TOP 25 TOP 25 WORLD’S TALLEST WORLD’S TALLEST

HIGH-RISEHIGH-RISEBUILDINGSBUILDINGS

Chicago

Atlanta

Hong Kong

Dubai

New York

Guangzhou

Shanghai

Kuala Lumpur

Pyongyang

Shenzhen

Taipei

Kaohsiung

Los Angeles

Wu Han

Makati

1. TAIPEI 1011. TAIPEI 101 (also known as Taipei Financial Center) (also known as Taipei Financial Center) Architect: C. Y. Lee and PartnersArchitect: C. Y. Lee and Partners

Location

City: Taipei Country: Taiwan

Technical Data

Height: 509 m (1,671 ft)

Floors: 101

Construction: 2004

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Oriental Revivalism

Status: Completed

-An 800-ton tuned mass damping system will help stabilize the tower. This system will be held in an exposed spherical structure near the top of the building, between the restaurant level and the observation deck.

-This will be one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.

-Each elevator is designed with an aerodynamic body, pressurization and emergency braking systems, and the world's first triple-stage anti-overshooting system. The cost for each elevator is over $US 2 million.

-The 89th floor will be an indoor observation area, and an outdoor observation deck will be located on the 91st floor. -Taipei 101 will hold 3 of the World's Tallest Building titles when it is topped out: Tallest to structural top, Tallest to roof and Highest occupied floor.

-It is one of the few supertalls in the world in which the design inspiration comes from traditional Chinese buildings.

-The tower's design and specifications are all based on the "8", a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture. This kind of "8-design" was also widely used in the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai.

2. PETRONAS TOWER 12. PETRONAS TOWER 1 (also known as Menera Petronas 1) Architect: Cesar Pelli and Associates

Location

City: Kuala Lumpur

Country: Malaysia

Technical Data

Height: 452 m (1,483 ft)

Floors: 88

Construction: 1998

Building in General

Type of Construction:

High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern

Status: Completed

-The foundation under each tower is a 4.5 meter thick, 32,500 tonne raft containing 13,200 m³ of grade 60 concrete, supported by 104 barrette piles driven into the soft rock.

-A steel skybridge connects the towers 170m (558 feet) above the ground at the 41st and 42nd floors. The bridge is open to the public.

-The two towers have a total of 76 lifts, including 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower. Each double-decker elevator can carry 26 persons.

-The architectural and engineering team was chosen on the basis of its experience with the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a world's-tallest proposal from Chicago with a narrow concrete structure that was very similar to the Petronas design.

-Shared the world's tallest building title with its twin from 1996 to 2003.

3. PETRONAS TOWER 23. PETRONAS TOWER 2also known as Menara Petronas 2Architect: Cesar Pelli and Associates

-The skybridge is now open to the public, and connects both towers at levels 41 and 42. It is 58.4 meters long (192 feet) and weighs 750 tons.

-The tower has 29 double-decker elevators.

-Shared the world's tallest building title with its twin from 1996 - 2003.

Location

City: Kuala Lumpur

Country: Malaysia

Technical Data

Height: 452 m (1,483 ft)

Floors: 88

Construction: 1998

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern

Status: Completed

PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS

4. Sears Tower4. Sears Tower Architect: Skidmore Owings and MerillArchitect: Skidmore Owings and Merill

Location

City: Chicago Country: U.S.A.

Technical Data

Height: 442 m (1,450 ft)

Floors: 108

Construction: 1974

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: International Style

Status: Completed

-World's tallest building from 1974 - 1996; surpassed by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

-Until Taipei 101 was topped out in 2004, the Sears Tower held title to the world's highest roof and highest occupied floor.

-The two antennae on the roof give the tower the highest "tip height" of any skyscraper in the world.

-The lobby contains the moving sculpture "The Universe" by Alexander Calder.

-The structure is formed from 9 bundled square tubes, each 75 feet wide with no columns between the core and perimeter. Two of the tubes are 50 floors high, two are 66 floors, three are 90, and two are 108.

-This has been the tallest building in Chicago since 1974. For a timeline of Chicago's tallest building through history, start with Holy Name Cathedral.

-The lobby floor is decorated with metal tiles in a stylized design based on the bundled tube structure.

