About the Tallest Building in the World

Tall buildings are everywhere. Since it opened in 2010, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has been considered the tallest building in the world, BUT... Skyscrapers are being built all around the world. The measured height of new skyscrapers seems to rise every year. Other Supertall and Megatall buildings are on the drawing board. Today the tallest building is in Dubai, but soon the Burj may be second tallest or third or further down the list. What is the tallest building in the world? It depends on who does the measuring and when its built. Skyscraper buffs disagree on whether features like flagpoles, antennae, and spires should be included when measuring building height. Also under dispute is the question of what, exactly, is the definition of a building. Technically, observation towers and communications towers are considered structures, not buildings, because they are not habitable. They do not have residential or office space. Here are the contenders for the worlds tallest: 1. Burj Khalifa It opened on January 4, 2010, and at a soaring 828 meters (2,717 feet), the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is now considered the worlds tallest building. Keep in mind, however, that these statistics include the skyscrapers enormous spire. 2. Shanghai Tower When it opened in 2015, the Shanghai Tower wasnt even close to the height of Burj Dubai, but it readily slipped into place as the second tallest building in the world at 632 meters (2,073 feet). 3. Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel The city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia jumped on the skyscraper bandwagon with the 2012 completion of the Fairmont Hotel in the Abraj Al Bait Complex. At 601 meters (1,972 feet), this towering multi-use building is considered the third tallest in the world. The 40 meters (130 feet) four-faced clock atop the tower announces daily prayers and can be seen 10 miles away from this holy city. 4. Ping An Finance Center Completed in 2017, PAFC is yet another skyscraper to be built in Shenzhen, China—China’s first Special Economic Zone. Since 1980, the population of this once-rural community has increased by millions of people, millions of dollars, and millions of square feet of vertical space. At 599 meters high (1,965 feet), its roughly the same height as the Makkah Clock Royal. 5. Lotte World Tower Like PAFC, the Lotte was also completed in 2017 and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. It will be in the top 10 highest buildings for a while, at 554.5 meters (1,819 feet). Located in Seoul, Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea and third tallest in all of Asia. 6. One World Trade Center For a while it was thought that the 2002 plan for Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan easily would become the worlds tallest building. However, security concerns led designers to scale down their plans. The design of One World Trade Center changed many times between 2002 and when it opened in 2014. Today it rises 541 meters (1,776 feet), but much of that height is in its needle-like spire. The occupied height is a mere 386.6 meters (1,268 feet)—Willis Tower in Chicago and the IFC in Hong Kong are taller when measured in occupied height. Yet, in 2013 the design architect, David Childs, argued that the 1WTC spire was a permanent architectural feature, whose height should be included. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) agreed and ruled that 1WTC would be the third tallest building in the world when it opened in November 2014. Although 1WTC may be New Yorks tallest building for a long time, it already has slipped in global ranking—but so will most of todays completed skyscrapers. Its story will always be included in books about skyscrapers. 7. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre Another Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed Chinese skyscraper, the Chow Thai Fook Finance Centre in the port city of Guangzhou rises 530 meters (1,739 feet) above the Pearl River. Completed in 2016, it is the third tallest skyscraper in China, a country gone wild with building tall in the 21st century. 8. The Taipei 101 Tower Measuring 508 meters (1,667 feet) tall, the Taipei 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan was widely considered the worlds  tallest building when it opened back in 2004. But, like the Burj Dubai, the Taipei 101 Tower gets much of its height from a huge spire. 9. Shanghai World Financial Centre Yes, this is the skyscraper that looks like a giant bottle opener. The Shanghai Financial Centre still turns heads, but not only because its more than 1,600 feet high. Its been in the top 10 list of worlds tallest buildings since it opened in 2008. 10. International Commerce Centre (ICC) By 2017, five of the top 10 tallest buildings were in China. The ICC Building, like most of the new skyscrapers on this list, is a multi-use structure that includes hotel space. Built between 2002 and 2010, the Hong Kong building, at 484 meters (1,588 feet) high, will surely slip from the worlds top 10 list, but the hotel will still provide great views! More From the Top 100 Petronas Twin Towers: At one time the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were described as the tallest buildings in the world at 452 meters (1,483 feet). Today they dont even make the top 10 list. Once again, we should look upward—Cesar Pellis Petronas Towers get much of their height from spires and not from usable space. Willis Tower: If you count only habitable space and measure from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural top of the building (excluding flagpoles and spires), then Chicagos Sears Tower (Willis Tower), built in 1974, still ranks among the tallest buildings in the world. Wilshire Grand Center: Up until now, New York City and Chicago have been the two cities to dominate skyscraper height in the U.S. Not anymore. In 2014, the City of Los Angeles changed an old 1974 local rule that mandated rooftop landing pads for emergency helicopters. Now, with a new fire code and construction methods and materials that mitigate earthquake damage, Los Angeles is looking up. The first to rise is the Wilshire Grand Center in 2017. At 335.3 meters (1,100 feet), its on the list of top 100 worlds tallest buildings, but L.A. should be able to get higher than that. Future Contenders Jeddah Tower: In ranking the tallest, do you count buildings that are still being built? Kingdom Tower, also known as Jeddah Tower under construction in Saudi Arabia, is designed to have 167 floors above ground—at a whopping  1,000 meters (3,281 feet) high, Kingdom Tower will be more than 500 feet higher than the Burj Khalifa and more than 1,500 feet higher than 1WTC. The list of 100 future tallest buildings in the world points to 1WTC not even being in the top 20 in a matter of years. Tokyo Sky Tree: Supposing we included spires, flagpoles, and antennae when measuring building heights, it might not make sense to distinguish between buildings and towers when ranking building heights. If we rank all man-made structures, whether or not they contain habitable space, then wed have to give high rankings to the Tokyo Sky Tree  in Japan, measuring 634 meters (2,080 feet). Next in running is Chinas Canton Tower, which measures 604 meters (1,982 feet). Finally, theres the old 1976 CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. Measuring 553 meters (1,815 feet) tall, the iconic CN Tower was the worlds tallest for many years. Source 100 Tallest Completed Buildings in the World by Height to Architectural Top, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings [accessed October 23, 2017]