by Amy Frearson |
Africa is experiencing a mini-boom in skyscraper construction, with new towers rising in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and more. But are they symbols of progress or just vanity projects? Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson investigates.
The Tour F in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, will soon become the continent’s tallest building, expected to reach its full 421-metre height later this year.
It will steal the title from the 394-metre Iconic Tower in Cairo, Egypt, which became Africa’s first completed supertall – a title given to buildings over 300 metres – when it opened in 2024.
High-rise building gathering pace
The situation is in stark contrast to a decade ago, when the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, was still the only African building to surpass the 200-metre mark.
This 201-metre tower was the continent’s tallest for 46 years, but it looks like it will be pushed out of the top 10 in the coming months.
A spate of recent completions includes the 250-metre Mohammed VI Tower in Salé, Morocco, finished in 2023, and the 209-metre Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, built in 2021. Many more are scheduled for this year.
The rate of development still pales in comparison to North America and Asia, but it appears to be gaining pace, which has triggered concerns.
Somalia-based architect Omar Degan, co-founder and curator of the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, worries that most of these skyscrapers are being built with little regard for local building traditions and lifestyle habits.
“The rapid rise of skyscraper construction across African cities raises critical questions around identity, power, climate and urban futures, particularly as many cities navigate growth through imported models rather than locally rooted architectural logics,” he told Dezeen.
“I think it’s essential to unpack both the opportunities and the risks this brings,” he said. “And to ask whether verticality can meaningfully respond to African contexts rather than simply replicate global templates.”
Degan is not opposed to skyscrapers in African cities per se, but he wants to see models that reflect African cultural identity.
“I think there have been missed opportunities to see skyscrapers as a way of identifying a nation,” he said. “I would love to see a Moroccan skyscraper or a Nigerian skyscraper.”
But what’s fuelling this mini-boom, and can we expect it to continue?
According to Jason M Barr, professor of economics at Rutgers University-Newark, the data points to a link between African skyscraper construction and economic growth.
“Iconic buildings can benefit African cities, but the economics must work”
Statistics from the Council on Vertical Urbanism reveal that South Africa and Egypt, Africa’s two largest economies, account for around 75 per cent of all buildings of more than 30 storeys in the continent.
Egypt also has more of the tallest buildings under construction than the rest of Africa combined, in both Cairo and the nation’s new capital.
“Countries generally don’t build tall buildings unless all the ‘economics ducks’ are in a row, as they are expensive to build and operate,” explained Barr, author of the book Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World’s Tallest Skyscrapers.
“If you look at the breakdown of usages for all 30-plus-storey buildings in Africa, most are offices, residential or mixed-use buildings, which are compatible with the economic need for tall buildings,” he told Dezeen.
Barr argues that African cities can benefit from the power of tall buildings as “confidence boosters”. He said that few appear to be “white elephants” – built as status symbols rather than to meet a real need or demand.
“Iconic buildings can benefit African cities, but the underlying economics of these buildings must work – that is to say, the revenues paid by the occupants must cover the construction and operating costs,” he said.
“Given the history of economic and political troubles in Africa, we tend to associate Africa’s rising towers as emerging from that milieu,” he added. “But rather, its rising towers appear to reflect these countries’ desire to join the global community.”
Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo is more sceptical. She sees a clear divide between skyscrapers rising in Egypt and those going up in other African cities.
“A skyscraper is ultimately a symbol of progress,” she said. “I see countries in Africa beginning to think in that capacity, not because the economies are strong enough to achieve it, but because they want to present the narrative.”
“Is this what Africa needs? I don’t think so”
As Oshinowo points out, Africa accounts for just under three per cent of global GDP and doesn’t have the same issues of land availability as other territories, such as Europe or the Middle East.
It leads her to question whether developments like Eko Atlantic City, a huge new high-rise district being built in her home city of Lagos, are appropriate. She believes density could be achieved in buildings that are more African in their scale and approach.
“The world has a narrative of what we consider progress, and anything that deviates from that is just not seen as progressive,” she said.
“But there are many ways that we can solve these problems, so it doesn’t merit the justification of this symbol. And is this symbol what the continent needs? I don’t think so.”
Oshinowo cites Africa’s shortage of steel manufacturing as one reason why skyscrapers make less sense here.
It’s expensive to import, so local contractors don’t have the necessary construction expertise. Many of the skyscrapers now under construction are being built by Chinese companies.
Electricity is another problem; unlike North Africa, cities in West and Sub-Saharan Africa regularly experience power outages.
“The tall building requires certain infrastructure and amenities that we don’t have as standard,” Oshinowo said.
“When you bring in a typology that requires them, it’s a very different ballgame. What happens if you’re in the lift and the power goes out?”
But Belgian architect and construction consultant Hans Degraeuwe, who has been working in Africa for over 15 years and lives part-time in Lagos, argues that high-rise building may be a necessity as cities develop further.
“Unlike the urban sprawl that happened in America, Africa has to go vertical because it cannot simply afford to make the road infrastructure, power infrastructure or data infrastructure,” he told Dezeen.
Backed by a sovereign wealth fund, Degraeuwe is currently developing a model for customisable, modular high-rises, with plans to roll out different versions on 24 test sites across Africa pre-fabricated in Lagos.
He believes that prefabrication technologies could offer an answer to issues around not just skyscraper construction expertise but utility shortages – with the buildings themselves providing basic infrastructure for entire neighbourhoods.
“The skyscrapers we want are not just five-star hotels,” he said. “We want to have a hotel combined with a hostel, a medical clinic and a water-purification station.”
“I’m trying to create vertical communities that mix different functions, including affordable housing.”
Whether this low-rise continent manages to adapt models of vertical urbanism to fit its needs remains to be seen. Either way, the high-rise trend isn’t showing signs of slowing just yet.
The main photograph is by Youssef Abdelwahab via Unsplash.