-This is not the original Sears Tower; the previous headquarters of Sears Roebuck was a vast building on Chicago's West Side that included the Sears Merchandise Building Tower.

-A renovation in the 1980s added a barrel-vaulted entrance pavilion to the west side and a small cut-away atrium inside the east entrance.

5. Jin Mao Tower5. Jin Mao Tower (also known as Jin Mao Mansion, Jin Mao Building) (also known as Jin Mao Mansion, Jin Mao Building) Architect: Skidmore Owings and MerillArchitect: Skidmore Owings and Merill

Location

City: Shanghai Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 421 m (1,380 ft)

Floors: 88

Construction: 1998

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Oriental Revivalism

Status: Completed

-The tower has an observatory (with a floor space of 1,520 square metres) on the 88th floor, at a height of 340.1 metres. It is the largest and highest observation deck in China. Admission is 50 rmb (about $6 US).

-The building's shape draws on traditional Chinese forms, especially the tiered pagoda. -Offices occupy floors 3 through 50. A 5-star Grand Hyatt Hotel fills the top 38 floors with 555 rooms.

-The tower is designed to withstand an earthquake of 6 on the Richter scale and the strongest level of typhoon.

-The hotel atrium starts at the 53rd floor and extend upwards to the 87th floor. It has a clear height of 152 meters and a diameter of 27 meters, making it one of the tallest atriums in the world.

-Designed by Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA Design Partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP.

-Contains the world's highest hotel rooms, and is the world's tallest building with a hotel inside. The Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea is still considered the world's tallest hotel because it is a pure hotel and not mixed-use.

-Replaced King Tower as the tallest building in Shanghai. -Currently the tallest building in the People's Republic of China (replacing CITIC Plaza), and the fifth tallest in the world.

6. Two International Finance Center6. Two International Finance Center (also known as Taipei Financial Center) (also known as Taipei Financial Center) Architect: Rocco Design Ltd., DLN Archts & EngrsArchitect: Rocco Design Ltd., DLN Archts & Engrs

Location

City: Hongkong Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 415 m (1,362 ft)

Floors: 88

Construction: 2003

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern

Status: Completed

-It is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.

-The Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought several floors in the top portion of the tower for 0.48 billion USD.

-Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade from October to November of 2003 that stretched more than 50 stories tall, covering an area of 0.2 million square ft and a length of 230m; making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on skyscraper.

-This is the tallest building in Hong Kong, surpassing Central Plaza.

-2 IFC's reign as Hong Kong's tallest will not be long, as Union Square Phase 7 is under construction and will claim the title in 2007.

-More than 3500 workers from various places around the world worked at the construction site during the peak construction period.

-This building was featured in the Hollywood movie "Tomb Raider 2". -The 88th floor of the tower contains the office of the Chairman of the HK Monetary Authority.

-The tower is attached to the second phase of IFC Mall.

-An exhibition area and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor and are open to the public.

7. CITIC PLAZA7. CITIC PLAZA (also known as Sky Central Plaza, (also known as Sky Central Plaza, China International Trust and Investment Plaza) China International Trust and Investment Plaza)

Architect: DLN Architects and Engineers Architect: DLN Architects and Engineers Location

City: Guangzhou Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 391 m (1,283 ft)

Floors: 80

Construction: 1997

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: Completed

8. SHUNG HING SQUARE8. SHUNG HING SQUARE (also known as Di Wang Commercial Building,(also known as Di Wang Commercial Building,Di Wang Commercial Center) Di Wang Commercial Center) Architect: K. Y. Cheung and Associates Architect: K. Y. Cheung and Associates

Location

City: Shenzhen Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 384 m (1,260 ft) Floors: 69

Construction: 1996

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern Status: Completed

-Tallest “steel” building in China

-Buildings was constructed with fast pace, four storeys in nine days.

9. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING9. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING (Architect: Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates)(Architect: Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates)

Location

City: New York Country: U.S.A.

Technical Data

Height: 381 m (1,250 ft)

Floors: 102

Construction: 1931

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Art deco/Art modern

Status: Completed

-The Empire State Building is a legend. Built in the midst of the Depression, it was, and still remains a testament to American fortitude and ingenuity.

