Group: 2008 Record Year for Skyscraper Construction

The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has released data showing that despite the economic downturn that overtook the world in 2008, it was the single most successful year for tall building construction in history, both in terms of skyscrapers built and average height achieved.

Furthermore, iconic structures are expected to continue to rise across the globe, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, to the point that the world’s current tallest building—the Taipei 101—is likely to be in 20th place worldwide by 2020.

“Numerous examples from history demonstrate that tall buildings are frequently conceived at the economic height of a market and, due to the time required to construct them, completed during recessions,” says Antony Wood, executive director of CTBUH. “For the bravest of developers with good financial backing, now is actually the best time to start a new skyscraper project—labor and materials are cheap and the project is likely to be delivered in an economic upswing again.”

The buildings that made CTBUH’s just-released “Ten Tallest Buildings Completed in 2008” list average 1,048 ft. in height—more than 100 ft. taller than the previous highest average of tall buildings completed in a single year, set in 1998. China’s Shanghai World Financial Center tops the list as the world’s tallest building completed in 2008 at 1,614 ft.

CTBUH’s data also show that the tallest buildings in the world are likely to increase in height with each passing decade regardless of economic cycles.

In its newly released list predicting the “Tallest 20 Buildings in 2020,” CTBUH surmises that today’s iconic supertall buildings such as the Petronas, Sears and Empire State Towers (the last of which has been in the World’s Tallest Ten Buildings for more than 70 years) will not even make the list a decade or two from now.

CTBUH also reports a seismic shift in the location of tall building construction over the last two decades, a trend that is expected to continue.

Twenty years ago, the world’s future tallest buildings would have been predicted to be in North America, of steel construction and composed of office space. Today, nearly the exact opposite is true. They are more likely to be located in Asia or the Middle East, be constructed of concrete, and be for residential or mixed-use functions. In fact, there are now more tall buildings in Asia than in North America.

Additional CTBUH 2020 predictions include:

• Though several of the towers on the current 2020 list may not advance to construction on site, and thus eventual completion, additional supertall buildings—ones eligible for inclusion on the Tallest 20 in 2020 list—will be proposed as the world comes out of recession.

• The next “World’s Tallest Building,” the Burj Dubai (scheduled for completion in 2009), will likely remain as such for at least a decade.

• A kilometer-high tower will be achieved sometime in the 2020s.

Full lists and images of the “Ten Tallest Buildings Completed in 2008” and the “20 Tallest Buildings in 2020” are available at www.ctbuh.org on the Internet.

Architecture Billings Remain at Historically Low Levels

Following consecutive months with record low scores, with the Architecture Billings Index moved up modestly in December, signifying that the design industry remains mired in a steep downturn, the American Institute of Architects reported.

A score above 50 indicates an increase in billings, but the Midwest ABI was 35.5, and the national ABI was 36.4, up from the 34.7 mark in November. The inquiries for new projects score was 37.7.

The sector index breakdown was mixed practice (45.1), institutional (39.3), multi-family residential (30.0) and commercial / industrial (28.1).

Chicago Architecture Handbook Gets National Recognition

A guide jointly produced by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and the Chicago Public Schools is a recipient of an Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement award from the national the American Institute of Architects.

The Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings, by Jennifer Masengarb with Krisann Rehbein, came together via a collaborative process including educators, practitioners and students and reaches well beyond the mechanics of CAD and BIM skills. It features an accompanying CD and teachers’ edition.

“The book refocuses emphasis away from strictly acquiring technical drawing skills and towards the application of those skills in the service of studying the design process, architectural history, preservation, geography, urban studies, and sociology to explore the built environment,” wrote Peter Ellis, an architect with Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLC, in support of the nomination.

The award recognizes and encourages distinguished achievements of allied professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities and others who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession. The five other winners are outside the Midwest.

Indiana Officials Learn About Going Green

Officials from Indiana learned to incorporate ideas for greener communities when they convene recently at the Greening Indiana Cities and Towns meeting.

The meeting was held in conjunction with the 2009 Indiana Building Green Symposium.

Amy Malick, regional director of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, moderated a panel discussion of government officials from around the state on topics ranging from a discussion of current initiatives and how to understand challenges, to creating successes in the effort to go green.