There are now 100 supertall skyscrapers around the world

Photo: 432ParkAvenue.com

There are now 100 supertall skyscrapers around the world, as towering buildings becoming an increasingly common sight on global city skylines.

On 23rd December 2015, the first people began to occupy units in the newly completed 432 Park Avenue in New York City. At 425.5 meters, it is the tallest all-residential building in the world and the 14th-tallest overall. It also takes the number of supertall buildings to over 100 around the globe.

A "supertall" building is officially classed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as a building that is at least 300 metres tall.

"The construction of supertall buildings has increased at an astounding rate in recent years, an indicator of the tremendous growth within the global tall building industry," comments the CTBUH.

Indeed. the first 50 supertalls took 80 years to complete, between 1930 and 2010, but the number has doubled in the last five years, as limited land in urban areas where the population is rapidly growing require the creation of new housing in tight spaces - and rising property prices normalise the prevalence of luxury developments.

"New York has remained an active center for supertall construction in the Americas," comments CTBUH. "With this most recent completion – the city’s seventh – New York now has the second-highest number of supertall skyscrapers in the world. Meanwhile, Dubai continues to dominate with 18."

The trend is only set to accelerate, however, with over 100 supertall skyscrapers currently topped out or under construction that are scheduled to be completed in the next five to six years. That includes Jeddah Tower, which will become the world’s tallest building and the first kilometer-high building upon completion - creating a new class of building, "Megatall", which refers to those over 600 metres high.