-An international icon, it has been visited by more than 117 million people, who come to marvel at the 80-mile view into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

-Built in 1930 to be the tallest structure on earth, the Empire State Building was then considered the largest commercial venture and investment ever.

-The façade is composed of more than 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and utilizes several setbacks to offset the optical distortion of its 102-story height.

-Construction took just over 18 months.

-Decorated with enormous bronze medallions celebrating the craftsmen responsible for the building, and a metal mosaic featuring the building as the center of the universe, the lobby is without peer.

-The lobby is a five-story Art Deco masterpiece crafted in rich granite and marble, and highlighted by brushed stainless steel.

-Declared a National Historic Landmark on October 23, 1986.

-Initially the building was intended to have a flat roof until a "hat" or metal-plated tower on top of the building was designed. It initially served double duty as a zeppelin mooring mast and an observatory.

-The metal-plated tower on top of the building was planned as a zeppelin port. Yet it was used for only one zeppelin landing because the winds were too strong at such heights making mooring dangerous and also because the golden age of zeppelins was quickly slipping into the past.

-The tower was one of the first to employ the then new fast-track construction technique.

10. CENTRAL PLAZA10. CENTRAL PLAZA Architect: DLN Architects and EngineersArchitect: DLN Architects and EngineersLocation

City: Hong Kong

Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 374 m (1,227 ft)

Floors: 78

Construction: 1992

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern

Status: Completed

-The tallest building in Hong Kong until completion of Two International Finance Center.

-Was the tallest building in Asia from 1992 until Shun Hing Square was built in 1996.

-World's tallest reinforced concrete building until the completion of CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou.

-Took the tallest building in HK title away from the Bank of China when completed in 1992.

-The tower mast is 102m tall, although some of the mast is not exposed.

-The highest floor with the pyramidal atrium is the world's highest church.

-It was the second building outside the United States to break the 1000 foot mark. That also means it was the tallest outside America from its completion year, 1992, through the completion year of Shun Hing Square, 1996.

11. BANK OF CHINA TOWER11. BANK OF CHINA TOWER Architect: Ieoh Ming Pei Partners Architect: Ieoh Ming Pei Partners

(Pei Cobb Freed and Partners) (Pei Cobb Freed and Partners)

Location

City: Hong Kong Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 367 m (1,205 ft)

Floors: 72

Construction: 1990

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Structural Expressionism

Status: Completed

-Many critics have stated again and again, "One of the most outstanding achievements in modern architecture".

-Grouping of four triangular glass and aluminum towers of varying heights that emerge from a granite podium.

-The changes in geometry, from a square base through several geometric changes to a single spire, result in a multifaceted facade of angles and profiles that reflect the light and seem almost crystalline in composition.

-The silver reflective glass is glazed in a low maintenance dry gasket system, and the curtain wall is a unitized design assembled off-site under factory conditions. This enabled close quality control of all aspects of the frame assembly, which numbers over 10,000 pieces in total.

-The megastructural steelwork is expressed externally by naturally anodized panels that form part of the curtainwall.

-Virtually every aspect of this building was challenging from moving material to a height never before achieved outside of the USA, to glazing the largest 25mm thick pattern cut lights ever produced. All required not only careful planning but also the development of new erection techniques.

-The inspiration of the design of the BOC is derived from the elegant poise of bamboo; its sectioned trunk being propelled higher and higher by each new growth. The BOC Tower is symbolic of strength, vitality and growth.

12. EMIRATES OFFICE TOWER12. EMIRATES OFFICE TOWER (also known as Emirates Towers 1) (also known as Emirates Towers 1) Architect: Hazel W.S. Wong, Norr Group Architect: Hazel W.S. Wong, Norr Group Consultants Int., Ltd.Consultants Int., Ltd.Location

City: Dubai

Country: United Arab Emirates

Technical Data

Height: 355 m (1,163 ft) Floors: 54

Construction: 2000

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: Completed

13. TUNTEX SKY TOWER13. TUNTEX SKY TOWER (also known as T & C Tower, Tuntex & Chien-tai Tower, (also known as T & C Tower, Tuntex & Chien-tai Tower, Kaohsiung Sky Tower) Kaohsiung Sky Tower) Architect: C. Y. Lee and Partners, Hellmuth, Obata and Architect: C. Y. Lee and Partners, Hellmuth, Obata and KassabaumKassabaum

Location

City: Kaohsiung Country: Taiwan

Technical Data

Height: 348 m (1,140 ft)

Floors: 85

Construction: 1997

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Oriental Revivalism

Status: Completed

-Tallest building in Taiwan from 1997 to today.

