Top 11 Tallest Buildings in the World
The world's tallest buildings are not only a testament to human ingenuity and engineering but also a snapshot of the world we live in today.
From the famous Empire State Building in New York to Burj Khalifa in Dubai, these structures symbolize man's ambition and our need for progress. Here is a list of the 12 tallest buildings in the world.
1. Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE) - 828 m
The Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building and the tallest man-made structure in the world. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and constructed by a joint venture of three companies: Sama Dubai, Al Habtoor Engineering, and Samsung Construction & Trading. The tower cost $1.5 billion to construct, which was funded by Emaar Properties. It has 160 habitable floors, with 2 levels below ground, for 163 floors plus 5 basement levels.
2. Shanghai Tower (Shanghai, China) - 632 m
Shanghai Tower is a mixed-use building in Shanghai, China. It was the tallest building in China from 2014 to 2016, and it also has the world's fastest elevator at an average speed of 22.7 mph. The Shanghai Tower has 101 floors with offices, a hotel, a shopping mall, and a museum. It is home to the world's highest outdoor observation deck, which is on the 100th floor of the tower.
3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel (Makkah, Saudi Arabia) - 601 m
The Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, is the third tallest building in the world. The hotel opened in 1981 and is a grandiose building that stands as a symbol of faith. The 82-story building features 11 acres of floor space, five elevators, and five escalators.
The hotel has been built as a mixed-use tower with 325 roomettes and suites, four restaurants, seven escalators, six elevators, and five prayer rooms on the lower level for Muslim pilgrims. Downing Street and Whitehall Road - containing upscale stores. The hotel has four levels below ground with a total area of 200,000 square meters.
Architect Dar Al-Handasah Group has designed the tower from Saudi Arabia with engineering firm Arup from the United Kingdom.
4. Ping An Finance Center (Shenzhen, Guangdong, China) - 599 m
Ping An Finance Center is the 3rd tallest building in the world and 2nd tallest in China. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and constructed from 2007-to 2015.
Ping An Finance center stands at a height of 599m with a roof height of 473m. It has 101 floors and is located in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The Ping An Finance Center has been the tallest in Shenzhen since its completion in 2017.
5. Lotte World Tower (Seoul, South Korea) - 555 m
The Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea is the tallest building in the world. It has taken the top spot from Burj Khalifa in Dubai. This tower was completed in April 2017 and its claim to fame is that it's the first tower with more than 100 floors which was built using only steel and glass.
6. One World Trade Center (New York City, USA) - 541 m
One World Trade Center, located in New York City, is the tallest building in the western hemisphere. The building has 104 floors and stands at a height of 1,776 feet. It was designed by architect David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). It replaced the original Twin Towers that were destroyed on September 11th 2001.
7. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre (Tianjin, China) - 530 m
The Tianjin CTF Finance Centre is the tallest building in China and one of the tallest buildings in the world. At 530 meters it's been claimed to be the first grade-A office tower in China, and was completed at the end of 2015.
8. CITIC Tower (Beijing, China) - 527.7 m
The CITIC Tower is an office tower in Beijing, China. It was built for the CITIC Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. At 527.7 meters (1,729 ft), it is the sixth tallest building in the world and the tallest building in China. It was built between 1996-1998, and it cost $100 million USD to build. The building has a unique design that consists of four wings, each representing one of the corporation's four main sectors: finance, trade and investment, industry, and information technology.
9. Taipei 101 (Taipei, Taiwan) - 508 m
Taipei 101 is the first skyscraper in the world to break the 508 m mark. It has served as a model for future super tall skyscrapers, and was one of the first buildings to use an outside braced tube structure.
10. Shanghai World Financial Center (Shanghai, China) - 492 m
The Shanghai World Financial Center is the tallest building in China and the third tallest building in the world. It was constructed from 1999 to 2008 and opened in 2008.
It is 492 meters high and has 128 floors, of which 88 are office floors with about 530,000 square feet (50,000 square meters) of floor space on each floor for a total of 42 million square feet (3.9 million square meters). The remaining floors are devoted to various functions including an observatory at 474 meters with 360 panoramic views as well as restaurants and retail shops.
11. International Commerce Centre (Hong Kong) - 484 m
The International Commerce Centre is situated in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong. It is a mixed-use skyscraper with an observation deck at the 124th floor, and has been featured in several Hollywood films, including "Skyfall" and "Mission: Impossible 3"
The tallest buildings in the world are a list of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. This list changes due to new constructions and renovations. In order to be considered, a building must be at least 300 meters tall.