Today we’ll speak about the tallest buildings in the world based on statistics prepared by About Architecture team. The buildings from today are really “buildings” not the towers and not just some other tall structures. These are visited daily by thousands of people and not only to look at the scenery. Lots of people work in numerous offices doing their daily job and don’t even pay attention to the magnificent view from above. But for me, all these building are “WOW”! I mean how can one calculate and build a structure that is so high? That’s amazing and that’s so thrilling.

With every new tall building we are getting closer to the sky…and say in several hundreds years the Earth from the space will look like tangle with threads

Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan.

Built in 2004, 101 stories, height 509 meters.

Taipei 101 Tower is currently the world’s tallest building – if you count its massive 60-foot spire. Its design borrows heavily from Chinese culture. Both the building’s interior and exterior incorporate the Chinese pagoda form and the shape of bamboo flowers.

Shanghai World Financial Center, China

Built in 2008, 101 stories, 492 meters.

The Shanghai World Financial Centre is a soaring glass skyscraper with a distinctive opening at the top. The ground floor of Shanghai World Financial Centre is a shopping mall and an elevator lobby with gyrating kaleidoscopes on the ceiling. On the upper floors are offices, conference rooms, hotel rooms, and observation decks.

Petronas Towers 1 & 2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Built in 1998, 88 stores, 452 meters.

Traditional Islamic design inspired the floor plans for two Petronas towers in Kuala Lumur, Malaysia. Each floor of the 88-story towers is shaped like an 8-pointed star. At the 42nd floor, a flexible bridge connects the two Petronas Towers.

Sears Tower, Chicago

Built in 1974, 110 stores, 442 meters.

To provide stability against high winds, architect Bruce Graham used a new form of tubular construction for Sears Tower. Two hundred sets of bundled tubes were laid into the bedrock. Then, 76,000 tons of prefabricated steel in 15-foot by 25-foot sections were put into place. Four derrick cranes moved higher with each floor to lift these steel “Christmas Trees” into position.

Jin Mao Building, Shanghai

Built in 1999, 88 stories, 421 meters.

The architects at Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed the Jin Mao Building around the number eight. Shaped like a Chinese pagoda, the Jin Mao Building is divided into segments. The lowest segment has 16 stories, and each succeeding segment is 1/8 smaller than the one below.

Two International Finance Centre (IFC), Hong Kong

Built in 2003, 88 stories, 414 meters.

Two IFC is the taller of two International Finance Centre buildings and part of a US$2.8 billion complex that includes a luxury shopping mall, the Four Seasons Hotel, and Hong Kong Station. The complex is located on the north shore of Hong Kong Island.

CITIC Plaza, China International Trust, Guanzhou

Built in 1997, 80 stories, 391 meters.

The CITIC office tower in Guangzhou, China is flanked by two 38-story apartment buildings. The CITIC Plaza complex also has a train station, a metro station, and the Tianhe Sports Center.

Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, China

Built in 1996, 69 stories, 384 meters.

Shun Hing Square is like an entire city in a single building. Shun Hing Square includes a 5-story shopping mall, offices, apartments, and, on the top floor, a public observatory called the Meridian View Center.

Empire State Building, New York

Built in 1931, 102 stories, 381 meters.

When it was constructed in 1931, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the World, and it remained the world’s tallest until 1972, when the New York World Trade Center Tower was completed. After terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State

Building became New York’s tallest building. Located at 350 Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building has an observation deck and is one of New York City’s most popular tourist attractions. Unlike most skyscrapers, all four facades of the Empire State Building are visible from the street.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 11:09 am and is filed under Architecture, Interesting Facts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.