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There are around 100 completed skyscrapers in the world with many still under construction. These mega-structures have provided their countries and the makers of these buildings, with great global visibility. Over the past three years, a number of record-breaking skyscrapers have been built in numerous countries around the world, and these buildings have become the highlight of cities, increasing visibility for the countries they’re built in.
Here, we have given a run-down of 21 of the World's Tallest Buildings.
Number 21: Al Hamra Tower
Location: Kuwait City (KW)
Height (metres): 412.6
Completion Date: 2011
Kicking off the shortlist is the ‘Al Hamra’ situated in Kuwait City. The construction of this skyscraper started in 2005, and was completed 6 years later. It is the tallest building in Kuwait and the tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the world. The Tower was listed one of the best inventions of 2011 by TIME Magazine.
Number 20: Princess Tower
Location: Dubai (AE)
Height (metres): 413.4
Completion Date: 2012
The Princess Tower is a 101-storey residential-only skyscraper located in Dubai. At 413m, this is currently the second tallest building in Dubai, and held the Guinness World Record for the tallest residential building in the world from 2012 to 2015. Engineering was completed by Syed Majid Hashmi as the Chief Structural Engineer alongside his deputy manager Mohammad Ali Alogaily.
Number 19: Jin Mao Tower
Location: Shanghai (CN)
Height (metres): 420.5
Completion Date: 1999
This 88-storey landmark contains a shopping mall, offices and the Grand Hyatt Shanghai hotel. It was the tallest building in China from 1999 through to 2007 when it was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center.
Number 18: Trump International Hotel and Tower
Location: Chicago (US)
Height (metres): 423.2
Completion Date: 2009
Also known as Trump Tower Chicago and Trump Tower, the Trump International Hotel and Tower is a condo-hotel in downtown Chicago. The building was named after U.S. President Donald Trump, and reaches a height of 1,388 feet including its spire. Originally the plan was to make this the tallest building in the world but after the September 11 attacks, Trump decided to scale back the buildings plans.
Number 17: 432 Park Avenue
Location: New York City (US)
Height (metres): 423.5
Completion Date: 2015
432 Park Avenue, which overlooks Central Park in Manhattan, is a residential skyscraper which contains 104 condominium apartments. This is currently the third tallest building in the United States and the second tallest building in NYC.
Number 16: Guangzhou International Finance Centre
Location: Guangzhou (CN)
Height (metres): 438.6
Completion Date: 2010
This 103-storey skyscraper comprises one half of Guangzhou's Twin Towers. This building is used as offices, a conference centre, and a hotel. The building was the winner of the RIBA 2012 Lubetkin Prize. The megastructure cost in the region of £280 million to build a contains a total of 71 lifts and elevators.
Number 15: KK100
Location: Shenzhen (CN)
Height (metres): 441.8
Completion Date: 2011
Located in the Financial District of Shenzhen, the KK100 contains 100 floors for offices and a hotel. This is the tallest building ever designed by a British architect. With a height-width ratio of 9.5:1, the KK100 has become one of China's slimmest buildings.
Number 14: Willis Tower
Location: Chicago (US)
Height (metres): 442.1
Completion Date: 1974
Formerly known as Sears Tower, the Willis Tower was the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years and was the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere until 2014. The Willis Tower is the second tallest building in the United States with more than one million visitors to its observation deck every year.
Number 13: Zifeng Tower
Location: Nanjing (CN)
Height (metres): 450
Completion Date: 2010
Formerly known as the Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, the Zifeng Tower is a 450 metre, 89 storey building which was completed in 2010. The Tower features a hotel, numerous restaurants and a public observatory.
Number 11: Petronas Twin Towers
Location: Kuala Lumpur (MY)
Height (metres): 451.9
Completion Date: 1998
The Petronas Twin Towers are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. At the time of construction, the government specified that the buildings had to be completed within a six-year period. This meant that two construction consortiums were hired to meet the deadline – one for each tower.
Number 10: International Commerce Centre
Location: Hong Kong (CN)
Height (metres): 484
Completion Date: 2010
The International Commerce Centre is a 108-storey commercial skyscraper which was completed in 2010. When it was completed, it was fourth tallest building by number of floors as well as the tallest building in Hong Kong.
Number 9: Shanghai World Financial Center
Location: Shanghai (CN)
Height (metres): 492
Completion Date: 2008
This mixed-use skyscraper, comprising of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks and a ground-floor shopping mall, is currently the third-tallest hotel in the world. The Shanghai World Finance Center has been praised for its design having been named by architects as the year's best completed skyscraper in 2008.
Number 8: TAIPEI 101
Location: Taipei (TW)
Height (metres): 508
Completion Date: 2004
At 101 storeys tall, the TAIPEI was the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010. In 2011, the building was awarded the LEED platinum certification which is the highest award according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It used to have the fastest elevator in the world transporting passengers from the 5th to 89th floor in just 37 seconds.
Number 7: Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
Location: Guangzhou (CN)
Height (metres): 530
Completion Date: 2016
The Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is situated on a 290,000 square-foot lot in Guangzhou's central business district. The Centre houses the second fastest elevator in the world, which can reach speeds up to 44.7 mph.
Number 6: One World Trade Centre
Location: New York (US)
Height (metres): 541.3
Completion Date: 2014
1 WTC is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. It was erected in the same location as the former World Trade Center that was destroyed on September 11, 2011. The 104 storey skyscraper is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and was designed by the same architect who also designed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Willis Tower in Chicago.
Number 5: Lotte World Tower
Location: Seoul (KR)
Height (metres): 554.5
Completion Date: 2017
After 13 years of planning and site preparation, the Lotte World Tower opened this year on the 3rd of April. Final approval to start construction was given in November 2010 and the construction started in March 2011. The Tower contains retails outlets, offices, residences, a luxury hotel and public access floors with an observation deck.
Number 4: Ping An Finance Centre
Location: Shenzhen (CN)
Height (metres): 599.1
Completion Date: 2017
The Ping An Finance Centre is a 115-storey skyscraper in the Guangdong province in China. Originally, the building was suppose to hold a 60-meter antenna on the very top which would have meant that it was the tallest building in China. However, they decided against it when they realised the antenna could possibly obstruct flight paths.
Number 3: Makkah Royal Clock Tower
Location: Mecca (SA)
Height (metres): 601
Completion Date: 2012
The Makkah Royal Clock Tower, which has the world's largest clock face, is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Saudi Arabia. These buildings were designed to help modernise the city and it is situated meters away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site – the Masjid al-Haram.
Number 2: Shanghai Tower
Location: Shanghai (CN)
Height (metres): 632
Completion Date: 2015
The Shanghai Tower is a 128-storey mega skyscraper. As of 2015, it is the world's tallest building by height to highest usable floor. It is also host to the world's highest observation deck and the fastest elevators at a top speed of 46mph.
Number 1: Burj Khalifa
Location: Dubai (AE)
Height (metres): 828
Completion Date: 2010
The top spot goes to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Burj has 163 floors above and one floor below ground level. It is nearly 200m taller than the Shanghai Tower at a whopping 828 meters, including the antenna. The Burj was designed as a mixed use development with just the external construction taking 5 years to complete.
