CTBUH expect China, Middle East projects in 2011

The Shanghai Tower will completed in 2012

A US-based authority on global tall buildings aims to expand its presence in China, as the building tall trend continues to advance in major Chinese cities.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats (CTBUH) will mirror its presence in the GCC – where it has representatives in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE – and recruit local representatives in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In his 2011 address, CTBUH chairman Sang Dae Kim, said the importance of having an on-the ground presence could not be understated.

“The US and China are very large countries in terms of their land area and the number of tall buildings built. I believe it is necessary to have city representatives for all major cities within these countries in order to gain effective activity of the council,” he said.

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A number of tall buildings are due to come online in China in 2011, including the Shanghai Tower (632m) which forms part of China’s economic powerhouse’s high-rise district on the banks of the Huangpu River. A number of tall towers are also planned for the southern city of Guangzhou.

Kim said that although 2010 had been difficult for the tall building industry, the completion of projects such as the Burj Khalifa showed that it was definitely not beaten, both in China and the Middle East.

“CTBUH has great expectations for this coming year of 2011. In China there are a large number of super tall building projects making progress and I hear that there is an ambitious plan from the Middle East in the works,” he said.