To mark World Skyscraper Day, Dezeen has rounded up 15 supertall skyscrapers that are set to be built in cities across the globe, including a pair of twisting towers in Australia and the buildings battling to become Africa's tallest.
For some an inspiring beacon of progress and for others emblematic of economic inequalities, neck-craning skyscrapers continue to capture the public imagination.
The vast majority of tall buildings have been constructed in the past two decades and this trend shows no sign of slowing down as cities around the world build ever higher.
Supertall skyscrapers, which are buildings over 300 metres tall, are increasingly appearing in our cities. Dezeen recently highlighted 11 supertall skyscrapers that have had a major impact in the past 10 years and looked at six supertalls set to join the skylines of North American cities.
Below are 15 skyscrapers being built around the world, each in a different city:
Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by Fender Katsalidis
Merdeka 118 took the title of the world's second-tallest building from Shanghai Tower late last year when it topped out at a megatall height of 678.9 metres, with completion expected towards the end of 2022.
Designed by Australian studio Fender Katsalidis, the 118-storey building features a faceted facade composed of triangular glass planes modelled on patterns found in Malaysian art and craft.
Find out more about Merdeka 118 ›
Varso Tower, Warsaw, Poland, by Foster + Partners
Varso Tower, an office building designed by British firm Foster + Partners for the Polish capital and set to complete in late 2022, is the only supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Europe.
Its developers claim it is the tallest building in the European Union after topping out in February 2021 at 31o metres, narrowly beating The Shard in London.
Find out more about Varso Tower ›
Waldorf Astoria Miami, Miami, USA, by Sieger Suarez Architects and Carlos Ott
The Waldorf Astoria hotel aims to become Miami's first supertall skyscraper at 319.7 metres with a scheduled completion date of 2026.
Sieger Suarez Architects collaborated with Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott to produce the design, characterised as a series of stacked glass boxes.
Find out more about Waldorf Astoria Miami ›
A District, Tokyo, Japan, by Pelli Clarke & Partners
A District tower, designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, is now Japan's tallest building having topped out at 330 metres in April with a 2023 expected completion date.
However, the mixed-use complex will likely not hold the title for long with Sou Fujimoto Architects and Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei unveiling a design for a 390-metre tall tower for Tokyo in January 2021.
Find out more about A District ›
Jeddah Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Ultra-high-rise specialist firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture's Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia has been touted as by far the world's tallest building, with a planned height of at least 1,000 metres – easily surpassing the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
But the project has been beset by multiple delays since construction began in 2013 and satellite images on Google Maps indicate little discernible progress at the site over the past three years.
Find out more about Jeddah Tower ›
The Spiral, New York City, USA, by BIG
Due to complete this year, The Spiral by Danish architect Bjarke Ingel's firm BIG is a 314-metre office tower in the Hudson Yards area of Manhattan that is set to become the headquarters of coronavirus vaccine-maker Pfizer.
It takes its name from the stepped terraces that wrap all the way around its setbacks ensuring every floor has access to landscaped outdoor space.
Find out more about The Spiral ›
Azrieli Tower, Tel Aviv, Israel, by Kohn Pedersen Fox
Shaped like an unfurling scroll, Kohn Pedersen Fox's Azrieli Tower is set to become Israel's first supertall with a planned height of 350 metres.
A viewing area at the top of the mixed-use tower will be open to the public, providing views over the Mediterranean sea and, on a clear day, as far as Jerusalem.
Find out more about Azrieli Tower ›
STH BNK, Melbourne, Australia, by UNStudio and Cox Architecture
Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and Australian studio Cox Architecture beat competition from major practices BIG, MAD, MVRDV, OMA and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design the multi-use STH BNK for developer Beulah International.
When complete, the larger of the two towers will become Oceania's tallest building at 356.2 metres. It will be defined by a twisting "green spine" and topped by publicly accessible botanic gardens.
Find out more about the proposals for Melbourne's tallest tower ›
The Line, Saudi Arabian desert, by Morphosis
Perhaps the world's most ambitious development project, The Line is a 170-kilometre linear city planned as part of Neom in Saudi Arabia that would be comprised of two 500-metre-tall mirrored slabs running 200 metres apart.
Not everyone was convinced that the renders of the design recently produced by US studio Morphosis were sincere, but in a world-first interview with Dezeen Neom director Tarek Qaddumi revealed that piling work has already begun and claimed that the first phase will complete in 2030.
Find out more about The Line ›
Forma, Toronto, Canada, by Frank Gehry
Canadian architect Frank Gehry has been working on plans for a pair of skyscrapers in his hometown of Toronto for nearly a decade. The tallest will stand at 308 metres.
Expected to complete in 2028, Forma's latest iteration will constitute two towers with offset blocks that stack on either side of voids and rippling glass-and-steel facades.
Nanjing Greenland Jinmao International Financial Center, Nanjing, China, by SOM
Following a total ban on buildings above 500 metres issued in October 2021, at a planned 499.8 metres the under-construction Nanjing Greenland Jinmao International Financial Centre is as tall as new skyscrapers in China can get for the foreseeable future.
According to American architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the tower's structural arches contribute to its structural efficiency while also evoking the curved gateways of Nanjing’s ancient city walls.
F Tower, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, by Pierre Fakhoury and PFO Africa
F Tower, designed for the Ivorian city of Abidjan by Lebanese-Ivorian architect Pierre Fakhoury and developer PFO Africa for the nation's government, is gunning to become Africa's tallest tower.
Despite construction beginning in 2021 its final height has not been confirmed. Bloomberg previously reported that the building would be 283 metres, but a recent article in Afrique Magazine claimed it will reach around to 400 metres.
Iconic Tower, Cairo, Egypt, by Dar al-Handasah Shair & Partners
Also in competition to become Africa's tallest skyscraper is Iconic Tower, which is currently nearing completion in the New Administrative Capital for Cairo with a reported height of 385 metres.
Designed by international firm Dar al-Handasah Shair & Partners, the building will mostly house government offices.
Tower C, Shenzhen, China, by Zaha Hadid Architects
London firm Zaha Hadid Architects designed a pair of connected towers for a new financial district in Shenzhen. Currently under construction, they will be just shy of 400 metres tall when complete.
A multi-storey podium composed of sinuous terraces filled with greenery will link the two towers, whose structures will be enclosed in a glass-curtain wall with a stepped finish intended to help shade the interiors.
Find out more about Tower C ›
Torre Rise, Monterrey, Mexico, by Pozas Design Group
Torre Rise, by Mexican studio Pozas Design Group, is a planned mixed-use skyscraper for the city of Monterrey, with construction slated to begin this year.
At an intended 456 metres, it would become the tallest building in Latin America upon completion and stand adjacent to the current title-holder T.Op Torre 1, also designed by Pozas.
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