Burj Khalifa | Shanghai Tower | Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower | Ping An International Finance Centre | Lotte World Tower | One World Trade Center | Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre | Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | China Zun | Taipei 101 | FAQs
When it comes to making records or being counted amongst the top 10s, every nation strives to be the best. Which nation doesn’t love to have its name mentioned in the top 10s for all things good?
Talking about buildings, several nations around the world have already come up with unique building ideas which are often talked about because of their amazing facts and features. Architectural firms around the globe are striving each day to design buildings that stand apart and hold records for their excellence and brilliance.
These tallest buildings are mostly multi-purpose and several of them have observation decks that help in providing the best view of the city around. A lot of people are fascinated by buildings and architectural brilliance. Of course, it is the advancements in technology and how far engineers have come that it has been possible to make such towering tall structures.
A lot of these continue to amaze us and so if you too are one of those who tend to be in awe of such man-made structures, we have brought this list for you.
Every building that is a part of this list is proof of how far mankind has come as far as architectural progress is concerned. It wasn’t easy to make any of these and yet their existence is proof that miracles can happen. Let us take a look at these marvels and explore the best of tallest buildings ever made.
1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE
Having a whooping 2717 feet of height, Burj Khalifa is Dubai’s pride and one of its kind building that serves many purposes. The tallest building in the world came into being in January 2010 and since then it is wearing the crown.
Housed in Downtown Dubai, Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper with 163 floors. The building is known to hold many more titles apart from being the tallest building in the world. Known to have several fine dining options, corporate suits for a luxurious stay, an observation deck for tourists, and much more, Burj Khalifa is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world.
This iconic building tops many lists like the tallest free-standing structure in the world, building with the maximum number of floors, the tallest service elevator in the world, the highest observation deck in the world and many more.
Architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill gave Dubai the world’s tallest building. This Chicago-based firm spent around 6 years completing this piece of marvel.
2. Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
With 2073 feet of height, the Shanghai Tower follows Burj Khalifa when it comes to the tallest buildings in the world. Housed in Shanghai’s financial district Pudong, this tower is a conglomerate of 9 buildings all cylindrical in shape. Featuring cafes, garden areas, retail spaces and much more, the Shanghai Tower has 128 storeys.
The international architectural firm Gensler marked the completion of this building in the year 2014. It took several years for this wonder to stand tall as the project had to be shelved several times.
Housing a hotel with over 258 rooms and also an observatory deck that lets tourists see the Shanghai skyline with awe, this building is known for many more reasons.
The 9 buildings we mentioned above are all encased in a glass facade. This makes the building a beautiful twisted tower that people look up to. Around 4.2 billion dollars were spent on this beauty China is proud of.
3. Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Another Asian pride, the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia stands at spot 3 when talking about the tallest buildings in the world. Although it is not the highest in terms of height it holds the title of the costliest building in the world. Dar Al-Handasah is the name behind this very beautiful clock tower. The Lebanese architectural firm started working on this prestigious project in 2004. After around 6 years of hard work, the building stood complete and the construction cost came to around 15 billion dollars.
Apart from being the most expensive building, this clock tower also holds the record of being the largest building in the world when it comes to the area. The Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower also surpasses Big Ben when it comes to being the largest clock face on planet earth.
A conglomerate of seven buildings, this clock tower looks fascinating with 1972 feet of height. Having 120 storeys, the clock tower holds special importance during the month of Ramzan. Serving the public since 2011, the mighty clock is visible from a distance of around 30 km in the city.
4. Ping An International Finance Centre, Shenzhen, China
The city of Shenzhen is proud of its tallest building which is beautiful and features a stainless steel and glass facade. Being 1966 feet tall, this finance centre has 115 floors out of which 100 are dedicated to offices. Apart from this, the building houses a retail and conference podium that is big enough to hold close to 15500 workers and 9000 passengers. It also features an observation deck on the topmost floor.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is the firm that came up with the magnificent infrastructure of this smartly designed building. This New York-based firm is known for designing several other Chinese infrastructures. Although the inauguration of the tower was held in the year 2015 it was fully completed in 2017 as some construction work continued for 2 years.
This tower houses several conference centres, hotels as well as retail outlets. It also holds the title of the second tallest building in China.
5. Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea
Introducing South Korea’s tallest building, the Lotte World Tower has a height of 1819 feet and comprises 123 floors above the ground. A building having multiple uses, Lotte World Tower is house to several luxurious hotels, shopping complexes, and an outdoor park. The tower is also known to have the largest indoor theme park in the world.
It also houses a Korean folk museum, theatres and offices. Floors 76 to 101 of the Lotte World tower feature the Lotte Hotel. Floors 42 to 71 are reserved for residential purposes and the rest of the tower is offices. The tower was ready by 2017 after a hard work of 7 years. The plan for the building was proposed way back but it took years to get approval from officials.
Having several observatory decks, this tower is designed to be earthquake-proof. It looks majestically beautiful and the observatory deck gives you a gorgeous view of the Han river.
6. One World Trade Center, New York City, United States
Popularly known as the Freedom Tower, the One World Trade Center holds the title of being the tallest building in the United States. This one shares the same name with the one that was demolished in the September 2011 terror attack and it is the prime building in the World Trade Center cluster.
