The world is a beautiful place in more ways than one. Mother Nature isn’t the only one contributing to that beauty. Among the thousands of ordinary brick-and-mortar buildings making up the bulk of the urban landscape, skyscrapers are architectural and engineering marvels that rise hundreds of meters into the air, overlooking all others. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is the official body that determines which buildings fall into the “The World’s Tallest Buildings” category. It ranks the height of buildings based on the height to the architectural top of the building, highest occupied floor, top of the roof or the tip of the building.
Let us look at what the CTBUH says are the world’s tallest buildings as of now.
Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan – 1671 ft (509 m) 101 Floors
Taipei 101 became the world’s tallest building to be constructed in the new millennium and the first to cross the half-kilometer mark. The construction cost was $1.76 billion and it was completed in 2004. This multi-use steel-and-glass skyscraper was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and has 61 elevators. It reflects the traditional Chinese pagoda, with a soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (eight is considered a number representing prosperous growth in China), narrow pinnacle tower, and a spire.
The building has an 18 ft, 882-ton ball-shaped damper at the top that counteracts swaying motions during typhoons and earthquakes. Although CTBUH only takes into consideration the floors above ground level, there are 5 floors underground too. The number “101” represents not only the number of floors, but also the mailing code of Taipei’s international business district. It was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World by Newsweek magazine in 2006 and as one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering by The Discovery Channel in 2005.
Shanghai World Financial Center – 1614 ft (492 m) 101 Floors
This super-tall skyscraper in Shanghai dominates the skyline over East China and is destined to become a symbolic icon, giving the city a new status and depicts the arrival of a new era in Asia. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and officially opened its doors to the public on August 28, 2008. It is a mixed-use building with excellent urban shopping malls at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the top and sixty-two floors filled with offices. There are three observation decks between the 94th and the 100th levels. It has a total of 31 elevators and the construction cost was US $1.2 billion. The most remarkable feature of this majestic building is the aperture at the top of the building. It is the 2nd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers – 1483 ft (452 m) 88 Floors
The beautiful world-famous Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were constructed in 1998. The name sounds as romantic as they look together, standing side by side. These elegantly slender towers once held the title of the world’s tallest buildings before being ousted from that position by Taipei 101.
Petronas Tower 1 is the 3rd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Tower 2 is the 4th tallest building in the world.
However, they still remain the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli and were built on Kuala Lumpur’s race track. The structure is made of high-strength concrete and has a curtain wall of glass and stainless steel sun shades that help diffuse the intensity of light.
The major feature of the towers is the sky-bridge between the towers on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world. Visitors are allowed on the Skyway. The sky-bridge is also meant to be used in case of a fire or for other emergencies.
The Sears Tower – 1451 ft (452 m) 108 Floors
Located in Chicago, Illinois, The Sears Tower was constructed in 1974, and held the title of the world’s tallest building when it overtook the World Trade Center in New York. Although it is no longer the tallest building in the world, the Sears Tower is the 5th tallest and still has the world’s highest occupied floors, highest elevator ride and the highest roof deck. The top of the tower is the highest point in Illinois. It is said that four states can be seen from the top of the Sears Tower.
This tower was designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan in a “bundled tube” system with nine squares, sheathed in a dark tinted glass curtain wall. The building leans a few inches due to its asymmetrical design and this can be felt occasionally. The Sears Tower has a separate tourist entrance and attracts more than 1.5 million tourists each year.
Jin Mao Tower – 1380 ft (421 m) 88 Floors
The name of the landmark super-tall skyscraper, Jin Mao, literally means “Golden Prosperity Building.” Currently ranked the 6th tallest building in the world, it was designed by the Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and was constructed in 1999. It is located in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The architecture ingeniously combines elements of traditional Chinese culture with the modern architectural styles of the time, which makes it one of the most well-constructed buildings in China. The proportions of this structure revolve around the number 8, which according to Chinese belief signifies prosperity.
