Number of new skyscrapers globally drops over 20% amid Covid-19 slowdown

The number of new skyscrapers built globally dropped more than 20% in 2020, according to data released this week by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

Last year saw the completion of 106 new buildings measuring 200 meters (656 feet) or above, down from 133 in 2019 — and the lowest total since 2014.

The CTBUH largely attributed the slowdown to Covid-19, as projects around the world “ground to a halt” amid restrictions on assembly, said its annual report. Though the group was only able to find nine projects directly blaming delays on the pandemic, it assumed that “many more” had “encountered difficulties” as a consequence.

Last year’s tallest new building, the 1,550-foot Central Park Tower in New York. Credit: Courtesy of Lester Ali

Nonetheless, China still accounted for more than half of the year’s new 200-meter-plus towers — and half of the year’s top ten, including a 339-meter (1,112-foot) skyscraper in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

The fifth tallest building of the year, Shum Yip Upperhills Tower 1 in Shenzhen. Credit: Courtesy of Dave Burk

Dubai, New York still rising

The slowdown in China resulted in several other countries and cities featuring prominently in the year’s construction figures. Dubai completed more new skyscrapers than any other city last year, with its total of 12 completions knocking Shenzhen off the top spot for the first time since 2015.

New York City was home to the year’s two tallest new buildings: the 472-meter (1,550-foot) Central Park Tower and the 427-meter (1,401-foot) One Vanderbilt. It marked the first time in five years that the world’s tallest new building was competed outside China.

Elsewhere, India and Mexico both welcomed their new tallest buildings — in Mumbai and Monterrey respectively — in 2020. And despite the economic uncertainty caused by Brexit, London completed four 200-meter-plus buildings, the highest figure for the UK’s capital in a single year.

ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai, which welcomed more 200-meter-plus buildings than any other city in the world last year. Credit: Courtesy of Fosters+Partners

Looking ahead, the CTBUH said it expected worldwide completions to bounce back next year, predicting between 125 and 150 new 200-meter-plus buildings globally in 2021.

But its report also suggested the long-term impact of Covid-19 may yet to be fully realized. High-rise buildings take years to complete, meaning a drop in investment now may affect completion data further down the line.

“As tall buildings are often lagging economic indicators, any chilling effect that economic conditions or work interruptions may have had on new project starts, or projects that were under construction in 2020 … remains to be seen,” the report reads. “It must be remembered, the economic crisis of 2008 was not reflected on skylines, in terms of lower completion rates, until 2010 and 2011.”

Pictured top: Shanghai’s Qiantan Center, the 27th tallest building completed in the world in 2020.