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Architecture News

2015 Was a Record-Setting Year for Tall Buildings, Report Finds

By Anna Fixsen
CTBUH Report 2015

The tallest three buildings completed in 2015 were Gensler's Shanghai Tower, Rafael Viñoly's 432 Park Avenue, and SOM's OKO Residential Tower in Moscow.

Photos © Gensler, Macklowe Properties, and Boris Bochkarev

CTBUH Report 2015

Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

CTBUH Report 2015

Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

CTBUH Report 2015

Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

CTBUH Report 2015

Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

CTBUH Report 2015
CTBUH Report 2015
CTBUH Report 2015
CTBUH Report 2015
CTBUH Report 2015
January 22, 2016

2015 may have been a record-busting year for global temperatures, weightlifting, and Adele, but now, according to a report released this week, it was also an unmatched year for skyscrapers.

Findings from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s (CTBUH) annual report show that 106 buildings taller than 200 meters (656 feet) were completed last year—the most ever. Upping the ante, 13 supertalls (defined by CTBUH as buildings at least 300 meters tall) were completed in 2015, yet another milestone.    

By CTBUH’s estimate, the combined height of these buildings comes to 25,926 meters—just over 16-miles worth of skyscraper. Not surprisingly, more than three-quarters of these towers were completed in Asia. China alone completed more than half of them. Even North Korea hopped on the bandwagon, completing its first tall building, the Mirae Scientists Street Residential Tower last year.

The tallest building completed in 2015 was Gensler’s Shanghai Tower, clocking in at 632 meters (2,073 feet), making it the world’s second-tallest building after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Check out CTBUH’s interactive data page here.

CTBUH 2015 Infographic

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Anna Fixsen was a staff writer and editor for Architectural Record from 2013 to 2017, during which time she covered topics ranging from new projects to human rights, and edited Firms to Watch—a special section devoted to emerging architecture firms.

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