It houses the very luxurious Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel and several offices. The construction cost is estimated to be 530 million dollars. The tower has several exhibition halls, banquet halls, entertainment venues, and an observation deck on the 88th floor that can fit about 1000 tourists. The daily maintenance of this tower is reported to be an unbelievable US$121,000.
Two International Finance Center (IFC) – 1362 ft (415 m) 88 Floors
Constructed in 2003, the IFC with its two skyscrapers overlooking the Victoria Harbor is a prominent landmark in Hong Kong, China. One International Finance Center is 38 stories high. The Two International Finance Center, which is the world’s 7th tallest building, has 88 stories and has been designed to house financial firms with advanced telecommunications, featuring raised floors for better cabling and floor plans that are almost without columns. About 15,000 people can be accommodated in this building. Although there are 88 stories, there are some floors that are considered to be taboo and which are not used, such as the 14th and 24th floors, as these numbers signify evil for the Chinese.
The IFC mall has an array of famous retailers and several top jewelry retailers, health & skin care and fashion houses, restaurants, and a cinema. It is one of the few buildings in the world to be equipped with double-deck elevators.
CITIC Plaza – 1283 ft (391 m) 80 Floors
The China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC) Plaza, built in 1997, is located in Guangzhou, in the growing Tianhe District. It was the tallest building in the world when it was built and is currently the tallest concrete building in the world. It is ranked as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia and eighth in the world. This building is part of a complex which has two other 38-story residential buildings.
CITIC Plaza has two antennas on the top like spires. This elegant building is surrounded by several other tall buildings and gives an indication of the increasing prosperity of Guangzhou. It is close to the Tianhe Sports Center where part of the Asia games 2010 will be held.
Shun Hing Square – 1260 ft (382 m) 69 Floors
The Shun Hing Square tower, built in 1996, is one of the world’s tallest buildings and occupies the 9th place currently. This brilliantly constructed building is in Shenzhen, China and is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It has the distinction of being the tallest all-steel building in China and the fifth tallest building overall in China. An interesting tid bit about this building: it was built at an incredible speed of four floors in nine days. The spires on the top of the building add to the height and without them, it stands at 325 m tall.
Shun Hing Square is a complex that has an office tower and another 35-story building for residential, office, and retail purposes. The 69th floor has an observation deck called the Meridian View Center. Tourists will have to pay US$12 to go up to that observation deck.
Empire State Building – 1250 ft (381 m) – 102 Floors
The Empire State Building of New York, in the United Stats was built in 1931, and it is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in the world. There probably aren’t many people who have not heard of it. Now rated as the 10th tallest building, it was the world’s tallest building for forty-one years until the World Trade Center was constructed in the year 1972. After the unfortunate incident with the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in the State of New York.
It has also been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The beauty of the Empire State Building is highlighted by the beautiful lights at the top of the building. In fact, the view of the building at night is considered to be a tourist attraction all on its own.
Coming Up
Standing tall among all others is another marvel, the Burj Dubai Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is still under construction and will not be considered the tallest building until completion in September 2009. It already has 160 stories and overtook Taipei 101 and surpassed the KVLY-TV mast in the U.S. (which is 629 m), achieving the status of being the tallest man-made structure on the planet. The eventual height remains a secret, but speculation is that it will reach 900 meters.
There may be a magical moment in the future. The plan for the proposed Sky City 1000 by Japan shows its height at 1000 meters and 196 floors. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Burj Dubai, Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (167 Stories)
EDIT: The Burj Dubai had a delayed opening. It’s name has been changed to the Burj Khalifa, and it officially opened and became the world’s tallest building on January 4, 2010. It stands at 828 meters (2717 feet) tall. You can view a picture of the completed building below.
Credit: Wikipedia
Awesome post.
Posted by Kaushal | October 6, 2008, 12:42 pmSince the dawn of history man has been trying to build the ‘tallest building’, ‘tallest tower’ or ‘tallest structure’ in the world. There seems to be much prestige in being home to the worlds tallest building. So much in fact that this is a major issue on the political agenda of many countries. Many towers claim the title, and many cities quarrel about who houses the tallest building in the world. There is also a large sub category of towers claiming to be the tallest hotel, tallest office building or tallest apartment building in the world.
