The Growth of the Vertical City
Recently PACE and Bouygues-Thai hosted the first Thailand chapter launch of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, or CTBUH,
to begin a platform for exchanging views on tall buildings, tackling specific issues of Thailand and sharing world best practice.
Following a presentation of MahaNakhon by PACE CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri, the keynote speaker Dr. Antony Wood, CTBUH Executive
Director, shared his views on the state of tall buildings worldwide. Noting the driving factors of land prices increasing, desire for global
iconic architecture, urbanization, changing demographics and energy constraints, CTBUH sees 4 major trends emerging as a result.
1. HEIGHTS AND NUMBERS ARE INCREASING
Constructed during the great depression, The
Empire State Building held the record as tallest
building from 1931 for 41 years, before being
eclipsed by The World Trade Center in 1972, followed
by a series of new buildings increasing the height
slightly until Burj Khalifa almost doubled the
tallest height, reaching 828m into the sky.
At the same time, the total number of tall buildings
(defined as 200m+) is now increasing exponentially,
with even more planned tall, super tall (300+)
and mega tall (600m+) skyscrapers projected to
commence construction. By 2020, it is expected
that the number of buildings more than 600m
tall will increase from 2 to 8.
2. INCREASINGLY LOCATED IN ASIA & MIDDLE EAST
Whereas almost 100% of tall buildings were previously located
in North America, in 2012, now the majority of tall buildings are
located in Asia or the Middle East.
3. FUNCTION CHANGING FROM OFFICE TO MIXED USE
While office towers still are the single largest group by function,
mixed-use buildings such as MahaNakhon and dedicated residential
are now the fastest growing category, as single use office buildings
have faded in popularity. At the same time, names have changed
from office headquarters such as Chrysler and Sears Tower, to
city specific names, helping brand new destinations.
4. CHANGE FROM STEEL TO CONCRETE & COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
Until 30 years ago, steel remained the structural material of
choice. In the last 20 years, the change has been markedly
towards concrete and composite. Aesthetics have also changed,
from more standard shapes to exotic ‘statement’ architecture,
including sculptural, cultural and artistic influences mostly absent
in earlier tall buildings.
CTBUH note a number of issues with tall buildings which have
negatively impacted their acceptance. Whereas historically, the
world over tall buildings were ‘connected’ to their surroundings,
increasingly, their design is either solely driven by commercial factors,
resulting in a lack of connection with their neighbourhood and a
blurring of city identity, or development is driven by a desire simply
to be unique, creating iconic yet almost comical city scapes.
Skyscrapers remain a necessary requirement, but by following
key principles, CTBUH hopes to see a greater positive role for
each city’s tallest buildings:
- Design should vary with height, not just a single floor
extruded vertically
- Texture and scale should vary, creating a pleasant
appearance from both close up and afar
- Functions should be mixed, communal and with open
and recreational spaces
- Energy efficiency with greenery
- Connections such as bridges to enhance circulation and
socializing