-This building is owned by the Tuntex Group (Chien-Tai is a company under the Tuntex Group).

-The building serves 5 major uses: the Chien-Tai Department Store; offices; private residential apartments; the Grand Formosa Hotel; and an observation deck. -Currently the 3rd tallest building in Asia and the 6th tallest building in the world, not including the spire.

-Contains the highest hotels rooms in Taiwan ROC, and the 2nd highest hotels rooms in the world, after Jin Mao Tower of Shanghai.

-Replaced Chang-Gu World Trade Center as the tallest building in Kaohsiung.

-Replaced Shin-Kong Life Tower as the tallest building in Taiwan.

-The building's shape is based on the Chinese character - Kao, which is the first word in the city's name.

14. AON CENTER14. AON CENTER (also known as Amoco Building, Standard Oil Building) (also known as Amoco Building, Standard Oil Building) Architect: Edward Durell Stone and AssociatesArchitect: Edward Durell Stone and Associates

Location

City: Chicago Country: U.S.A.

Technical Data

Height: 346 m (1,136 ft)

Floors: 83

Construction: 1973

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: Completed

-The "Sounding Sculpture" by Harry Bertoia is found in the east and west plazas. Its metal rods make soft music in the wind. The sculpture was originally a single ensemble in front of the building.

-From 1990 to 1992 the building's 43,000 marble cladding panels were replaced by two-inch-thick Mt. Airy granite panels at a cost of about $80 million.

-Tallest building in Chicago from 1973 to 1974; surpassed by the Sears Tower.

-A sunken plaza leads to the main entrance off East Randolph Street. Before a postmodernization in the 1990's the plaza was a secluded space with two groves of locust trees flanking a reflecting pool with the Bertoia sculpture.

-Aon Center is the only regular "box-shaped" building in the world over 300 meters tall.

-This is the tallest building in the world without any major antennae, spires, or finials at the top.

15. THE CENTER15. THE CENTER Architect: DLN Architects and EngineersArchitect: DLN Architects and Engineers

Location

City: Hong Kong Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 346 m (1,135 ft)

Floors: 73

Construction: 1998

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Post Modern

Status: Completed

-The Centre has a Cozyvivid low-voltage neon system consisting of 8 784 red, green and blue neon tubes that create a slowly changing light show during the night.

-The Chinese name of the building actually means "Central Center", where "Central" is the Central Business District of Hong Kong... emphasizing the importance of the tower for business.

-The tower is set on a narrow base to add room to the plaza at street level.

16. JOHN HANCOCK CENTER16. JOHN HANCOCK CENTER Architect: Skidmore, Owings and MerillArchitect: Skidmore, Owings and Merill

Location

City: Chicago Country: U.S.A.

Technical Data

Height: 344 m (1,127 ft)

Floors: 100

Construction: 1969

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: Completed

-John Hancock Center's distinctive X-bracing has made it an architectural icon, and eliminates the need for inner support beams, greatly increasing the usable floor area.

-Remodeled in 1995, the lobby features rich travertine marble and textured limestone surfaces.

-Contains the highest residences in the world.

-A segment of the east antenna was removed in 2000 when a broadcasting agency's lease terminated.

-Because of space constraints caused by the tower's tapering walls, common hallways and elevator lobbies are narrower on higher floors.

-A band of white lights around the 100th floor is visible all over Chicago at night. The lights change color for Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, July 4, and Halloween.

-The eastern antenna was elevated to its full height on Thursday, December 5th, 2002. The top of the antenna now reaches just higher than the roofline of the Sears Tower across town.

-Tallest building in Chicago (or anywhere outside New York) from 1969 to 1973; surpassed by the Standard Oil Building (now the Aon Center).

-The semicircular sunken plaza on the west side is a public oasis with seasonal plantings and a 12-foot waterfall.

-The observation floor features the highest balcony in America, a screened-in area called the "Skywalk".

