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Take a look at how the skylines of cities across the globe have been transformed by commerce and politics.
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Boats on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, in the early 1920s.
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People do their morning exercises in front of the skyline of the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai, in 2015.
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Tiananmen Square in Beijing, with the giant mausoleum of Chairman Mao at its center.
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This aerial photo -- with the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square at its center and the hugely altered skyline in the background -- show's how Beijing has changed. Many cities across China underwent some of the most rapid urban development the world has ever seen over the past thirty years.
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New York's iconic Empire State Building was built in 1931. It is 443 meters (1,453 ft) tall, and claimed the title of world's tallest building until 1973, when the two World Trade Centers were built.
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New York is now home to several supertall buildings, including 432 Park Avenue, which is the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere and the hundredth supertall building in the world.
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Originally a small fishing village of around 30,000 people, Shenzhen's rapid growth began in 1980, when it was designated one of five special economic zones in China by the nation's then leader, Deng Xiaoping.
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The Shenzhen skyline, pictured in 2016 from the 69th floor of the Shun Hing Square building. Now a megacity, with a population exceeding 10 million people, Shenzhen is still one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
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A view from Victoria Peak overlooks the lower terraces of Hong Kong and the city's famous harbor in the early 1920s.
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Hong Kong has grown rapidly over the past thirty years with the city's proximity to China and strong rule of law helping transform it into a world financial and commerce hub.
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A view of Raffles Quay, Singapore harbour, in the mid-1950s.
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The city-state of Singapore has grown into a regional services and business hub and is implementing plans to become a data-driven "smart city".
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A bird's eye view of Seoul's Han river and its surrounds, taken in 2001.
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With a population now pushing 25 million people, the metropolitan area of Seoul has grown to become one of the largest in the world.
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A general view shows the Dubai Creek on April 5, 2005. A huge construction drive was underway in the city at the time, which was designed to consolidate the status of this Gulf emirate.
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Dubai has positioned itself as a regional business and tourism hub and the city is currently home to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
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This scene shows the skyline of downtown Tokyo, including the Tokyo Tower, on 30 August 1995.
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Although Japan's economic growth has faltered over the past decade, the city expanded rapidly over the past twenty years and has provided some of the most innovative architecture and city planning developments in the process.
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A view across the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, with the Royal Palace in the background.
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This aerial picture taken on April 5, 2014 shows a general view of the skyline and the Chao Phraya river passing through Bangkok. Although beset by regular political and economic troubles, the Thai capital has expanded rapidly, reflecting the nation's recent strong economic growth.
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The coastline of Macau, in the mid-1960s.
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The skyline of Macau and the Grand Lisboa casino (centre R) on May 12, 2015. Although this former Portuguese colony has seen casino revenue decline in the past two years, its decision to position itself as a gambling hub saw it become one of the most densely populated places in the world over the past ten years.

Editor’s Note: Jeffrey Johnson is director of the School of Architecture at the University of Kentucky (UK) School of Design and a principal with SLAB Architecture in the US. Prior to joining UK, Johnson was founder of the Asia Megacities Lab at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Johnson is presently co-editing a book on the drivers and outcomes of radical urban transformation in China and Asia.

Story highlights

Asia's dramatically altered urban skylines -- and spectacular skyscrapers -- have inspired architects around the world

As growth continues, emerging cities in the region look set to provide the next decade's urban innovation

CNN  — 

When it comes to architectural innovation, some of the most significant changes to urban skylines over the past half-century have occurred in Asia.

Economic booms and globalized trade have transformed cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai, rendering their soaring glass and steel skylines as recognizable as other world metropolises like New York, London and Paris.

Asia has lead the world in urban planning over this time and presently boasts seven of the world’s top ten megacities – classified as places with populations of 10 million people or more.

Like their global cohorts, the success of these municipalities has often been reflected in how ambitious and spectacular their built artifices are.

University of Kentucky
Jeffrey Johnson, Director of the School of Architecture at University of Kentucky College of Design

However, for all their show, the next decade is likely to see a changing of the architectural vanguard. As the drivers of economic growth shift and labor force changes across the region, Asia’s emerging cities are set to become the new ground for profound innovation and advancement in city building and architecture.

A nation transformed

Take China, for example. Never in our planet’s history have we witnessed such a rapid rate of urbanization than in this nation over the past 30 years.

Modest towns like Harbin have grown into megacities, and entirely new cities, like Zhengdong New District, have sprung up instantaneously – seemingly out of nowhere.

In the Pearl River Delta, cities like Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Jiangmen and Zhuhai have been utterly transformed to become this economic superpower’s manufacturing heartland.

Only a generation ago, Shenzhen – a shining example of this once predominantly agricultural region’s transformation – was a relatively small fishing village of just 30,000 people.

02:35 - Source: CNN
Shenzhen: China's Silicon Valley

Now, thanks to government policy, its proximity to Hong Kong, and China’s economic growth, it’s a megacity of over 10 million people that ranks eighth in the world in terms of its number of skyscrapers.

That’s not far behind Chicago, the birthplace of the modern building form.

