1. Burj Khalifa
City & Country: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Height: 2,717 ft
Floors: 163 (+1 below ground)
Completion Date: 2010
In January 2010, downtown Dubai opened the tallest building in the world – Burj Khalifa tower. Burj Khalifa is a truly striking mixed-use tall skyscraper with a massive 2,717 feet in height.
The tower comprises 163 floors, several luxury apartments, fine-dine restaurants, high-end hotels, and corporate suits. Boasting the highest observation deck and also the tallest service elevator in the world, this iconic building holds several world records that include:
· Tallest building in the world
· Tallest free-standing structure
· Tallest service elevator in the world
· Highest observation deck
· Highest number of stories
· Elevator with the longest distance
· Highest occupied floors
Interesting Fact: Did you know that this iconic building Burj Khalifa is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York? Oh yes, it is!
2. Shanghai Tower
City & Country: Shanghai, China
Height: 2,073 ft.
Floors: 128 (+5 below ground)
Completion Date: 2015
Standing at 2,073 ft, the Shanghai Tower, located in China, is the second tallest building in the world. The construction of this phenomenal skyscraper started in 1997, but it was put on hold several times due to funding issues.
The tower had the world’s second-fastest elevator with a fantastic speed of 20.5 meters per second but it was soon surpassed by the Guangzhou CTF Finance Center in 2017 with its speed of about 21 meters per second.
The world’s second tallest building, Shanghai Tower, was designed by the international firm Gensler and is owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government and is one of the most magnificent buildings in the world.
The tower is located in the financial district of Pudong and has 128 floors and up to 270 wind turbines. Formed with nine cylindrical buildings, each of the nine buildings or zones features gorgeous gardens, cafes, and some retail spaces. All nine zones are encased in a glass façade and form one structure.
Interesting Fact: While Burj Khalifa has bagged the title of the Tallest Building in the World, Shanghai Tower is the tallest building considering the height of usable floors.
3. Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower
City & Country: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Height: 1,972 ft
Floors: 120 (+3 below ground)
Completion Date: 2012
With 120 stories and 1,972 ft, the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower has earned the title of the third tallest building in the world after Shanghai Tower in China. The construction work of Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower began in 2004 and took nearly six years to complete.
Designed by the Lebanese architecture firm – Dar Al-Handasah, this third-tallest building in the world is also known for being the most expensive building in the world, considering its construction cost, which is a whopping $15 billion. Sprawling across a colossal area of 1,500,000 m2, the building is also the largest building on the planet in terms of its floor area.
Many people think of Big Ben as the largest clock; however, the clock on the London building is significantly smaller than the notable feature of the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower. It is the largest clock face in the world, with a dial on all four sides measuring 43 meters.
Interesting Fact: The world’s third tallest building, Abraj Al-Bait, sits on an old Ottoman fortress-destroyed land that overlooks some famous Islamic sites. The fortress destroyed to create new buildings was culturally significant to the Turkish people; thus, it created a minor diplomatic disturbance in 2002.
4. Ping An International Finance Centre
City & Country: Shenzhen, China
Height: 1,966 ft
Floors: 115 (+5 below ground)
Completion Date: 2017
Completed its construction in 2017, the Ping An International Finance Centre has been titled the tallest building in Shenzhen, the second tallest in China, and the fourth-tallest building in the world. The structure comprises about 100 office floors apart from a retail and a conference podium that can accommodate nearly 15,500 workers and around 9,000 passengers.
This gorgeous infrastructure is designed by a New York-based architectural firm, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, which has also been credited with several other popular infrastructures in China, such as Shanghai World Financial Center and Chow Tai Fook Center. However, the structural design of the building was done by another firm named Thornton Tomasetti, based in New York.
The estimated floor area of this massive tower is 378,600 sq. mts. If the space in the building’s 11-story podium is also considered, then the building has a total of 495,520 sq. mts of area.
5. Lotte World Tower
City & Country: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 1,819 ft
Floors: 123 (+6 below ground)
Completion Date: 2017
Lotte World of Seoul is the fifth tallest building in the world, featuring the world’s largest indoor theme park, an outdoor park, luxury hotels, theatres, shopping malls, and a Korean folk museum.
Located in the densely populated city of Seoul – Songpa District, the fifth tallest building in the world is also the tallest building in South Korea. The Lotte World Tower consists of 123 floors and stands at a height of 1,819 ft.
The beautiful skyscraper was designed by one of the most well-known architectural firms in the world – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, which is headquartered in New York City.
The Lotte World Tower is a mixed-use development and features Lotte Hotel on 76 to 101 floors and residences from 42 to 71 floors, and the rest of the floors are mainly used for office space.
Interesting Fact: One of the most interesting facts about the fifth tallest building in the world – Lotte World Tower, is that its construction was planned in the late 20th century; however, it took years to get the green light from the officials to build the building and eventually the construction work started in November 2010.