-As an alternative to balconies, about one-third of the residential units have "sky terraces" - a sort of tiled sunroom separated from living spaces by glass doors.

-This was the first trussed-tube skyscraper ever built. The idea was developed by Fazlur Khan, based on a project of Illinois Institute of Technology graduate student Mikio Sasaki.

-The idea of a tube-framed skyscraper was first realized 2 blocks down the street at The Plaza on Dewitt.

-As happened later with the Sears Tower, the architects presented the developer with two options: either a pair of medium-height towers, or a single very large skyscraper.

-The alternative plan for the complex called for a 70-story apartment building and a 45-story office building of equal height, positioned at the northeast and southwest corners of the lot.

17. WUHAN INTERNATIONAL17. WUHAN INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES BUILDINGSECURITIES BUILDING (also known as China People’s Bank Building) (also known as China People’s Bank Building) Location

City: Wuhan Country: China

Technical Data

Height: 334 m (1,097 ft)

Floors: 68

Construction: 2005

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: Under Construction (topped out)

18. RYUGYONG HOTEL18. RYUGYONG HOTEL (also known as 105 Building) (also known as 105 Building) Architect: Baikdoosan Architects and EngineersArchitect: Baikdoosan Architects and Engineers

Location

City: Pyongyang Country: North Korea

Technical Data

Height: 330 m (1,083 ft)

Floors: 105

Construction: 1992

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Modern

Status: On Hold

-The building has reached it's full structural height, but it's currently no more than a massive concrete shell.

-Construction was halted in 1992 because of financial problems, and the building's future still remains undecided.

-The North Korean government is currently trying to invite a foreign investment of 300 million US dollars for a new structural system.

-The pyramid-shaped building has a 75-degree slope.

-The building has been incorrectly listed with a height of 300 m for the past several years. The updated height of 330 m makes it the world's tallest building intended for hotel use.

-It would have surpassed world's tallest building in purely hotel use at time of scheduled completion and ranked 7th tallest building in the world.

-First building outside New York & Chicago with over 100 floors.

19. BURJ AL ARAB19. BURJ AL ARAB (also known as Chicago Beach Hotel, Arabian Tower) (also known as Chicago Beach Hotel, Arabian Tower) Architect: W. S. Atkins and PartnersArchitect: W. S. Atkins and PartnersLocation

City: Dubai

Country: United Arab Emirates

Technical Data

Height: 321 m (1,053 ft)

Floors: 60

Construction: 1999

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Structural Expressionism

Status: Completed

-A 24 meter (79 feet) wide helipad projects from the building 210 meters above the ground.

-The Al Muntaha restaurant is located 200 metres above the Arabian Gulf, offering great views of Dubai. It is accessed by a panoramic elevator.

-The atrium is 180 metres high, one of the highest in the world.

-Burj Al Arab is the world's tallest structure with a membrane facade.

-This is the tallest operating hotel building in the world (not counting mixed-use buildings like Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai or the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea).

-"Burj" is Arabic for "Tower".

-The building's external lighting schemes, from white light to a multicolored one, change from one to another every 30 minutes expressing the evening's progress.

20. CHRYSLER BUILDING20. CHRYSLER BUILDING Architect: William Van AllenArchitect: William Van Allen

Location

City: New York

Country: U.S.A.

Technical Data

Height: 319 m (1,046 ft)

Floors: 77

Construction: 1930

Building in General

Type of Construction: High-Rise Building

Style: Art Deco/Art Modern

Status: Completed

-Decorated with Egyptian motifs and a ceiling fresco by Edward Trumbull entitled "Transport and Human Endeavor" that depicts buildings, airplanes, and scenes from the Chrysler assembly line.

-A particularly beautiful example of the Art Deco style, the lobby of Chrysler Building is clad in different marbles, onyx and amber.

-A private lounge called "Cloud Club" and an observation area were located at the top of the building.

-This aluminum trim culminates in a beautiful, tapered stainless steel crown that supports the famous spire.

-Metal hubcaps, gargoyles in the form of radiator caps, car fenders and hood ornaments decorate shaft and setbacks of the white and black brick skyscraper.

-One of the first large buildings to use metal extensively on the exterior, the building's ornament makes reference to the automobile.

-Considered by many tall building fans to be the world's quintessential skyscraper design.