BUT I seriously believe that if you go against the nature, you are more vulnerable to natural threats.
Posted by Mona | October 6, 2008, 1:00 pmI find them arrogant, a projection of man’s wishful thinking with regard to his male attributes. I find them unnatural, I’ve always disliked very tall buildings and sky-scrapers, and 9/11 confirmed my uneasy feelings about them. Sure, they are marvels of engineering and architecture, but in my opinion, it is engineering and architecture serving only man’s ego.
Posted by Vierotchka | October 6, 2008, 4:03 pmAll those buildings are amazing structures!
Posted by Mr Javo | October 6, 2008, 4:11 pmI do not find out Sydney World Tower in this list.
Posted by Wayne Dong | October 6, 2008, 6:59 pmHey cool post! I was just up the Landmark Tower in Japan and it was pretty cool. Also been up the Empire State Buildling and that was neat too. The coolest part about the Landmark tower is that you can see for miles and miles because no other buildings are nearly as high. In NYC all the other buildings actually block the view (in my opinion).
Cool post though!
Posted by Jeff From Our Travels | October 8, 2008, 3:15 amThose are some amazing structures. Bridges and tall building s always held my fascination.
Posted by Tom Franks | October 8, 2008, 3:02 pmGod Damn…..China got 6 of 10, The Communists are coming back!!!
Posted by William J Stanton | November 5, 2008, 11:15 pmThese are really amazing!!!
Posted by Scott | November 12, 2008, 5:20 pmsome of the nicest modern sky scrapers i have seen pictures of, are in China
like Shun Hing square,
Posted by t wolf | November 14, 2008, 4:12 pmthose are definitely amazing structures!!
Posted by devang | November 18, 2008, 2:27 pmamaizing.marvellous,no more words to explain
Posted by aarthi | August 31, 2010, 5:05 amThe Empire State Building of New York, United States of America, built in 1931, is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in the world and there is certainly not a person who has not heard of it.
One of the OLDEST? Really? I bet I can find people in the US that haven’t heard of it. Wake up dude.
Posted by Divi | November 22, 2008, 5:17 amWhat about Toronto’s CN Tower. I believe it’s taller than the Sears Tower.
Posted by Terry Lubka | November 28, 2008, 1:02 am^ Yeah. It’s 1815 ft, 6 inches…Or 553 metres.
Posted by Nils | November 30, 2008, 5:06 amthese scrutures are totally cool..;)
Posted by NEnno | December 2, 2008, 8:52 amvery, very impressive… good post!
Posted by trompyx | January 6, 2009, 4:21 amThe Burj Dubai skyscraper in Dubai will top out at 818meters in about a weeks time.
An achievement for mankind.
Posted by Skyscraper | January 12, 2009, 3:56 amThe Burj Dubai topped out today at a total of 818 meters.
Posted by Burj Dubai | January 18, 2009, 6:31 amReally amazing!!! All these skyscrapers are definitely amazing structures!!
Posted by umaleem | January 25, 2009, 2:43 amCN Tower is a tower not a high rise. Amazing almost all of these building were designed by American Architechs…….. mainly from Chicago.
Posted by sbord | January 26, 2009, 11:33 pmYa…CN is bigger than the Empire State building for sure
Posted by Bukator | January 26, 2009, 11:50 pm1800 feet vs 1400 feet
Posted by Bukator | January 26, 2009, 11:52 pmYa this is very fantastic and great invention of man in the earth. and if they continues their experince they will made very beautiful buildings from the mentioned buildings in the site.
Posted by Waheed Ullah Yousafzai | February 5, 2009, 5:43 am“The Empire State Building … built in 1931, is one of the oldest … buildings in the world”
Eh, no. I think that sentence needs rewording a little.
