I was recently startled to read the rather short article posted on the Forbes website indicating that all but two of the twenty tallest towers have been built in the last 20 years (1988 to present) representing (for the most part) a rather strong economy. However, the shift of the skyscraper has quickly turned toward Asia away from North America. In fact, only Chicago and New York have built skyscrapers over 1000 feet this past decade (3 buildings total). Contrast that with 18 built in Asia and the middle east and it is quite clear that the growing economies have taken things to new heights (no pun intended). In fact, if we look closer at the location of top 20 skyscrapers at present day compared to the top 20 just 20 years ago, we notice a rather shocking shift:
1989:
- 18 in North America (including such cities as Seattle, Toronto, Dallas, etc.)
- 2 in Asia (both in Singapore)
2009 (Present Day):
- 16 in Asia and the Middle East
- 4 in North America (and only in Chicago and New York)
I’d be very interested to see where things stand in the next 20 years. You can find the Forbes article here.
All statistics taken from www.skyscrapers.com
