Tallest Buildings in the World - The Sky is the limit

As we have seen in recent past, Skyscrapers and tall buildings have been quite in trend in big cities and they amplify these cities. Be it Dubai, New York or Shanghai, new construction projects are being initiated and some spectacular skyscrapers are being built. The Middle East is known for its super tall buildings in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and so on. The most recent addition in Middle East has been the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Apart from the Middle East in Asia, China also has some humungous buildings with the noticeable additions being the Shanghai Towers in Shanghai, CTF Finance Centre in Guangzhou and the Shanghai World Finance Centre in Shanghai. In USA, while more focus is towards having a technological edge, the One World Trade Centre in New York is the fourth tallest building in the world. As we go through the top 5 tallest Buildings in the world, it is imperative that proper appreciation and recognition should be given to modern engineers, architects, artists, designers and the construction workers whose efforts have provided us with the some of the most stunning buildings in the world. Let’s have a look at the 5 tallest Buildings in the world and what makes them stand out.

The five tallest building:

1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates2. Shanghai Tower, Shangai, China3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia4. One World Trade Center, New York City, USA5. CTF Finance Center, Guangzhou, China

1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The project Burj Khalifa was completed in 2010 and is located in Downtown Dubai, Dubai’s new urban masterpiece and its main business district. It has become a major tourist attraction since then. It stands at a massive 2,717 ft (828 meters) and 163 floors. For the completion of this massive project, international teams were designated for both construction and designing. While Skidmore and Owings & Merrill of Chicago were responsible for the design, Samsung C&T of South Korea took care of the construction and engineering. The facts and world records achieved by Burj Khalifa are beyond amazing. Some of the major facts are the tallest free-standing structure in the world, the highest number of stories and elevator with the longest travel distance in the world and so on. But Burj Khalifa is more than just the tallest Buildings in the world, it is a symbol of the transformation of United Arab Emirates from an oil-based to tourism based and service-oriented economy. Burj Khalifa alone has almost 144 private residences, 37 office floors, 160 guest rooms and suites, restaurants, fitness and relaxation clubs and park of its own. Architecturally, it is without any doubt one of the greatest and tallest Buildings of the modern time.

2. Shanghai Tower, Shangai, China

Shanghai Towers is the closest Skyscraper which matches the Dubai’s, Burj Khalifa. The project took almost 7 years and is expected to be open to the public around mid-2015. The Shanghai Tower stands at a massive 2073 ft (632 meters). It was designed by an American architectural firm Gensler, while the Japanese firm, Mitsubishi Electrical Corp was responsible for the construction. This Skyscraper has 121 floors, 320 hotel rooms, and 1,100 parking spaces. The location of Shanghai Tower is just ideal as it is located to two supertall buildings in Pudong namely the Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Centre. The building is designed in such a way to provide high energy efficiency and sustainability.

3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Formerly known as Abraj Al Bait, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower is a project by the government of Saudi Arabia. This architecture is a part of the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project which strives to modernize the Holy City while catering to its pilgrims. The construction of the Makkah Royal Clock Tower was carried out by the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Bin Laden Company. The designing was implemented by a German architect, Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and his firm SL Rasch GmbH. The most outstanding feature of this building is the world’s largest clock which is 141 ft by 141 ft. The clock is so big that it is visible from a distance of 25 km. The Royal Tower includes private residence, hotel rooms, a five-story shopping mall, a large shopping area which can hold 10,000 people, a conference center, an Islamic museum, and a Lunar Observation Center.

4. One World Trade Center, New York City, USA

One World Trade Centre, previously known as Freedom Tower, is located in Lower Manhattan New York City. It is one of the tallest Buildings in the West Hemisphere. It stands at a massive height of 1776 ft (541 meters). This 104 story tower is designed by David M. Childs of Skidmore and Owings & Merrill. This building is constructed on the same site as that of the World Trade Centre which was tragically destroyed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The view of Manhattan from the tower is said to be unparalleled. The new One World Trade Center stands as a shining beacon of the new downtown and is a bold and symbolic addition to the skyline. One World Trade Center is safe, artistic, dynamic, sustainable, energy efficient and has already become an important landmark of New York City.

5. CTF Finance Center, Guangzhou, China

Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre is due to be completed in 2016 after 6 years of construction. Kim Pederson Fox Associates is creating this super tall building on behalf of CTF Enterprises. The final height of this massive building will be 1740 ft (530 meters) with 111 floors. This multipurpose tower is located in Guangzhou and is planned to be used as a conference centre, hotel rooms, shopping malls, and office buildings. This spectacular finance center will have the world’s fastest elevator which will travel at a speed of 45 mph to ride to its top floor, 1740 ft up. This tower will also have connections to private transport (underground) and second level brides to connect with the neighboring buildings.

Author: Seyed Hasan