CTBUH 2014 Year in Review Completions by City Completions by Country Completions Timeline Completions by City Completions by Country Completions by Country Completions by Function Completions by Location Completions by Material Completions by Country Completions Timeline Tallest by Year
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2014 Year in Review: Record Completion Total

At the beginning of each year The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat publishes a study and report (download PDF) that examines all 200m+ tall buildings that were completed during the previous year. Click the tabs below to see charts related to each topic. The charts and descriptions are interactive so you can click on them to view more information on The Skyscraper Center, our tall building database.

Completions by Country

 

Note: Only countries with at least two completions in 2014 are included in this chart. One tall building 200m+ in height was also completed during 2014 in these countries: Chile, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Vietnam.

Once again, for the seventh year in a row, China completed the most 200-meter-plus buildings (58). This represents 60% of the global 2014 total, and a 61% increase over its previous record of 36 in 2013.

The Philippines took second place with five completions, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar share position three with four completions, and the United States, Japan, Indonesia and Canada tie for fourth, with three completions each.

Japan marked its first entry into the supertall stakes with the completion of the 300-meter Abeno Harukas in Osaka, becoming the country’s tallest building.

This was the "tallest year ever" by another measure: The sum of heights of all 200-meter-plus buildings completed across the globe in 2014 was 23,333 meters – setting another all-time record and breaking 2011’s previous record of 19,852 meters.

Completions by City

 

Note: Only cities with at least two completions in 2014 are included in this chart. One tall building 200 m+ in height was also completed during 2014 in these cities: Brisbane, Busan, Changsha, Foshan, Haikou, Hanoi, Harbin, Istanbul, Izmir, Jeddah, Jinan, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, Kuwait City, Liuzhou, London, Manila, Melbourne, Nanjing, Nanning, Nantong, Osaka, Riyadh, Santiago, Shenzhen, Singapore, Taipei, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou.

China's dominance of the tall-building industry can be seen in this completions by city chart. Of the 25 cities with two or more 200m+ completitions, 16 of them are located in China.

Tianjin, China was the city that completed the most 200m+ buildings with six. Chongqing, Wuhan, and Wuxi, China, along with Doha, Qatar all tied for second place with four completions each.

Although it didn't have as many completions as some other cities this was a triumphant year for New York City, for more reasons than one. At 541 meters, One World Trade Center, New York, was the tallest building to complete in 2014 and is now the world’s third-tallest. Its 298-meter neighbor, 4 World Trade Center, also joined the ranks as the 12th-tallest building to complete in 2014. The completions of these two structures are important milestones in a long and often tortuous rebuilding process after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Meanwhile, midtown New York marked the completion of One57, a 306-meter residential tower. All of these completions point toward a resurgent skyscraper city in New York, which is one of the reasons CTBUH will hold its 2015 conference there.

Completions Timeline

 

The 97 buildings completed in 2014 beat every previous year on record, including the previous record high of 81 completions in 2011.

A total of 11 supertalls (buildings of 300m or higher) completed in 2014 – the highest annual total on record. Since 2010, 46 supertalls have been completed, representing 54% of the supertalls that currently exist (85).

Completions by Location

 

Asia’s dominance of the tall-building industry increased yet again in 2014. Seventy-four of the 97 buildings completed in 2014, or 76%, were in Asia.

South America welcomed its first supertall, the 300-meter Torre Costanera of Santiago, Chile, which was also the only building of 200 meters or greater to complete on the continent in 2014.

Completions by Function

 

In 2014, 47 all-office buildings were completed (48% of the total), the largest total ever, versus 31 (38% of the total) in 2011, the previous record high.

Completions by Material

 

A majority of 2014 completions used composite construction as the primary structural system – 52 out of 97 (54% ), as compared to 24 out of 71 (34%) in 2013. The number of buildings whose predominant structural material is concrete dropped to 38% in 2014 from 61% in 2013.

Skyline: Tallest Building by Year

Tallest By Year Emirates Tower One Two International Finance Centre Menara Telekom Kingdom Centre Two International Finance Centre Taipei 101 Q1 Tower Shimao International Plaza Rose Rayhaan Shanghai World Financial Center Trump International Hotel & Tower Burj Khalifa KK100 Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower 2 One World Trade Center


At 541 meters, One World Trade Center was the tallest building to complete in 2014 and is now the world’s third-tallest building.

