Stairways to HEAVEN

The world’s tallest buildings – past, present and future

With wealthy corporations trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design, and the rapid advancement of construction technologies and engineering prowess, over-a-mile-high super-tall towers and seemingly impossible-shaped sci-fi structures may be just around the corner. Here we display the current and soon-to-be-completed tallest buildings in the world. Unless otherwise stated, measurements denote the ground-to-spire-tip height (not antenna) – the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat standard since 1969.


ILLUSTRATION: www.SkyscraperPage.com

1. Two International Finance Centre (2003)

415.8m - 90 floors
Standing within a four-building complex which includes the Four Seasons Hotel, this is the third-tallest office building in the world (based on roof height; based on structure, it’s the seventh), and Hong Kong’s tallest tower.

2. Jin Mao Tower (1998)

421m - 93 ?oors
China’s tallest building and the world’s fifth highest is famous as the imposing Grand Hyatt Shanghai (home to the world’s loftiest hotel rooms, located on ?oors 53-87). A breath-stopping atrium runs the entire length of each hotel ?oor.

3. Petronas Towers (1998)

452m - 88 ?oors
Holding the world height record from 1998 to 2003, Malaysia’s architectural pride (with its ground-level shopping mall and towering offices) remains the world’s tallest twin buildings. A skybridge up on the 41st and 42nd ?oors is accessible for free public viewing.

4. Sears Tower (1974)

527.3m (antenna) 442m (roof) - 110 ?oors
Thanks to its antennas, no skyscraper has risen any taller that this tower. The world’s tallest building until 1996 (or, by roof height, until 2003), Sears sports 76 single-deck and 14 double-deck lifts, 25,000 miles of plumbing and 2,000 miles of electrical wire.

5. Taipei 101 (2004)

509m - 101 ?oors
The world’s tallest building across all the relevant categories (even the two fastest elevators, powered by Toshiba), this epitome of postmodern engineering has a 900-tonne mass damper on the 87th floor to counter earthquakes and typhoons.

6. Chicago Spire (2010-11)

609.6m (roof) - 150 floors
Set to become North America’s tallest freestanding structure and the world’s tallest all-residential building, each floor will project seven arms from the central axis.

As the tower rises, each floor also rotates approximately two degrees, resulting in a shell-like spiral.

7. Burj Dubai (2009)

818m (spire, prediction) 636m (roof, as of May 2008) - 162 ?oors
With a spire that will be visible 60 miles away, 17-football-fields-worth of exterior surfacing will cover the approx. 162 floors of what is already the world’s tallest structure. Burj is part of a development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels and at least 19 residential towers.

Rising Higher

Another proposed super-tall tower which may surpass the Burj Dubai is Al Burj, on a plot near the Dubai Marina. Heights between 700m and 1,200m have been mentioned, but no official statement by Al Nakheel, the developer, has yet been made and construction has not yet begun. The Mile-High Tower, a recently announced skyscraper planned for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, would be almost twice as tall as Burj Dubai (1,609m) if completed as planned by Riyadh-based Kingdom Holdings, though a reduced height of up to 1,150m is now being touted. The building is projected to cost US$10.7 billion.