Right across this vast nation, from Kunming in the south, Xi’an in the center, and Harbin in the north, Chinese cities have been a major source of architectural inspiration over the past twenty years and will continue to have a profound influence on skylines across the globe.

Blackstation/courtesy gensler
Standing at 2,074 feet (632 meters) tall, the Shanghai Tower is the world's second tallest building.
via SL Green Realty Corp
A new tall tower has broken ground in New York City. Named the One Vanderbilt Avenue tower, the building is designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox architects, and construction officially started today. At 1,401 feet tall, upon completion it will be the second tallest building in New York after the One World Trade Center.

Height: 427m (1,401ft)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
A new megatall skyscraper will dominate the Dubai skyline. Currently unnamed -- 'The Tower', as it's being referred to by its developers for now -- will be built on the Dubai Creek Harbour, and will be 100m taller than Dubai's Burj Khalifa -- a skyscraper that is currently the tallest building in the world. Megatall buildings are defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as a builidng over 600 meters (1,968 feet) in height.
Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
The expected completion date for the structure is 2020.

Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
The building will hold ten observation decks in its oval-shaped peak. One deck will offer a 360-degree view of the city.

Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
istockphoto
Currently world's tallest building, since it was completed in 2010, is the Burj Khalifa. It stands a massive 198 meters (650 feet) above its nearest competitor.

Height: 828m (2717ft)
Floors: 163
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Jeddah Economic Company/Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Another threat to the Burj Khalifa's tallest building title is the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. The tower is currently under construction and due to top out at 1,000 meters at a cost of $1.23 billion.

Height: 3,280ft
Architect: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
In Feburary, a proposal for a mile-high tower in Tokyo was revealed.
Height: 1,600m (5,250ft)
Architect: Kohn Pefersen Fox Associates and Leslie E Robertson Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox
The 1,600 meter tower is part of a future city concept named "Next Tokyo 2045," which envisions a floating mega-city in Tokyo Bay.

Height: 1,600m (5,250ft)
Architect: Kohn Pefersen Fox Associates and Leslie E Robertson Associates
DBOX
In December 2015, plans were unveiled for the 1 Undershaft -- a 300m tall building that could become the City of London's tallest building.
Height: 300m (984ft)
Floors: 73
Architect: Aroland Holdings
DBOX
1 Undershaft will sit across the river from London's tallest building, The Shard, which is 9.6 meters taller.

Height: 300m (984ft)
Floors: 73
Architect: Aroland Holdings
Courtesy CIM Group
432 Park Avenue, the tallest all-residential tower in the western hemisphere, opened its doors in December 2015, recently became the hundredth supertall building in the world.

Height: 425.5m (1396ft)
Floors: 85
Architect: Rafael Vinoly, SLCE Architects, LLP
Gensler

Completed in 2015, Asia's tallest building surpasses the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai's Pudong district. Estimated to cost $2.4 billion, its completion marked the end of a project in the financial district stretching back to 1993.

Height: 632m (2073ft)
Floors: 128
Architect: Jun Xia, Gensler
FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Situated close to the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Mecca, the tower complex is one part of the $15 billion King Abdulaziz Endowment Project, seeking to modernize Mecca and accommodate the ever-growing number of pilgrims.

Height: 601m (1972ft)
Floors: 120
Architect: Dar Al-Handasah Architects
STAN HONDA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Known as the "Freedom Tower," One World Trade Center stands on part of the site previously occupied by the Twin Towers. It's the highest building in the western hemisphere, and cost $3.9 billion according to Forbes.

Height: 541.3m (1776 ft)
Floors: 94
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Taiwan Tourism
The first skyscraper to break the half-kilometer mark, the world's tallest building between March 2004 and March 2010 is also one of the greenest -- certified LEED platinum in 2011. Designed to withstand the elements, including typhoons, earthquakes and 216 km/h winds, Taipei 101 utilizes a 660-tonne mass damper ball suspended from the 92nd floor, which sways to offset the movement of the building.

Height: 508m (1667ft)
Floors: 101
Architect: C.Y. Lee & Partners
ChinaFotoPress/Getty Image
Construction of Shanghai's third supertall building took 11 years, but the skyscraper dubbed "The Bottle Opener" was met with critical praise and high-end residents when it completed in 2008, including the Park Hyatt Shanghai and offices for Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley, and BNP Paribas.

Height: 492m (1614.17ft)
Floors: 101
Architect: Kohn Pederson Fox
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong's tallest building has 108 floors -- but walking around it, you'd get a different story. The city's tetraphobia -- the fear of the number four -- means floors with the number have been skipped, and the International Commerce Center is marketed as a 118-story skyscraper.

Height: 484m (1588ft)
Floors: 108
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox
Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The joint eighth highest completed skyscraper is still the tallest twin towers in the world. Finished in 1996 and inaugurated in 1999, it's been the site of numerous hair-raising stunts. Felix Baumgartner set a then-BASE jump world record in 1999 by jumping off a window cleaning crane, and in 2009 Frenchman Alain Robert, known as "Spiderman," freeclimbed to the top of Tower Two without safety equipment -- and did so in under two hours.

