2024-02-11 10:01:00
At the site, the possibility of “high-rise construction costs rising sharply from the 30th floor and above” is raised.
A bird’s eye view of Yongsan International Business District. Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government
1700%. This is the highest floor area ratio of the Yongsan International Business District, which Seoul City announced on the 5th to reopen after 10 years. According to this plan, a skyscraper will be created in Yongsan that will break the record of Lotte World Tower (123 floors) in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, the tallest building in Korea. The city of Seoul revealed its ambition to build a high-rise landmark, even suggesting a specific schedule for infrastructure construction to begin in the second half of next year and occupancy in the early 2030s.
A high-rise building refers to a building over 200m high (over 50 stories) according to domestic building codes. When you see this building in real life, you can understand the meaning of the English expression skyscraper, which means ‘high enough to scrape the sky.’ The sense of hierarchy that comes from height was also used as a tool to reveal the desire to show off of the nation or individual businessmen. This is clearly evident in the fact that countries that want to be recognized as developed countries have more skyscrapers.
According to the 2024 ranking of world’s tallest buildings presented by skyscrapercenter.com, the country with the most high-rise buildings in the top 10 is China (5). Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Burj Khalifa, 828m) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Merdeka, 118, 679m) took first and second place, while Korea’s World Tower ranked 6th with a height of 555m. One World Tower (541m) in New York, USA, ranked 7th, just behind Jamsil World Tower. Not a single European country was included in the top 10.
There is a misconception that high-rise buildings will have high business potential because they can be sold by adding more floors to a limited site. In reality, the higher the building, the steeper the construction cost. An official from a large construction company said, “Construction costs can be seen to increase significantly from the 30th floor and above. “Everything has to change, including the facilities used to raise materials above the 30th floor,” he said.
There are many apartment associations that are giving up their desire for ‘high-rise buildings’ due to construction cost issues. Last year, Banpo Jugong Complex 1 in Seocho-gu, Seoul considered whether the maximum height would be the 35th or 49th floor, but eventually decided on the 35th floor after a general meeting. The increase in construction costs for the 49th floor proposed by the construction company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, is said to have increased by 220 billion won compared to the 35th floor. If the construction period was 44 months for the 35th floor, it would be 51 months for the 49th floor, adding at least 7 months. This means that moving financial costs increase.
If it is 50 stories or higher, it is managed separately under the ‘Special Act on Disaster Management of High-Rise and Basement-Connected Complex Buildings’. Permission review is also more difficult. There are more than 40 deliberations on earthquakes and tsunamis. Evacuation safety zones, which must be installed on every 30th floor, are also included in the cost. For this reason, construction companies are rushing to come up with a detour strategy with a ’49-story landmark’ instead of a 50-story building.
Even in commercial facilities other than housing, there are many projects that were aiming for a 100-story goal but then quietly abandoned their plans. In addition to the past Yongsan International Business District project, which had a floor area ratio of 1,500%, the Digital Media City (DMC) landmark in Sangam-dong, Seoul (580m, 130 floors), the ‘Hyundai Global Business Center’ in Samseong-dong, Gangnam (560m, 105 floors), and Incheon Tower in Songdo, Incheon (610m) , 151st floor), Busan WBC Solomon Tower (448m, 108th floor), etc. were all stranded.
The economic hypothesis ‘the curse of the skyscraper’ cannot be ignored. Typically, during an economic boom and when monetary policy is relaxed, a lot of money flows into real estate and construction of high-rise buildings begins. The gist of this hypothesis is that by the time it is completed, the real estate bubble has already gone as far as it can go and the ‘curse’ of a recession will be repeated.
“When a country breaks ground on what will become the world’s tallest building, it is time to get out of that country’s stock market as quickly as possible.”
– American social economist John Casty
In China, which has many high-rise buildings, the curse of the skyscraper may have already begun. The Xi Jinping government, facing the threat of a real estate bubble bursting, is said to have recently begun imposing sanctions on high-rise buildings.
The city of Seoul, which has set a ‘1700% floor area ratio’, is conscious of the realistic constraints that come with building high-rise buildings. A 100-story landmark was mentioned in the Yongsan International Business District press release on the 5th, but this was said in response to reporters’ inquiries on the same day. “It is true that the 100th floor or higher is not suitable for business needs. So we changed it to around the 80th floor and around the 60th floor. Currently, the plan for the landmark building (in the Yongsan International Business District) is to have 100 floors, but this may change. Landmark (height) is a political thing, so there is plenty of room for negotiation.”
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