Chicago and New York may have begun the trend to reach for the skies but the twenty first century home of the tall building is undoubtedly Asia.
This is illustrated by figures showing that nearly 75 per cent of skyscrapers completed in 2013 were built in the region, with China leading the way.
The industry report, Year in Review: Tall Trends of 2013 from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, reveals that 53 skyscrapers over 200 metres tall were completed in Asian countries last year – a 19 per cent increase on the previous year.
Asia’s dominance during 2013 was such that its closest rival, the Middle East, was well behind on 16 per cent. Europe and Central America accounted for 5 and 3 per cent of construction respectively.
This eastward shift is confirmed by the fact that North America, once the natural home of the skyscraper, was responsible for just a single percentage point of tall building development last year. Meanwhile Asia now contains around 45 per cent of the tallest buildings in the world.
A breakdown of the figures by function shows that 70 per cent of the skyscraper construction that took place globally in 2013 was for commercial usage.
Office development accounted for 34 per cent of total construction, followed by mixed-use development at 30 per cent. Residential accommodation also stood at 30 per cent with hotel construction completing the picture.
Overall, the report shows that skyscraper construction is on the rise once again following a fall in the number of completions during 2012.
Since the beginning of the twenty first century the number of buildings over 200 metres tall has risen from 261 to 830 – an astonishing increase in just 14 years.
“From this point of view,” the report says, “we can more confidently estimate that the slight slowdown of 2012 (…) was a blip and that 2013 was more representative of the general upward trend.”
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