The ten tallest buildings in the world are located in Asia and the United States. It is the ambition of many countries to own the tallest skyscraper on earth and to set a monument for themselves. The race towards this goal sometimes produces strange flowers. That is why the list of the ten tallest buildings in the world is always only a snapshot, because a higher one is planned or already under construction.
Towers that graze the sky
As long as there are people, they try to get high. Let us only think of the Tower of Babel or the pyramids of the ancient Egyptians. But it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that the pioneering inventions of skeleton construction and the elevator made it possible to build the first skyscrapers. Today, state-of-the-art technologies and sophisticated technology allow buildings to be erected that were previously unimaginable heights that are supposed to withstand storms and other weather phenomena, even earthquakes. It will not be too long before a building is finished that rises more than a kilometer into the sky. The foundation stone for the Kingdom Tower of Jeddah / Saudi Arabia was laid in 2013 and is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2019.
The hit parade of the currently tallest buildings on earth
The Burj Khalifa from Dubai is number 1 on the hit list – see picture above. It measures 829 meters to the top, the roof height is 739 meters. In just 6 years from 2004 to 2010 the building with its 163 floors above ground was completed. It houses a luxury hotel, restaurants and apartments and has 57 elevators and 8 escalators.
Place 2 is 632 meters to the top of the Shanghai Tower. Its roof height is 575 meters. It has 121 above-ground floors that are used for a hotel, shopping center, offices and apartments.
The Makkah Clock Royal Tower from Mecca / Saudi Arabia is in third place. Its height is 601 meters to the top, the observation deck is at a height of 558 meters. Overall, the building, which houses a hotel, shopping mall and apartments, has 120 floors, 94 elevators and 16 escalators.
Number 4 is occupied by the One World Trade Center in Manhattan in New York – see big picture. It stands at the place where the Word Trade Center was destroyed by a terrorist attack in 2011 and measures 541 meters to the top and 417 meters to the roof. The 1 WTC was only completed in November 2014.
At 530 meters, the CTF Finance Center in Guangzhou in China ranks 5th among the tallest buildings in the world. The tower is used in mixed form, with office space, a hotel and apartments in it.
No. 6, the Taipei Tower of Taiwan, is 21 meters smaller. It has 101 floors above ground and was completed in 2004.
The Shanghai World Financial Center of China follows in 7th place. Its landmark is the bridged peak at 494 meters.
8th place is taken by the International Commerce Center (ICC) in Hong Kong / China. It has 118 floors and houses banks and other business offices as well as the highest hotel in the world on the top 13 floors.
The twin towers of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur rank 9th and 10th, see picture above – in Malaysia.
