It's 2024. In the past year we've seen some incredible
feats of construction, from desert skyscrapers and Japanese supertools, to an underwater
megatunnel, and a new dam being built in front of a dam to save a dam. Damn! But the next year looks set to be even more
dramatic, with massive Spanish stadiums, Australian railways, Canadian supertools, and a Parisian
Olympic opening ceremony that'll be unlike any we've ever seen. It's the world's greatest industry that's
set to pull off all of these am
azing feats and more over the next 12 months. Here are the 10 most exciting construction
projects completing in 2024. Ooh la la! 2024 will undoubtedly go down as the year
of the French. Now, don't worry, we are going to get on to other projects around
the world, but this country has more sports than any other on our list this year, and
there's one big fat reason for that. The city of light is getting ready to shine. The Paris Olympics. The Paris Olympics. The Paris Stages, its third Olympiad. Th
e Olympic Games. Normally, that would mean excess. Think epic new stadiums and lavish mega projects. But this is an Olympics unlike any other. Having built up a bit of a reputation for
its cost, and the estimated $12.9 billion that the pandemic hit Tokyo Games ran to,
Olympic officials have been wanting to rebrand, cut down on wastes, and generally create a
cleaner event. One way to do that is by reusing old buildings,
and 95% of the venues for this year's games will be held either in existing o
r temporary
structures. Many of the venues that are already standing
are being refurbished and modernised where needed, while temporary ones are going to
be constructed around the city and dismantled once the games are over, like this spectacular
arena built at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Not only is this less wasteful, but it means
events can be held in different and interesting parts of the city. The only permanent new venue will be the Aquatic
Centre, an impressive-looking venue that's been
built largely with sustainably-sourced
mass timber. It'll be reused after the Olympics for international
and national competitions. The 5,000-square-metre roof will also be covered
with photovoltaic panels, making it one of France's largest urban solar farms, supplying
all the energy the building will need. Inside, the smaller-than-usual space has been
carefully calibrated to maintain views for spectators while reducing the size of the
room that needs to be heated. The ambition to be clean and
green has stretched
to other parts of the French capital too, most notably its river. Massive treatment facilities have been constructed
in a bid to make the Seine swimmable, something which has not been possible for more than
100 years. That's because French officials banned swimmers
from the river back in 1923 due to metal and faecal bacteria in the water. The enormous clean-up will cost over 1.5 billion
and involves what is basically a giant rainwater holding tank measuring 50 metres wide and
34 metres deep, storing up to 46 million litres of water before it's transported via a tunnel to a treatment facility. That clean water will then be pumped back
into the Seine. The goal is for swimming trials to be hosted
here like they were in the 1900 Olympics. The Paris opening ceremony will also take
place on the river in a spectacular display that promises to be the largest Olympic opening
in history. Finishing up right under the Eiffel Tower. Now, before we leave the French capital, there
is one other major project that we have to mention. of Paris and all of Western civilization,
it is still standing this morning after a fire that nearly destroyed it. The restoration of Notre Dame has been a long
and complicated process. The devastating fire of 2019 destroyed much of the interior and
the iconic wooden spire. Rebuilding Europe's most visited landmark to its former glory
is no mean feat. It's cost more than 900 million US dollars
and has run into several major setbacks already. M
iraculously, most of the cathedral will be
open by the end of 2024, meeting President Emmanuel Macron's original deadline. While it will take a little longer to complete
the interiors, much of the exterior should be complete, including the famous spire. Located on the southern part of the island
nation, Kaohsiung has a population of more than 2.7 million people, making it the third
largest in the country. But don't let that fool you. This economic powerhouse is home to Taiwan's
largest ports and
the 13th busiest ports in the entire world. The bustling city is currently going through
a massive upgrade of its metro, and this new It'll be a true transportation hub, linking
train, metro, local and intercity bus services, taxi and bike routes. There's also a 9.75km railway tunnel which
includes no fewer than seven new subterranean stations. A sweeping canopy over the 8.5 hectare site
means it also doubles as a new year-round public park for the city. Rising 458 metres into the sky, this wil
l
be the tallest new building to complete in 2024 and it will rank among the top 20 tallest
skyscrapers in the world. Eight of the 10 tallest buildings completing
