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Skyscrapers are appearing around the world in greater numbers and with greater heights, though the ongoing quest for taller towers doesn't always materialize as planned. Despite the leaps and bounds witnessed this generation, several ambitious projects around the world have stalled or been outright cancelled due to economic, political, and market-related conditions. Today we will take a look at nine notable projects around the world that survived the conceptual stages, only to later be delayed or axed in the construction phases.
Early stages:
Chicago Spire
Every day, thousands of Chicago motorists commuting on Lake Shore Drive pass by a sizeable circular hole in the ground. Located at the foot of North Water Street near Navy Pier, the abandoned construction site of the Chicago Spire has sat dormant since 2008, a reminder of the 2,000-foot tower's cancellation.
Sky City
A Chinese proposal for the world's tallest building in Changsha, known as Sky City, raised many eyebrows when initially proposed back in 2012. Broad Sustainable Building's ambitious, if not unrealistic plan to build the structure in just 90 days using pre-fabricated elements drew ridicule and skepticism from the engineering community, with many claiming the completed building would be unable to manage wind loads. The project did manage to break ground in 2013, though recent reports indicate that the megastructure's partially excavated pit is now being used by locals as a fish pond. If built, the tower would have approached the current tallest, the Burj Khalifa and future tallest, Kingdom Tower, with a roof height of 727 metres (2,385 feet), and a pinnacle height of 838 metres (2,749 feet).
Russia Tower
Another megatall skyscraper that stalled in its early stages, Moscow's Russia Tower would have risen 118 storeys, reaching a height of 612 metres (2,008 feet). Construction of the building began in September 2007, before ultimately being cancelled in 2009. The site is now being used for parking.
India Tower
A massive crystalline tower from Foster + Partners called the India Tower got underway in Mumbai back in 2010. Construction of the 700-metre (2,300-foot) tower's below-grade levels had begun by the time the project was cancelled in 2011, when local authorities issued a stop-work order because of a financial dispute with the developer.
Nakheel Tower
Dubai has become a world leader in highrise construction since the start of the 2000s, though a few of the city's sky-scraping plans have failed to come to fruition. In 2008, construction started on the Woods Bagot-designed Nakheel Tower, a 200+ floor tower that would have stretched a full kilometre skyward. The project faced financial challenges early on and was eventually cancelled in December 2009.
Burj Al Alam
Another Dubai skyscraper that ran into financial difficulties during the same timeframe was the Burj Al Alam. The 108-storey, Nikken Sekkei-designed tower broke ground in 2006, then construction was halted in 2009 during the piling stage. A few years later the project was cancelled for good. If built, the tower would have stood at a height of 510 metres (1,670 feet).
Doha Convention Centre Tower
Construction of the 551-metre (1,808-foot) Doha Convention Centre Tower began in 2009, and was eventually halted due to concerns about flight paths near Doha International Airport. Though the project is officially planned to resume once a replacement airport is completed, there are reports that plans to complete the skyscraper have been cancelled.
Topped-Off and incomplete:
Ryugyong Hotel
A few of these stalled projects even reached their topping-off points before encountering turmoil. The most infamous example is the Ryugyong Hotel, which has taken on a rather foreboding name in the more than 23 years since this structure's 1992 topping off. Located in Pyongyang, the supertall 105-storey hotel stands as the tallest structure in North Korea, though its realization has been plagued by extreme factors ranging from famine to political instability. Though exterior cladding was finally installed on the concrete superstructure in 2008, there has been difficulty — for obvious reasons — securing a hotelier to operate the building, as well as rumours swirling regarding the structural stability of the giant pyramid.
Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas
In Las Vegas, Nevada, construction of another major skyscraper has been stalled since 2009. The 63-storey casino/hotel became the tallest building in the state of Nevada in 2008 at a height of 224 metres (735 feet). By the time work stopped due to the developer filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, over $2 billion had been invested in the tower, which has sat dormant ever since.
