The People's Republic of China is the center of tall building construction in the world. China has seven of the 10 tallest buildings in the world that are under construction. Yet China construction practices, even on closely scrutinized iconic supertall buildings, do not always meet U.S. quality and safety standards, said many high-rise construction experts, at a recent conference on tall buildings, organized by the Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat.
That is one reason why it is somewhat comforting that China’s building codes are more conservative, agreed the tall-building experts. Overbuilt and redundant structures may cost more, use more material and take longer to build, but they may also provide an extra safety factor in the event of an earthquake, they said.