When the slender yet 1,396 foot tall 432 Park Avenue condominium was officially announced as complete, the world had already obtained 100 supertall skyscrapers - identified by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CBTUH) as buildings with a height of at least 984 feet or 300 meters.
As it turns out, the world's first 50 supertall skyscrapers took 80 years to complete, spanning between 1930 and 2010. In just five years, the overall number of supertalls across the globe has been doubled (see graph here).
Although most of the new supertall buildings are found in Asia and the Middle East, New York still maintains its position as the city with the second highest number of supertall skyscrapers worldwide. The CTBUH reports:
"The majority of new supertall skyscrapers hail from Asia and the Middle East, mirroring construction trends that have emerged over the past decade, but New York has remained an active center for supertall construction in the Americas. With this most recent completion - the city's seventh - New York now has the second-highest number of supertall skyscrapers in the world. Meanwhile, Dubai continues to dominate with 18."
Saudi Arabia is slated to have the top spot as the world's tallest building, once the Jeddah Tower has met its completion in 2018. The supertall will be 700 feet taller than 432 Park Avenue, as reported by 6sqft.
According to data from the CBTUH, supertall skyscrapers will soon be a norm. "There are well over 100 supertall skyscrapers topped out or under construction that are scheduled to be completed in the next five to six years," the report cited.
In fact, within its top 50 supertalls, 78 percent are still under construction, with completion dates spanning between 2017 and 2019.
The institution further notes that megatall skyscrapers (distinguished as 600 meters and up) will be "the new frontier for the world's tallest buildings." At the moment, there are only three completed megatall towers in the world.
