Night view of Zifeng Tower in Nanjing city, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, Dec 2010. Greenland Square Zifeng Tower has a height of 450-meter. [Photo/IC]

The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has opened an office in China that will oversee its operations and lead its initiatives in the country and elsewhere in Asia, where skyscrapers are remaking urban landscapes.

Chinese cities have experienced unprecedented vertical growth. In 2014, there were 58 "tall buildings" (defined as those higher than 200 meters) completed in China, accounting for about 60 percent of the world's total.

Tall buildings are big business in more ways than one, with environmental, financial and cultural implications. In China, the industry may leverage sectors with total turnover of hundreds of billions of yuan annually, from financial planning to security consultancy, according to a report by China IRN, an industry research organization.

As a global body focused on the planning, design, construction and operation of tall buildings, CTBUH's China office aims to expand its membership and disseminate technical knowledge on the development of skyscrapers.

Tall building experts said that surging skyscraper construction may reflect booming demand in real estate markets around the world, following a lull after the global financial crisis.

The current recovery may last beyond 2015, said realty market sources.

"For many companies, having an office in a landmark skyscraper is something that adds to their profile. It's a symbol of their prestige," said Zhou Yu, a Shanghai-based realty agent.

A recent CTBUH report said about 130 skyscrapers will be completed in 2015, and about 106 of them will be in China.

The height competition among skyscrapers has led to "vanity height", a term that tall building experts use to describe design features such as spires that make a building look very tall while creating a lot of empty space.

In 2013, two of the world's top 10 "vanity heights" were in China. But about 30 percent of each building was vacant, according to CTBUH data.

Designers and consultancies in China have embraced the idea of making tall buildings energy- and space-efficient and environmentally friendly.

Some designs and buildings in China have been performing well, said Daniel Safarik, a tall building expert and director of CTBUH's China office.

One thing that the office aims to do in China is to promote social interaction between the tenants of tall buildings and those of their shorter neighbors. It also aims to maximize the advantages of tall buildings such as sky gardens, according to Safarik.

"Developers and owners alike have a mounting awareness of keeping tall buildings environmentally friendly. Management improvement can be as detailed as using only local plants for gardening as they require less care and irrigation, reducing water and energy consumption," said Lennie Ong, manager of technical and sustainability services with CBRE China, a real estate service firm.