There has always been a tremendous competition among world-class nations to hold the title of having world’s tallest building. The title transferred from U.S. to U.A.E to China and so on. After capturing world’s economy and market, some nations have become the dominating leaders in the world and they strive for excellence and supremacy in all fields and markets.
Competing with nations like U.A.E, U.S and China in the field of architecture and construction is extremely difficult because these global leaders keep on pushing the limits, exploring and developing new technologies to go beyond the boundaries and touch the sky. In this struggle, these nations have built some of the tallest buildings ever constructed in human history.
Today we are going to look at top 10 tallest buildings ever built by humans. This list will comprises of buildings and skyscrapers only completed till 2015. So any future tallest buildings will be included in the subsequent list of that year.
So let’s start our list of world’s top 10 tallest buildings in 2015:
1. Willis Tower
Height: 442 m
Floors: 108
Location: Chicage, USA
Willis Tower is currently 10th largest building but it topped the list and remained the world’s tallest building for 25 years with height of 442 m and 108 floors. Formerly known as Sears Tower, it is located in Chicago, United States and its construction was completed in 1973. Skidmore, Owing and Merrills designed the building. It is a symbolic landmark and tourist attraction of Chicago attracting more than a million visitor at its observation deck.
2. Zifeng Tower
Height: 450 m
Floors: 89
Location: Nanjing, China
Standing at 9th spot, Zifeng Tower is world’s ninth tallest building with topping height of 450 metres. It is located in Nanjing, provincial capital of Jiangsu. The building was constructed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with Adrian Smith as leading architect. It has 89 floors and comprises of various retail, office and restaurant space with a public observatory near the top.
3. Petronas Tower
Height: 452 m
Floors: 88
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Located in Kuala Lumpur, world’s renowned Petronas Towers of Malaysia are 88-floor twin skyscrapers having height of 452 metres. Petronas Towers’ construction was completed in 1996 and they were renovated in 1997. The main structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti designed the buildings led by César Pelli who was lead architect. Petronas Towers have been a symbolic landmark of Kuala Lumpur. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 but became the second highest after construction of Taipei 101 in 2004. And as of today, after construction of many prominent buildings, they stand to be 9th highest buildings in the world.
4. International Commerce Centre
Height: 484 m
Floors: 118
Location: West Kowloon, Hong Kong
Completed in 2010, 484-m International Commerce Centre holds numerous world records other than the seventh tallest building in the world. It is also the 4th tallest building by number of floors(118 floors) and the tallest building in the Hong Kong. ICC Tower is located in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It comprises mainly of office and hotel space. Among notable features, there is an observation deck at 100th floor called “Sky 100”.
5. Shanghai World Financial Center
Height: 492 m
Floors: 101
Location: Shanghai, China
Shanghai World Financial Center is 101-storey neo-futuristic skyscraper located in Shanghai, China. It was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox and developed by Mori Building Company. The construction started in 1997 and completed in 2008 with the total cost of construction reaching $1.20 billion, making SWFC one the most expensive buildings ever built. SWFC design is designed in neo-futurism style and for that, it won the year’s best completed skyscraper of 2008. The building is used for various purpose including office, hotel, retail, museum and observation.
6. Taipei 101
Height: 509 m
Floors: 101
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei 101 remained the world’ tallest building for 6 consequent years from 2004 to 2010 until the completion of Burj Khalifa. Its construction completed in 2004 when it was first recognized as the world’s tallest building. It is located in Taipei, Taiwan. The building was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners with Thornton Tomasetti as structural engineer. It was awarded LEED Platinum certification in 2011 because it is the largest and tallest green building in the world. Taipei 101 mainly consist of corporation and commercial offices.
7. One World Trade Center
Height: 541 m
Floors: 104
Location: New York City, USA
One WTC refers to the newly-constructed main building of World Trade Center complex, constructed on old WTC site. It ranked 4th at our list of tallest buildings. One WTC is 104-storey supertall skyscraper with total height of 541 meters. David Childs and Daniel Libeskind designed the building with WSP Cantor Seinuk as structural engineer. Its construction started in 2006 and completed in November 2014 with total estimated cost around $3.9 billion making it the most expensive single building at the time. The construction cost was funded by various authorities including New York State, Port Authority and insurance money from Silverstein.
8. Makkah Royal Hotel Clock Tower
Height: 601 m
Floors: 120
Location: Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Makkah Royal Hotel Clock Tower is a mega-tall building complex in Mecca, Suadi Arabia. The complex consist of seven component tower among which Hotel Tower is the tallest one with 601 meter height and 120 floors. The complex hold numerous records including the tallest clock tower and the largest clock face which are 43 m x 43 m. After the completion of its Hotel Tower in 2012, it became the second tallest at that time but later climbed down to third position because of Shanghai Tower. The complex consist of residential and hotel space which provides restaurant services and accommodation to pilgrims.
9. Shanghai Tower
Height: 632 m
Floors: 121
Location: Shanghai, China
On the second spot, Shanghai Tower is the second tallest building in the world with topping height of 632 meters. It is a 121-storey tower located in Shanghai, China. Its construction began in November 2008 and on 3 August 2014, it was topped out. It is expected to be officially inaugurated in 2015. With the cost of $4.2 billion, Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in China. It was designed Chinese architect Jun Xia and architectural firm Gensler with Thornton Tomasetti as lead engineer.
10. Burj Khalifa
Height: 828 m
Floors: 163
Location: Dubai, UAE
With the mind-blowing architectural height of 828 meters, Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building ever built by humans. Its construction started in January 2004 which completed in October 2009 but the building was officially inaugurated on 4 January 2010 with magnificent firework. The tower was designed by Adrian Smith of SOM and developed by Emaar Properties.
Burj Khalifa holds a number of world records which include building with highest floors(163 floors), highest nightclub, highest restaurant, highest swimming pool and world’s highest observation deck at height of 555 m on 148th floor called “At The Top – Burj Khalifa SKY”. It is a mixed-use tower with space for residence, office, malls, restaurant and corporate suites.