Height: 451.9m (1483ft)
Floors: 88
Architect: Cesar Pelli
Sun Chen
The architects behind the Burj Khalifa are also responsible for the world's tenth tallest building. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Zifeng Tower in Nanjing completed in January 2010 and sits just above the Willis Tower (previously the Sears Tower) in the rankings, eclipsing the SOM-designed Chicago icon by a mere 7.9 meters (26 ft).

Height: 450m (1476ft)
Floors: 66
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Teddy Cross
Completed in March 2016, the Lotte World Tower is Seoul's first supertall skyscraper, and is currently the sixth tallest building in the world.

Height: 556 meters (1824 feet)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Wong Tung & Partners
A hotel and office hybrid, this straightforward supertall building by Wong Tung & Partners in Hunan Province's booming capital city is expected to be completed by 2017.

Height: 452 metres (1,482 ft)
Architect: Wong Tung & Partners
E8xE8
The Suzhou IFS is two meters shy of the Changsha tower.
Height: 450 meters (1476 feet)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
The World One skyscraper in Mumbai will be as tall as the Willis Tower, the second tallest building in North America, and will be one of the world's tallest residential structures.

Height: 442 meters (1450 feet)
Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
DLN Architects
This design mimics and simplifies the neo-Gothic spires of an earlier skyscraper boom, à la the Woolworth and Empire State Buildings.
Height: 383 meters (1,257 ft)
Architect: Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox is back with this 90-story residential building. Zigzagging cuts in the curtain-wall break up the monotony of yet another boxy tower.

Height: 372 metres (1,220 ft)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox

Taking China’s lead

Yet as China’s economic growth and urban development have tempered, other Asian cities have picked up steam.

Hanoi in Vietnam has undergone dramatic transformation as its manufacturing and textiles base expands to take up China’s slack, while the changing urban landscape in Bangalore – one of the India’s fastest growing cities – reflects its quest to become Asia’s Silicon Valley.

Singapore has also looked to technology for its strength and by focusing on services and encouraging start-ups, it’s grown from a small colonial port in 1959, to a global economic powerhouse, with a skyline to match.

The city now has over 200 skyscrapers – and lays claim to The Interlace, winner of last year’s World Building of the Year – but it’s innovative urban planning is even more impressive than its architecture.

01:53 - Source: CNN
Should smart cities build from scratch?

It plans to become the world’s first “smart nation,” with the entire metropolis to be wired to collect data in real-time. This program will see its skyline shaped in response to smart technologies, with state-of-the-art buildings linked together to optimize occupation and energy use.

Singapore is far from alone in Asia, with “smart city” initiatives underway and likely to shape other future urban landscapes in Hong Kong and Guangzhou in China, New Songdo City in South Korea, and a number of cities across India.

Transporting change

Other rapidly expanding cities in the region are also introducing the next generation of infrastructure, especially in mass transportation, signaling further dramatic changes in urban architecture.

Bangkok in Thailand was once considered to have one of the world’s worst traffic problems, but its new network of subways and elevated trains – which is designed to grow to accommodate anticipated future population growth – has eased congestion and created more efficient mobility.

It’s also transformed the city’s skyline, creating an intense, multi-layered urban experience that has enabled development in areas that were previously too remote or isolated. It’s also fuelled the emergence of modern high-rises – like the visionary MahaNakhon, Bangkok’s tallest building.

02:18 - Source: CNN
Is this the world's craziest new skyscraper?

Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, a city that has already shown rapid architectural change, is undergoing a similar process, and adding to its collection of inventive contemporary structures with a high-tech public transportation rail system of driverless cars.

This program aligns with the Malay capital’s ambitions to be one of Asia’s leaders in sustainable development, a trend also evident in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and many developing cities in China.

As these metropolises look to reduce utility supply costs and confront major environmental problems, they are leading the way in implementing a more ecologically-conscious approach to building and city making.

Such visions also help foster new local design talent, with architects like Vo Trong Nghia in Vietnam, Ken Yeang and Eleena Jamil in Malaysia and Jun Sekino in Thailand emerging as leaders in architectural solutions for a greener, more sustainable urban skyline.

Vacant transformations

Not all transformations in the region have been successful.

01:12 - Source: CNN
Tianjin, China: Lots of buildings, few people

Developments like the Yujiapu Financial District in Tianjin, China, Ordos in Mongolia, and Naypyidaw, the new national capital of Myanmar, were all created virtually from scratch, founded on grandiose urban visions of monumental proportions.

Once a means to symbolize power and authority, all three cities now sit virtually empty, years after their construction.

The region faces other significant urban planning challenges ahead. Existing and emerging cities will be confronted by continued overcrowding, traffic congestion, pollution, a growing lack of affordable housing, and a lack of efficient transportation, to name just a few.

Remedying these problems is complex, costly, time consuming, and often proves to be without clear and attainable solutions.

But by tackling these problems – without the shackles of existing legacy systems – these cities and their architecture will surely continue to inspire.

For desperation often encourages invention, and these inventions, and the new designers behind them, will pave the way for future architectural innovation across the globe.