in 2024 are going to be in China. The other two are in Dubai and Cairo. Despite the country's recent tall skyscraper
ban and the downfall of property giant Evergrande, China is still very much leading the world
in high-rise construction. 73 of the 100 tallest buildings currently
being built are in China. The International Land-Sea Cent
re is a 98-storey
part of an 11-tower master plan designed by Cone Pedersen Fox that'll completely overhaul
Chongqing's downtown. Built on the banks of the Yangtze River, one
of the major train lines in the city will actually pass directly through the building
at its base. This dazzling light display marked the super
tall tower's topping out back in 2022. Australia's largest metro is getting a much
needed expansion. The 30km new line borrows under Sydney Harbour,
and through to new CBD stations
that are due to open in 2024. The project has been called arguably the most
transformative piece of transport since the Harbour Bridge. At a cost of $20 billion, the new network
is one of the largest suburban rail projects in the world, rivaling even the Grand Paris
Express. There we go, mentioning the French again. And that's all just the start. By 2030, Sydney will have 113km of new metro
rail and some 46 new stations. Now if all of this is inspiring you, and you're
wondering what it takes to
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a 20% discount off their annual subscription. Now, let's get back to this year's biggest projects. Next, we're heading over to Toronto, where
a frantic race to build Canada's new tallest building is heading towards the final straight. Strict zoning laws and a rising population
mean the city is seeing a massive skyscraper boom and will soon overtake Chicago as the
urban area with the second most skyscra
pers in North America. Designed by Foster and partners, the One will
rise 306 metres above the city to become Canada's first super tall building, offering apartments,
commercial space and a hotel when it completes. The building's extreme height for its location
has resulted in a number of engineering challenges, most notably with taming the wind. With so many tall buildings now springing
up across Toronto, the wind being blown down to street level has become a major issue. To get around this, cu
taways have been created
in the building's mechanical floors to help disrupt wind flow, stabilise the building
and prevent air currents blowing down to pedestrians below. From one skyscraper boom to another, Frankfurt's
skyline is set to get dramatically taller over the next few years. There are currently more than 50 high-rises
either being built or planned in this city. Leading the charge is 4 Frankfurt, a mega
development of, you guessed it, 4 towers, which is due to finish in 2024. The talle
st new building in the cluster will
rise 233 metres above street level. For decades, the city centre and the banking
district have been severed, but this development will reconnect them, creating a new mixed-use
neighbourhood in the process. The site will contain offices, apartments,
a hotel, shops and restaurants, literally acting as its own little city within
a city. I visited the site in 2023 to see its progress,
and the towers are shaping up nicely. So Kuala Lumpur kind of has a thing for sk
y
bridges. This massive complex is going up right next
to the iconic Patronus Towers, a world famous skyscraper duo linked by what's probably the
world's most famous skybridge. Raising the bar, well, Oxytowers has two of
these sky-high connections, each with their own rooftop garden. The sprawling three-tower structure will contain
nearly 2 million square meters of floor space, five times that of the nearby Petronas complex,
and its tallest tower will rise to a super tall height of 338 meters. I
nside is yet another veritable city within
a city. Think the usual mix of apartments, offices,
commercial spaces, restaurants, shops. You get the idea. The Malaysian capital's skyscraper boom also
shows no signs of slowing down. Hoxley Towers will join the recently completed
Exchange Tower and the now tallest building in the city and second tallest building in
the world, Medeca 118. No, it's not an enormous sandwich toaster. This is the $1 billion new home of Spanish
football legends Real Madrid
. The Santiago Bernabeu has undergone an incredible
transformation to become the self-declared best stadium in the world. This is what it looked like just a few years ago when it was already one of
Europe's most iconic venues. The refurb has included, most obviously, a
massive wraparound facade made up of strips of steel which are going to be lit up at night
and have images and videos projected onto them. The stadium's capacity has been raised from
around 81,000 to 85,000 and a retractable roof
and new terraces have been added. There's also an amazing retractable pitch
that can be segmented and stored below ground, cleverly stacked to avoid the metro line running
under the pitch. While gigs happen in the stadium, the grass
below ground is kept in optimal conditions and even mown by the grounds team.
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