which is 332 meters in height.
Korea was second on this list of most tall completions in Asia, with nine buildings reaching completion by the end of the year.
Overall, Asia had 74% of global completions with a grand total of 53 buildings in 2013, making it the continent with the most amount of tall towers, containing about 45 percent of the 100 Tallest Buildings in the World.
For the first time since 1953, Europe had two of the tallest buildings completed in a year.
- Central America now has 19 buildings over 200 meters high with Panama’s addition of two towers, the 267-meter Bicsa Financial Tower and the 246-meter Yoo and Arts Tower, both located in the heart of Panama City.
