- Melbourne and Sydney both feature in the 'World's Tallest Building List' of 2020
- New York's Central Park Tower takes out the top spot for the year
- 2020 saw a dip in the year-on-year completions
As for many people across the world, those in the tall building industry will remember 2020 as the year that little went to plan. The pandemic saw countless building projects globally grind to a halt.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has reported 106 ‘tall’ buildings were completed last year, a 20% decline from the previous year.
To make the list a building must be considered ‘tall’ which is when it is 200 metres or higher.
So who made the podium for 2020’s tallest towers? Let’s have a look…
2020’s Gold Medal – Central Park Tower
The tallest building to be completed was New York City’s Central Park Tower – reaching 472 metres. This breaks China’s four year streak of taking out the top spot.
This is also the first time since 2014 that there has not been a tower higher than 500 metres completed.
2020’s Silver Medal – One Vanderbilt
New York also takes out second place with One Vanderbilt at 427 metres.
2020’s Bronze Medal – Nanning China Resources Tower
The bronze spot goes to Nanning China Resources Tower which reaches 403 metres.
China alone accounts for 56 buildings – more than half in the study.
Melbourne’s Australia 108
Melbourne’s new tallest building, Australia 108, came in 16th globally at 317 metres.
This tower is now the second tallest in Australia and the 131st tallest in the world.
Sydney’s One Barangaroo
Sydney’s new tallest building is One Barangaroo, it was the 34th tower on the list reaching 271 metres.
This tower is the fourth tallest in Australia and 313rd in the world.
What does the future hold for tall buildings in the world?
CTBUH predicts between 125 and 150 tall buildings will be completed in 2021. The council predicts that COVID-19 will impact investment and construction for a while to come. They have already seen some projects extending their completion dates from this year to 2022.
Interestingly, the two tallest buildings predicted for this year are in New York and Wuhan – two cities hit hardest by the pandemic.