Posted by Worldbeing | February 6, 2009, 4:16 amhow are the tallest buildings built?
Posted by Divine | February 16, 2009, 1:20 pmThis site is fantastic!!!
Posted by Damon Gibson | February 19, 2009, 7:58 amExcellent post, I love tall buildings? i wonder where the next tallest building will be!!
Posted by Wilson Kimutai | March 9, 2009, 11:17 amFANTASTIC,I LOVE TALL STOREY BUIDINGS
Posted by David Anaeli | March 15, 2009, 2:26 pmwow im amazed at how tall durj dubai is plus tapei 101 is my favorite and im only 10
Posted by dylan steel | May 6, 2009, 6:43 pmthis is awsome and cool and ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by JR. | May 11, 2009, 5:10 pmJust wondering if you are interested about Burj Dubai, here you can find the picture of it in when it reached the top size (818 metres):
http://www.zap-building.com/details.php?image_id=14
Photo taken just couple of months ago and you can see the link antenna in its place…
Cheers!
- Bubi
Posted by bubi | May 23, 2009, 5:45 pmAwesome!!!
Posted by arslion | July 27, 2009, 4:05 pmfantastic post. In my opinion, the Empire State building New York remains the most wonderful of all considering the time it was built ’1931′, without much technology.
Posted by merije | August 2, 2009, 1:12 pmWow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Those are obviously amazing tower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I hope I can have a vacation to those buildings!!!!!!!!!!Late reactionssssssssssssssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Mark Dups | August 18, 2009, 2:34 amThe Empire State Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in the world.
And the CN Tower is a free standing structure, that’s why it is not on this list. It would definately top most of these buildings if it was considered a skyscraper.
Posted by Dree | August 21, 2009, 6:25 pmall buildings are world classic but i need to get more information regarding the glass protection from natural disasters and other emergency situation and tragedy. please do reply me as soon as possible. thanks
Posted by Namous | August 25, 2009, 3:37 amputrajaya kuala lumpur…PUTRAJAYA TOWER(999meter) 2020..coming
Posted by pauh | October 12, 2009, 2:18 amthose are amazing structure by human.. it is more vulnerable and d’ best tourist in the world…. nice posting!!!
keep up!
Posted by SooYiJung | October 22, 2009, 6:05 ami am not impressed
Posted by dud | October 26, 2009, 11:23 pmreally its an engineering wonder
Posted by prabhat kumar | November 15, 2009, 6:56 amThen if dimond tower is made in “GIFT” , Gujarat , India , it would be in top seven tallest building in the world (432m high app.) wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Shail | November 26, 2009, 3:50 pmBurj Dubai can be regarded as a debt storehouse craving for early completion. Was such a building necessary in the first place. I doubt the occupancy rate of the building. Buildings must not be built just to create records. They must be financially viable too.
Posted by Ram | December 4, 2009, 2:43 amwonderful.
Posted by Rose | December 12, 2009, 6:12 amits really amazing, like dreams comes out
Posted by Gulam Mesc Riyadh | January 6, 2010, 3:29 pmOf all the listed buildings, undoubtedly, the Kuala Lumpur ones are the most beautiful, and the Taipei one is the ugliest.
Posted by Abdullah | January 8, 2010, 4:21 amYeeaahh! Really Really wonderful Tallest Buildings! I love them very much. Nice Blog.
Posted by Paradiseforever | January 8, 2010, 11:43 amThe race to have the tallest building increases every day and nobody knows where it will stop. To us, only for us to marvel.
Posted by Fred Marley | February 24, 2010, 12:11 amreally beautiful building in the world but not batter than TAJMAHAL(india).
Posted by hardikl rathod(bhavnagar)india | February 25, 2010, 6:25 ammy favorite is the empire state building
NY is the best
Posted by Mayra | March 17, 2010, 12:48 pmin my point view is the best tower from the world is righte now bruj khalifa from dubia
Posted by mohammed jamel | April 4, 2010, 11:48 amhttp://www.dirjournal.com !! fantastic!!****
1- Yeeaahh! Really Really wonderful Tallest Buildings! ***
2-Burj Dubai can be regarded as a debt storehouse craving for early completion. Was such a building necessary in the first place. I doubt the occupancy rate of the building.