Average Building Height

 

Although the average height of all 200m+ completions seems to fluctuate each year, the average height of the tallest 100 buildings continues to rise as the industry pushes itself further into the sky.

World's 100 Tallest by Location

 

World's 100 Tallest by Function

 

World's 100 Tallest by Material

 

All-steel continued its decline as a primary structural material, comprising only 5% of 2014’s 200-meter-plus completions and 13% of the world’s 100 tallest buildings, though it showed a slight uptick from 3% in 2013.

List of 2014 Completions

Rank Building Name City Stories m ft
1 One World Trade Center New York City, US 94 541 1,776
2 World Trade Center Abu Dhabi - The Residences Abu Dhabi, UAE 88 381 1,251
3 The Wharf Times Square 1 Wuxi, China 68 339 1,112
4 Wuxi Suning Plaza 1 Wuxi, China 68 328 1,076
5 Moi Center Tower A Shenyang, China 75 311 1,020
6 Burj Rafal Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 68 308 1,010
7 One57 New York City, US 75 306 1,005
8 Wuxi Maoye City - Marriott Hotel Wuxi, China 68 304 997
9 Shenzhen Changcheng Center Shenzhen, China 61 303 994
= 10 Torre Costanera Santiago, Chile 62 300 984
= 10 Abeno Harukas Osaka, Japan 60 300 984
12 4 World Trade Center New York City, US 65 298 977
13 R&F Yingkai Square Guangzhou, China 66 296 972
14 Busan International Finance Center Landmark Tower Busan, South Korea 63 289 948
= 15 Soochow International Plaza East Tower Huzhou, China 50 288 945
= 15 Soochow International Plaza West Tower Huzhou, China 50 288 945
17 World Trade Center Abu Dhabi - The Offices Abu Dhabi, UAE 60 278 912
18 Lotte Center Hanoi, Vietnam 66 272 892
19 Aura at College Park Toronto, Canada 78 272 892
20 Fortune Financial Center Beijing, China 61 267 876
21 PTJ International Finance Center Wuhan, China 56 264 866
= 22 SunnyWorld Center Shenyang, China 59 260 853
= 22 Yuyang Tower Fuzhou, China 56 260 853
24 Chongqing International Trade and Commerce Center 2 Chongqing, China 47 256 839
25 Toranomon Hills Tokyo, Japan 52 256 838
26 Prima Pearl Apartments Melbourne, Australia 72 254 833
27 Raffles Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia 52 253 831
28 The Pakubuwono Signature Jakarta, Indonesia 50 252 827
= 29 Altez @ Anson Enggor Street Singapore, Singapore 62 250 820
= 29 Center 66 Tower 1 Wuxi, China 44 250 820
31 Haihang International Plaza Tower A Haikou, China 54 250 820
32 Infinity Brisbane, Australia 81 249 817
= 33 Chengdu International Finance Square Tower 1 Chengdu, China 50 247 810
= 33 Chengdu International Finance Square Tower 2 Chengdu, China 50 247 810
35 Asia Pacific Tower & Jinling Hotel Nanjing, China 57 242 794
= 36 Crystal Tower Kuwait City, Kuwait 52 240 787
= 36 Yuexing Universal Mall Tower A Shanghai, China 45 240 787
= 36 Yuexing Universal Mall Tower B Shanghai, China 45 240 787
39 Discovery Primea Makati, Philippines 67 239 783
= 40 Tsingdao Center Tower A Qingdao, China 51 238 782
= 40 Tsingdao Center Tower B Qingdao, China 51 238 782
= 42 SunnyWorld Center Main Tower Nanchang, China 53 236 774
= 42 Louvre International Furniture Headquarters Building Foshan, China 43 236 774
44 The Buildings By Daman Dubai, UAE 65 235 771
45 Ligao International Nanchang, China 42 232 760
46 Sankee Plaza Nanning, China 50 231 758
47 Grand Riviera Suites Manila, Philippines 57 230 755
48 Bofu International Plaza Office Tower Changsha, China 60 228 748
= 49 One Shangri-la Place North Tower Mandaluyong, Philippines 64 227 745
= 49 One Shangri-la Place South Tower Mandaluyong, Philippines 64 227 745
51 Agricultural Science and Technology International Center Harbin, China 43 226 741
