Record-High Number of Skyscrapers Completed in 2017, Study Finds

The 20 tallest buildings of 2017
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Ping An Finance Center by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Completions by location
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Lotte World Tower by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Completions by function
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Marina 101 by the National Engineering Bureau
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Completions by material
Image courtesy Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
2017 was a record-setting year for tall buildings, according to a new report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Last year, 144 buildings reaching 200 meters (656 feet) or taller were completed—more than in any previous year. Asia accounted for a whopping 76 percent of these newly finished structures, with China continuing its streak of having the most skyscraper completions of the year.
Fifteen supertall buildings (defined by CTBUH as structures at least 300 meters high) were built in 2017, bringing the total number of supertall structures to 126. The tallest completed last year was China’s Ping An Finance Center, which was designed by New York City-based firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF). The 599-meter-high skyscraper is now the world’s second tallest building, behind Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Burj Khalifa in Dubai. KPF also designed the Lotte World Tower, which was completed in April, becoming South Korea’s tallest skyscraper.
Visit CTBUH’s interactive page for more.