3-Really beautiful building in the world but not batter than persipolis 2500years ago buuild..(Iran).!
3-I do not find out Milad Tower in this list( iran:– 1425 ft (435 m)
4-really its an engineering wonder.!
Iran-Tehran. M.Astaneh Asl. Prisident of Atskanco.Intl.
Posted by MOHAMMAD ASTANEH ASL.IRAK | April 7, 2010, 2:19 pmmy self kashif khan from delhi-india..burj khalifa its really world most tallest building and also beautifull.And all worlds tallest buildings are really tallest and beautifull.
thankyou
Posted by kashif khan | April 15, 2010, 7:58 ami think petronas twin tower are the most beautiful buildings in the world…
Posted by jessy | May 4, 2010, 1:00 amWhy do we always have to celebrate the tallest buildings in the world?
Why can’t we appreciate the smallest buildings as well?
Posted by lucy | May 9, 2010, 10:50 ami can NOT belive how big thise buildings are!
Posted by Sara | May 20, 2010, 8:49 amthinking of building worlds highest building shortly in India
Posted by esakki | May 23, 2010, 8:04 amomg how tall izzzzzzzzzzz dat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by myank | May 24, 2010, 3:42 amI find them arrogant, a projection of man’s wishful thinking with regard to his male attributes.
Posted by MOHAMMAD ASTANEH ASL.Iran | June 6, 2010, 12:20 pmHow on earth did they build Burj Dubai?
Posted by I | June 6, 2010, 4:15 pmHow did they build Burj Dubai?
Posted by I | June 6, 2010, 4:16 pmduh with machines and stuff
Posted by Sadie | June 14, 2010, 11:24 amnot only machines they also hand made stuff you know
Posted by Demi | June 29, 2010, 4:36 amI am civil engineering student of Myanmar.All those buildings are really amazing structures and engineers are very good.
Posted by Theဲ Oo May Zon(MYANMAR) | July 1, 2010, 2:45 amvery nice architecture
Posted by franz | July 2, 2010, 12:10 am..it’s all amazing…very genius and brave person….keep up and break your own record…….tiktok….
Posted by franz | July 2, 2010, 12:17 am…idol ko gd ru mga architects and engineers who designed and made those buildings…..namion gd ah…inspiring to do better……hard to break but it cud be broken by a good striver……jekjekjek…..
Posted by francisRS..ibajay | July 2, 2010, 12:21 amBURJ KHALIFA what a building. i like it.
Posted by Nithin. | July 4, 2010, 9:13 amBurj Khalifa.. its really an awesome building and one of its kind!
Posted by Sabeen Hidayat | July 7, 2010, 3:34 amoh i surprised to see this building it is marvellous place
Posted by moaz saeed | July 21, 2010, 4:23 amhi….. i am dwarika prasad … newyork is my fev always .. so i love empire building always…..
thanks & egards
dwarika prasad
088710862
Posted by dwarika prasad | August 6, 2010, 4:34 pmit’s cool…
Posted by sudip subedi | August 17, 2010, 10:51 amThis website is AWSOME I love. Huge buildings
Posted by Toby | August 21, 2010, 6:26 pmI like these very much & so wonder to see them. Because its very beautiful and strong to stand and look.
Posted by Mohsin | August 26, 2010, 1:01 amsure the tallest building is burj dubai but in future a building will exceed 4000m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(xceed 4000)
Posted by arpit | August 26, 2010, 6:18 amWhat about the CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest completed building in the world at 553m…
Posted by load shedding | August 30, 2010, 3:20 amreally amazing..I really like the pictures
Posted by hasmah bt abdullah | August 30, 2010, 12:39 pm