With a height of 1776 feet, this tower features 94 floors above the ground and 71 elevators operate to help people go up and down the tower. The speed of the elevator is so crazy that it can transport people from the bottom-most floor to the top one in mere 60 seconds.
David Childs, the name behind this majestic tower is also known to contribute his expertise to the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa. This tower stood complete by the year 2014 which implies it was under construction for 3 long years after the terror attack.
7. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China
Another multi-use tower, the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is the third tallest building in China. Featuring 111 floors above the ground, this building has a height of 1739 feet. Housing several residential spaces, offices, conference halls as well as hotels the building stands tall in Guangzhou’s suburban area.
Apart from this, there are 95 elevators in this stupendous tower that move at a brilliant speed allowing passengers to hop around different floors. The building is known for its observatory deck which is built on the top floor and stands close to the one in Burj Khalifa (in terms of height) which is the highest observation deck in the world.
The construction of this building began in 2010 and after 6 years of rigorous handwork, the tower finally stood tall in the year 2016. You will be amazed to see the glass and glazed terra cotta facade of the tower as it looks magnificent. The designers planned the facade this way as they wanted to make it sustainable.
8. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin, China
China has many tall buildings and towers and it is ruling the world’s top 10 tallest buildings by securing 5 spots on the list. Another one that sits at spot number seven is Tianjin CTF Finance Centre. This tower shares the spot with Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre as both the buildings have the same height. The Tianjin CTF Finance Centre also has a whooping height of 1739 feet but it has 97 floors above the ground.
Designed to tactfully handle the seismic pressures, this building has a curved glass facade that also looks super stylish. With high-class offices, a top-rated hotel and housing apartments, this building is known for its structural stability. The building stood ready in the year 2018 and thus the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre has always been counted ahead of it.
9. China Zun, Beijing, China
Officially known as the CITIC Tower, China Zun is Beijing’s pride as it is the tallest man-made structure in the city. The last one from China on this list, this building rises as high as 1731 feet and has 109 floors. There are also 8 additional floors below the ground. The construction of the building stood complete in the year 2018. Another multi-purpose building, this one has offices, hotels as well as residential space.
The city witnessed the groundbreaking event of this building in the year 2011 and since then it was being constructed to finally reveal its beauty in 2018. Offices in this building take up around 60 floors and 20 are reserved for apartments that are luxurious enough for an awesome stay. A total of 20 floors in China Zun are allocated to a hotel that features around 300 rooms.
The name associated with designing this building is Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF). This firm is known for designing many other amazing properties.
10. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
Initially referred to as the Taipei World Financial Center, Taipei 101 is named after the city and the digit 101 added to the name symbolises the number of floors the building houses. Standing 1667 feet tall, this building is the tallest in Taiwan and it was also the tallest building in the world in the year 2003 when it was constructed and it surpassed the then tallest building.
It was then surpassed by the Burj Khalifa and many other structures that came into being in successive years. Taipei 101 has an open-air observation deck on floor 91 and it is the third highest in the world in its category.
An architectural firm in Taiwan namely C.Y. Lee & Partners came forward to design this ultra-modern structure and US $1.934 billion was spent towards the construction cost for this building.
Apart from being the tallest building in the world once upon a time, Taipei 101 also has a few more titles attached to its name. It was known for having the world’s fastest elevator and was also known to be the tallest green ceiling in the world. It also once held the title of having the tallest sundial in the world.
These ultra-modern buildings are all epitomes of engineering tactics and have made a name throughout the world. The Burj Khalifa is so reputed that people visit Dubai only to see a glimpse of the majestic tower. In the coming times, we may see buildings surpassing even the Burj Khalifa in terms of height and engineering excellence.
Since we have mentioned the top 10 tallest buildings, we didn’t include the Merdeka 118 housed in Kuala Lumpur because it is not yet completed. The building is still in its construction phase. It would have grabbed the spot number 2 and will soon be the second tallest building in the world once it stands complete.
Asia is ruling the top 10 tallest buildings list with countries like UAE, China, Saudi Arabia etc boasting their modern marvels. China is a proud nation and it has sealed 5 spots in the top 10 list.
If you are fascinated by tall buildings, make a note of these marvels and start ticking off one after another from your bucket list.
FAQs
Which is the tallest building in the world and what is its height?
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is the tallest building in the world. It is 2727 feet (828 meters) in height.
2. What are the top 10 tallest buildings in the world?
The names of the tallest buildings in the world in descending order are: Burj Khalifa (UAE), Shanghai Tower (China), Makkah Royal Clock Tower (Saudi Arabia), Ping An Finance Center (China), Lotte World Tower (South Korea), One World Trade Center (United States), Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre (China), Tianjin CTF Finance Centre (China), CITIC Tower (China), and Taipei 101 (Taiwan)
3. Which building comes next to Burj Khalifa in terms of height?
With a whopping 2073 feet of height, the Shanghai Tower (China) comes next to the Burj Khalifa in the list of top 10 buildings. We would however like to mention that the Merdeka 118 which is under construction right now will soon be the second tallest building in the world.
4. Which building holds the record for having the most number of floors?
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai tops this list with 163 floors.
5. Which is the tallest building in China?
China excels in the list of top 10 buildings in the world by capturing 5 spots. The Shanghai Tower in Shanghai is the tallest building in China.
6. Since how many years has Burj Khalifa been the tallest building in the world?
The Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building in the world since 2010 when it was fully completed.