The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has published its 2019 year in review, highlighting the skyscraper trends and accomplishments across the world – including a nod to The Leonardo, which has become the tallest building in South Africa.

According to the group’s data, 26 supertall buildings (300 meters or taller) were completed in 2019, setting a new record.

“This is the second year in which this record was established, besting 18 supertalls in 2018. It was also the sixth year in a row that at least one 500-meter-plus building was completed,” it said.

Overall, 126 buildings of at least 200 meters were completed in 2019, compared to 146 in 2018, a 13.7% decline.

“This is the first year in which the overall completion figure declined since the 2010 to 2011 gap, which was attributed to the lag effect of project cancellations due to the 2008 recession,” it said.

Asia (excluding the Middle East) overall contributed 87 of the 126 completions, followed by the United States with 14 completions. The United Arab Emirates, followed with nine completions, while the Middle East overall recorded 11 completions.

At the city scale, Shenzhen, China was once again the world champion, besting its own record for the fourth time in a row, with 15 completions. The next-most prolific city was Dubai, with nine completions.

Tallest buildings completed in 2019

The tallest building to complete in 2019 was the Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, at 530 meters – more than double the height of South Africa’s new tallest building, The Leonardo, which stretches 227 metres into the Sandton skyline.

The Chinese finance centre is now tied for the third-tallest building in China with its sister tower, Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre (also 530 meters) and is the seventh-tallest in the world.

This marks the fifth year in a row in which the tallest building to complete is in China.

The top 20 buildings, their heights and locations, are listed below:

1. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, China – 530 metres

2. Lakhta Center, Russia – 462 metres

3. Suzhou IFS, China – 450 metres

4. The Exchange 106, Malaysia – 445.1 metres

5. Wuhan Center Tower, China – 438 metres

6, 14 and 15. LCT The Sharp Landmark Tower, Residential Tower A and Tower B, South Korea – 411.6 metres, 339.1 metres, 333.1 metres

7. 30 Hudson Yards, USA – 387.1 metres

8. Dalian International Trade Center, China – 370.2 metres

9 and 17. Golden Eagle Tiandi Tower A and Tower B, China – 368.1 metres, 328 metres

10 and 11. Raffles City Chongqing T3N and T4N, China – 354.5 metres

12. Spring City 66, China – 349 metres

13. Shimao Hunan Center, China – 347 metres

16. The Address Residence – Fountain Views III, UAE – 331.8 metres

18. 53 West 53, USA – 320.1 metres

19. Guangxi Wealth Financial Center, China – 310.8 metres

20. 35 Hudson Yards, USA – 307.8 metres

South Africa

While not featuring among the supertall buildings completed in 2019, The Leonardo in Sandton gets special mention in the review for becoming the new tallest building in the country – and the second tallest in Africa.

The Leonardo was initially pegged to take the title of the tallest building on the continent (at least until The Pinnacle in Kenya is completed), but at 264 metres high, the Great Mosque of Algiers Tower has taken that prize.

The Pinnacle Tower in Nairobi, when completed, is planned to stretch over 300 metres into the air. Construction on The Pinnacle launched in January 2018, with a planned finish in 2021.

The Leonardo, developed by South Africa’s Legacy Group and Nedbank Group Ltd, will ultimately house 254 apartments, a three-floor penthouse and five floors of office space as well as shops and restaurants.

Images sourced from CTBUH. The full report can be found on CTBUH.

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