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Ever wondered when the high-rises in downtown Los Angeles were built? This two-minute video of animated renderings by Commercial Cafe provides a brief history and date for most of the skyscrapers downtown, from City Hall to the Wilshire Grand, concluding with a color-coded erection sequence by... View full entry
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially declared the Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen as the world's fourth tallest building — knocking One World Trade Center down to Number 5 in the CTBUH's ten tallest buildings in the world. Rising above Futian District at 599 meters, the... View full entry
Construction on the Hudson Yards supertall set to replace the McDonalds at the corner of 34th Street and Tenth Avenue will begin sometime next year...Standing 985-feet tall, the building will divided into three distinct sections stacked one atop the other...The design team has also planned what it’s calling a “halo” to be located atop the building...The interiors are comprised of column-free floors that span at least 50,000 square-feet, and each floor can accommodate at least 500 people. — ny.curbed.com
More about the Hudson Yards development on Archinect:Construction begins on Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the Rockwell Group's “shape-shifting“ arts center in ManhattanBIG-designed "The Spiral" Hudson Yards tower is inching closer to becoming realityRenderings of Thomas Heatherwick's "Vessel"... View full entry
This post is brought to you by 2017 Skyscraper Competition. Since 2006 eVolo Magazine invites architects and designers around the world to imagine the skyscraper of the future. The annual Skyscraper Competition explores new possibilities of building high through the use of novel technologies... View full entry
The 632-meter Shanghai Tower made it to the top once again, this time for the coveted Emporis Skyscraper Award. Since 2000, the Emporis Skyscraper Award recognizes outstanding skyscraper design worldwide...This year's competition reeled in more than 300 skyscrapers — all of which are over 100 meters tall and had to be completed in 2015. — Bustler
Another skyscraper in China won first prize in the Emporis Skyscraper Award, following Zaha Hadid’s Wangjing SOHO project in the 2014 edition. Here are a few of the top 10 skyscrapers in the latest Emporis competition:Evolution Tower | Moscow, Russia by Kettle Collective, RMJM EdinburghD... View full entry
Visually changing skylines aside, new sky-high structures get a shot at prestigious recognition in the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's Tall Building Awards. The yearly awards highlight noteworthy tall-building projects worldwide and the impact they have on inhabitants and their urban surroundings, as well as innovative design and construction methods that push the industry forward. — Bustler
A little sneak peek:Best Tall Building - Middle East & Africa: The Cube, Beirut10 Year Award: Hearst Tower, New YorkUrban Habitat Award: Wuhan Tiandi, WuhanSee the rest of the winners plus the Best Tall Building regional finalists over on Bustler.Previously on Archinect:A glimpse at the... View full entry
By living above 800 feet, Estis and Enkin are two members of an unexpectedly exclusive group in Manhattan. In my estimation, no more than 40 people currently live above that line, scattered among just three buildings...
As my elevator descended and my ears popped, it occurred to me that I would almost certainly never take in such a view again. And in fact, maybe nobody will, if these apartments wind up becoming empty investments.
— The New York Times
In this elegantly observed and exquisitely written piece, Jon Ronson not only takes in the view of Manhattan at 800+ feet with visits to Trump World Tower, One57, and 8 Spruce Street but looks toward the future of a nation divided by an increasingly intractable wealth gap. Real estate of the... View full entry
Elevator manufacturer Otis will build the world’s tallest elevator test tower in Shanghai, as part of the company’s bid to develop lifts for skyscrapers in China and around the world.
The elevator test tower will be 270 metres high and it is an anticipated to be the tallest above-ground test tower in the world upon completion, Otis said on Tuesday.
— GB Times
In addition to being the home of the tallest building in the world with Gensler's Shanghai Tower, in 2018 Shanghai will also have the distinction of having the globe's tallest elevator test tower, which, to judge from Otis' renderings, could be described generously as occupying the extreme end of... View full entry
Santiago Calatrava won the competition to design an observation tower for the Dubai Creek Harbor development in the city...Calatrava's winning design was met with approval this past weekend from Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the [UAE] and Ruler of Dubai. 'This architectural wonder will be as great as the Burj Khalifa and the Eiffel Tower,' he commented on Calatrava's proposal. — Bustler
Thoughts? You can also find more images of the project on Bustler. View full entry
What's new(ish) in large-scale, sustainable development? Well, the Next Tokyo 2045 project is in the running. Described by CTBUH in a journal paper as "a mile-high tower rooted in intersecting ecologies," the 12.5 square kilometer project is designed to be a protective barrier against coastal... View full entry
There are now officially 100 supertall (300-plus-meter) skyscrapers in the world following the completion of 432 Park Avenue in New York City. The construction of supertall buildings has increased at an astounding rate in recent years, an indicator of the tremendous growth within the global tall building industry. Whereas the first 50 supertalls took 80 years to complete – between 1930 and 2010 – the total number of supertalls has doubled from 50 to 100 in just five years. — ctbuh.org
"With supertall skyscrapers becoming increasingly common, many look to the megatall (600-plus-meter) distinction as the new frontier for the world’s tallest buildings." Buckle up, everyone.Related stories in the Archinect news:Sorry, Willis Tower, but Shanghai Tower just kicked you out of the... View full entry
Shanghai Tower has officially completed as the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world. [...]
The completion of Shanghai Tower is especially notable for pushing Chicago’s 442-meter Willis Tower (originally Sears Tower), once the world’s tallest building, out of the Top 10 list for the first time since it completed in 1974. Willis Tower was among the Top 10 Tallest Buildings for 41 years
— ctbuh.org
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat goes on to say: "Given the rapid development of urban centers in these regions and the new heights that are being realized by contemporary tall buildings, CTBUH data projects that it will be less than five years before Willis Tower also falls out of... View full entry
The proposed Fourth and Columbia Tower...would be a mixed-use office and residential tower rising up 1,111 feet above the street. It would be 101 stories, with two levels of retail shopping, four levels of above-grade parking, and six levels of office space. It would also play home to 350 hotel rooms, and 1,200 residential units...But being the tallest could be something [developer] Crescent Heights may not want to give up. — KOMO News
Previously on Archinect:Proposed Seattle Tower, designed by LMN Architects, could become the West Coast's tallest View full entry
Developer Greenland Group has submitted plans for a 67-storey tower that would provide 869 new homes on West India Quay. If approved, the building will be western Europe’s tallest residential building at 241m. — The Wharf
Designed by HOK, the yet-to-be-approved tower would feature a west wing of affordable units, retail on the ground floor, and according to the rendering below, an incredible amount of sunshine: View full entry
While the work ethics behind constructing skyscrapers shouldn't be ignored, tall buildings are an architectural feat that will continue to capture the upward gazes and awe of many. Every year in the Best Tall Buildings awards, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat rounds up a jury of... View full entry