Adrian Smith, one of the architects behind the world's present and future tallest buildings, has dismissed claims that we are entering the era of the "megatall" skyscraper (+ slideshow).
Chicago-based Smith ? whose portfolio includes the 828-metre Burj Khalifa and the 1,000-metre-proposed Kingdom Tower ? said it would be a long time before buildings over 600 metres tall become commonplace ? despite technological advances.
"It's not likely to happen for several years yet," he told Dezeen.
Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Skyscraper authority the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) released a report last week claiming that "megatall" towers of 600 metres of more are "the new frontier for the world's tallest buildings". CTBUH predicts that the number of megatall skyscrapers is set to more than double in the next five years, rising from three to seven.

Related story: Record number of skyscrapers completed in 2015

But Smith said that world economies and conflicts will stand in the way of many proposed towers.
"There is too much conflict, too much financial turmoil, and too much debt within the nations that have the technical skills to see a mega-structure to fruition," he said.
Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Smith's business parter Gordon Gill shares his scepticism.
"I think that there will always be the ambition and d...