= 52 The Leadenhall Building London, UK 50 224 735
= 52 Al Jawhara Tower Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 48 224 735
54 The Bay Gate Dubai, UAE 53 221 725
55 Knightsbridge Residences Makati, Philippines 60 220 722
56 Kunming Iron and Steel Building Kunming, China 50 219 719
57 Guangdong Development Bank Building Wuhan, China 51 219 717
58 Zhejiang International Building Wuhan, China 48 216 709
= 59 Tianjin Kerry Center R1 Tianjin, China 59 215 705
= 59 Tianjin Kerry Center R2 Tianjin, China 59 215 705
= 59 Tianjin Kerry Center R3 Tianjin, China 59 215 705
62 Cathay Life Xinyi A3 Taipei, Taiwan, China 46 212 696
63 Xindi Center Office Tower 1 Hefei, China 50 211 692
64 Jushang Plaza Liuzhou, China 42 211 691
= 65 Crowne Plaza Tower 1 Chongqing, China 50 210 689
= 65 Crowne Plaza Tower 2 Chongqing, China 50 210 689
= 65 KKR2 Tower Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 37 210 689
68 Wall Street Plaza Nanchang, China 50 209 687
69 Huabang World Trade City Tower 1 Hefei, China 50 209 686
70 Hubin Plaza Taiyuan, China 47 208 682
71 Hanjiang International Tower Wuhan, China 41 207 679
72 Ciputra World Residential Tower Jakarta, Indonesia 49 207 679
73 GT Land Landmark Plaza North Tower Guangzhou, China 46 207 678
= 74 L Tower Toronto, Canada 58 205 673
= 74 Wanyin International 2 Hangzhou, China 43 205 673
= 76 Cross Strait Exchange Center Phase 2 Tower A Xiamen, China 49 205 672
= 76 Cross Strait Exchange Center Phase 2 Tower B Xiamen, China 49 205 672
78 Glory International Center Chongqing, China 45 204 669
79 ICE Condos at York Centre 1 Toronto, Canada 57 202 664
= 80 Maslak Spine Tower Istanbul, Turkey 47 202 663
= 80 Shenglong Center Fuzhou, China 44 202 663
82 Provincial Cultural Center Building 2 Jinan, China 48 200 657
= 83 City Center Hotel Doha, Qatar 58 200 656
= 83 Shangri-La Hotel Doha, Qatar 58 200 656
= 83 Dicara Gold Tower - Hilton Hotel Hangzhou, China 55 200 656
= 83 Merwebhotel City Center Doha, Qatar 51 200 656
= 83 R&F Center Tower 1 Tianjin, China 47 200 656
= 83 R&F Center Tower 2 Tianjin, China 47 200 656
= 83 International Islamic Tower Doha, Qatar 46 200 656
= 83 Wangjing SOHO T3 Beijing, China 45 200 656
= 83 Wanyin International 3 Hangzhou, China 41 200 656
= 83 Folkart Tower A Izmir, Turkey 40 200 656
= 83 Golf Hotel Nantong, China 40 200 656
= 83 Zhengzhou Resources Center Zhengzhou, China 40 200 656
= 83 Binhai Cathay Tower Tianjin, China 37 200 656
= 83 The Yomiuri Shimbun Building Tokyo, Japan 33 200 656
97 Guangzhou Greenland Baiyun Center Guangzhou, China 45 200 656

Total # of 200m+ Buildings

 

The number of 200-meter-plus buildings in existence has hit 935, a 352% increase from 2000.

Buildings Entering 100 Tallest

 

As skyscrapers "surge," a number of tall buildings enter the 100 Tallest Buildings list each year. Since 2010, at least 12 buildings have entered the list annually. With high projected supertall numbers for 2015 and 2016 completions, it might not be long before we see a year pass the 2011 record.

Skyline: Tallest 2014 Completions

2014 Skyline One World Trade Center World Trade Center Abu Dhabi - The Residences The Wharf Times Square 1 Wuxi Suning Plaza 1 Moi Center Tower A Burj Rafal One57 Wuxi Maoye City - Marriott Hotel Heung Kong Tower Torre Costanera Abeno Harukas 4 World Trade Center R&F Yingkai Square Busan International Finance Center Landmark Tower Soochow International Plaza West Tower Soochow International Plaza East Tower World Trade Center Abu Dhabi - The Offices Lotte Center Aura at College Park Fortune Financial Centre