Skyscraper construction is at all-time high, with 78 tall buildings completed across the globe already in 2014. 

According to data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Australia is home to 11 of these completed projects, with 35 more tall buildings scheduled to be completed in the country by the end of 2014.

Urbanisation is bringing about a sky-high built environment in order to intensify cities and house a growing population.

Today, architects and developers are under increased pressure to deliver buildings that respond to urban demand while being environmentally sound.

Skyscrapers combat urban sprawl, and many are of the mixed use variety, offering residential units, commercial and retail spaces and in some cases, educational/vertical urban campuses.

Last month, Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia broke ground. The ambitious skyscraper is tipped to break the one kilometre height mark, a feat matched when China announced two one-kilometre tall towers that would be completed a year earlier than Kingdom Tower and which would actively combat pollution.

Earlier this year, skinny skyscrapers were forecast to be the most popular architectural design for tall buildings, a trend CTBUH editor Daniel Safarik, CTBUH says still stands.....Continue Reading

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