Mine is bigger than yours: the proposed Sky City One for comparison against the Chicago skyline. Photo via webodysseum.com

Is it just us or are towers getting taller and taller these days? Broad Group, a Chinese developer, recently announced plans to scale up its prefabricated building technology to unparalleled proportions. The proposed Sky City outside Changsha will be the tallest on earth at 838 m or 2,749 ft, just barely inching past the Burj Khalifa in the UAE. And, as if this weren’t astounding enough, the tower will purportedly be assembled on site 90 days.

Here you see a super tower living in its natural forest environment, happily coexisting with the trees and the sky. Photo: Broad Group via dvice.com

Between worries about China’s real estate market and safety concerns, not to mention the environmental cost of producing the 270,000 tons of steel needed to erect the structure (that’s about 4.5 Nimitz class aircraft carriers), we’re a bit skeptical of the project’s prospects at being the tallest and greenest tower around.

However if the builders do pull it off, successfully housing close to 30,000 people with thermally efficient walls, recycled materials, and LED lighting will be quite the accomplishment. Regardless, we did notice a startling similarity to a project underway in New York City …

Here you see a super tower living in its natural urban environment, happily coexisting with the city and the sky. Photo: dbox for CIM Group & Macklowe Properties via newyork.cbslocal.com

Pictured above is the currently under-construction 432 Park Avenue in New York City, slated to be topped out by early 2015. Designed by Architizer A+ winner Rafael Viñoly, along with SLCE architects, 432 Park Ave will be almost 1,400 feet tall—the tallest residential tower in the Western hemisphere.

Photos: via designboom.com and dbox via ideasgn.com. Note: Right image has been cropped for effect.

The tower’s distinctive square-gridded exterior echoes its construction. And while Sky City’s repetitive facade stems from its prefab nature, Viñoly says his building is simply derived from the square, which he calls “the purest geometric form.” (Though we suspect that expediency may have also had a role also; repetitive floor plans and specs make life much easier.)

Photos: (Left) via skyscrapercity.com and (Right) via chinadefence.com. Note: Left image has been cropped for effect.

Both project have large global forces driving their rapid construction. While Sky City is riding the wave of urbanization that’s made China the construction center of the world, 432 Park Ave is part of a wider trendof residential towers that can justify their height and price by offering unprecedented views to tenants. New York City, like London, is home to the world’s jetset elite and is a safe real estate investment for anyone who can afford it.

To wit: We’ve listed NYC’s latest collection of residential skyscrapers, along with the standard cost of a unit for each building. Though if you have to ask for a price tag you probably can’t afford it…

Photo: via skyscrapercity.com

80 South Street
Santiago Calatrava
New York City, 2003 (proposed)
826ft
Apartment Price: $35m
Cancelled after the 2008 financial crisis, but later reincarnated as…

Photo: mterzian via flickr.com

One Madison
Cetra/Ruddy
New York City, 2010
617ft
Apartment Price: ~$5m – 3m or $~12,000/mo

Photo: Seth Wenig / The Associated Press via washingtonpost.com

8 Spruce Street (“New York by Gehry”)
Frank Gehry
New York City, 2011
876ft
Apartment Price: Penthouse $60,000/mo

One57
Atelier Christian de Portzamparc
New York, New York, 2013
1004ft
Apartment Price: $5m – $30m 

Photo: via nyrej.com

56Leonard
Herzog & de Meuron
New York, New York, 2010
821ft
Apartment Price: $4m – $30m 

via The Architizer

http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/87901/huge-erections-rise-of-super-tower/#.UZ-jydKnArX