From humble beginnings in Chicago and New York in the late 19th Century,
skyscraper construction has proliferated.
Now appearing in almost every major city on our planet, these remarkable vertical structures
enable us to live and work in densely developed urban areas, maximising value from their sites.
But with engineering techniques and technology advancing, the next generation of skyscrapers
take things to a different level.
To celebrate these structures and demonstrate their impact across the world,
we’ve travelled from east to west and looked at the tallest skyscraper currently under construction on
each of the six inhabited continents.
Before we begin, it’s important to recognise that the status of development projects can
change quite regularly prior to construction work commencing –
and, as you will you see in several instances in this video, even thereafter.
To select projects, we have stipulated that each scheme must have at least broken ground
at the time of filming.
We begin our journey down under with Melbourne’s supertall Australia 108 tower.
Originally intended to stand 388 metres high, the scheme was scaled back to meet aviation
requirements and is now set to be 317 metres tall when completed in 2020.
Built in the historically swampy area of the city’s Southbank, Australia 108 required
more than 150, 2.1m diameter piles to be drilled to depths of up to 45 metres.
Passing the 200 metre mark in October 2018, the building is now two thirds complete.
Remarkably, the first residents began to move into the lower levels of the tower in June 2018 with
more than 50 storeys still to be constructed above them.
Once fully completed, Australia 108 is set become the country’s second tallest building
– after the 322 metre Q1 on the Gold Coast
– and the first building in the Southern hemisphere to have 100 storeys.
Quite literally topping the list – not just in Asia, but worldwide – the Jeddah Tower
is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia.
While its official height is being kept under wraps, the structure is expected to stand
over a kilometre tall,
surpassing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to become the world's tallest
building when it competes in 2021.
Designed by the same architect, the design of the Jeddah Tower features a number of similarities
to the Burj Khalifa – including a three-point base, tapered profile and an impressive spire.
The project has proven controversial since inception.
Despite construction work commencing
in 2013, progress has been very slow and the tower remains unfinished.
Like other schemes on our journey, the Jeddah Tower’s completion has been plagued with
doubt and the scheme was recently placed on-hold due to a number of factors – including two
of its backers being caught-up in Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption purge and the financial difficulties
resulting from a 70% drop in the value of the tower’s main developer,
the Kingdom Group, since 2014.
Currently standing around 300 metres high, the official word from developers is that
the project is still progressing. But with little movement seen over recent months – aside
from the construction of some ground-level amenities – the tower’s 2021 completion
date could be delayed.
Giving Africa its first “supertall” skyscraper, the Pinnacle is set to rise 320 metres above
Nairobi in Kenya, surpassing the 222 metre Carlton Centre in Johannesburg and becoming
the continent’s tallest building.
With the wider development, in fact, consisting of two towers, the 67 storey structure will
provide office space, luxury residential apartments
and amenities including a helipad for residents and commercial tenants.
With initial pilling and foundation work commencing
in 2017, the project was halted early in 2018 due to disputes over land ownership.
Though not officially on-hold, the project is currently postponed until at least February
2019 when the case is set to go before the courts.
Should the project be cancelled, the 250 metre Bank of Africa Tower in Morocco – which
commenced construction in November 2018
would take the title of Africa's tallest building.
With the topping out of the Lakhta Center in St Petersburg, the 435-metre Akhmat Tower
in Chechnya officially became the tallest building under construction in Europe according
to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Though officially under construction and enjoying strong support from the Chechen government,
the project remains postponed – with only the foundation works completed to date.
The project is facing a range of challenges from questions over the disclosure of its
investors and the need for a building of this scale in a city of only 270,000 people to
rumours of costs soaring from USD $500M to more than USD $1BN and the completion date
slipping back from 2020 to 2024.
With the project looking uncertain, Warsaw’s Varso Tower could be considered the tallest
skyscraper currently under construction in Europe with its final height set to reach 310 metres.
Heading to South America, the twin towers of the Yacht House Residences Club in Brazil
are expected to complete in 2019.
Though not reaching supertall status, these 271 metre, 81 storey, towers will become the
tallest buildings in Brazil and second tallest on the continent once completed.
With a comparatively small population of just under 400,000, the beachside resort of Balneario
Camboriu is soon to be home to 6 of the 10 tallest buildings in Brazil and will have
the same number of skyscrapers
that is, buildings exceeding 150 metres in height
as Rio and Sao Paulo combined.
Finally, in North America, New York’s Central Park Tower is set to become the second tallest
building in the United States after One World Trade Center and world's tallest residential
building when it completes in 2020.
First breaking ground in 2014, the tower will feature 95 habitable floors.
Retailer Nordstrom is set to occupy the first seven levels, while the summit will feature
a three-storey penthouse – priced at USD $95M.
As the tower clears surrounding buildings, it increases its floor area by cantilevering
over the Art Students League of New York building – a move made possible after developers
purchased air rights from the neighbouring property.
Having surpassed the halfway mark, Central Park Tower is the now the latest is a series
of super-slender residential towers to appear on the Manhattan skyline, as developers seek
to drive value from small parcels of land in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
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