Global Trends in High-Rise Design

Few would dispute that we are in a tall building boom unprecedented in terms of its global scale, with ever-denser cities and ever-taller buildings being proposed from Moscow to the Middle East, from Shanghai to San Francisco. Even taking into account such golden periods of skyscraper construction during turn-of-the-twentieth century Chicago or art deco New York, we are most likely experiencing the greatest level of tall building development ever, certainly on an international scale. But what is driving this unprecedented international boom? The following discussion identifies some of the usual drivers, and perhaps some surprising ones. 1. Land Prices. Always a driver for tall buildings but increasingly so now as many cities, especially in countries like the US and UK, seek to re-populate their urban centres with residential-recreational compliments to the predominantly commercial-retail central business district stock. These relatively new markets are helping drive up city centre land prices, which makes building tall for investment return increasingly necessary. 2. Global Icons. Building super-tall has never been just about increasing th