beyondbrics

There are many ways for emerging economies to announce themselves on the world stage. Hosting a big sporting event is one (the Beijing Olympics leap to mind). Another is to build a very tall building – hopefully, for a while, the tallest in the world.

And when it comes to big buildings, China leads the way – in an understated fashion.

The skyscraper is most associated with the US. New York was for decades the tall-building capital of the world and held that reputation even though the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower in Chicago was the tallest building in the US. Hong Kong has always been a vertical city, given the pressure on land space. And in recent years, a few smatterings of tall buildings in Asia held the world’s tallest title – the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, followed by Taipei 101.

Then came The Burj in Dubai – significanty bigger than anything else by some distance, at over 800m (Taipei 101 is around 500m).

And yet the country that leads the way in building big is China. It may not have the very tallest but it has got many of the rest.

A list of the top 100 tallest buildings in the world (completed, not in construction) shows that China has 32 – just shy of a third. Next is the US with 24. The UAE has 19. That leaves the rest of the world with only 25.

But of that 25, most are in emerging markets. In fact, EMs count for 68 of the world’s top 100 buildings.

Source: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

And the Chinese surge is amazing: 23 of China’s 32 were completed since 2000. As for New York, four of its seven in the top 100 were built in the 1930s – a bygone if golden age. Of the top 100 overall, over 50 per cent were built this side of 2000.

And where are the next clutch of buildings being built? China and India. Of the top 58 buildings that are still under construction or topped out (ie excluding the 42 buildings listed in the top 100 where construction has stopped), China has a whopping 25. Five of those will be over 500m tall. India has 11, UAE has six.

Source: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

In terms of sheer volume – in skyscrapers as in much else – China leads the way. Whether such buildings represent money well spent is another matter.

Related reading:
Skyscrapers: why they strive for the highest, FT
London’s latest landmark, FT
China bears should look to the skies, beyondbrics
Asia: heads in the clouds, beyondbrics
Cities increase resolve to build themselves into the skies, FT