Humans have not failed to enhance the gorgeousness of nature by adding some manmade constructions. Architectures and engineers are to be credited for planning few buildings that are not only strikingly beautiful but also loses words while mentioning their heights. These edifices are accounted under the features of height, number of floors, roof or tip of the building etc. Quickly have a glimpse through the write up in order to catch up with the top 10 tallest buildings in the world.
World’s Tallest Skyscrapers
Here are the details of the top ten tallest buildings in the world. Glance through to known about the luxuries of these buildings.
1. Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa also known as Burj Dubai is located in Dubai, UAE and is the tallest buildings in the world. The construction of the 2,717 ft and 163 floors building was started on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. Chief architect, Adrian Smith along with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago were behind the planning of the building. The total cost for the project was about US$1.5 billion and was designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that would include nine hotels, 30,000 homes, 3 hectares of domains, the Dubai Mall, at least 19 housing towers and the 12-hectare artificial Burj Khalifa Lake.
2. Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel
Also popular as Abraj Al-Bait Towers, Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel is a part of King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that strives to modernize the holy city in catering to the pilgrims. It is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with a height 1,971 ft and 120 floors. It was built after demolishing Ajyad Fortress, an 18th century Ottoman citadel and stretches across the street to the south from an entrance to the Masjid al Haram mosque. It was architected by the Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia’s largest construction company and the clock tower by the German company Premiere Composite Technologies.
3. Taipei 101
Also known as the Taipei Financial Centre, Taipei 101 is an attraction skyscraper situated in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The edifice was the tallest skyscraper in the world (with occupiable floors) until it was outshined in height by the Burj Khalifa on 21st July, 2007. It is 1,670 ft in height and in July 2011, it was awarded with LEED Platinum certification. Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground, serving icon of modern Taiwan ever since it’s opening. The edifice is managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago and is owned by Taipei Financial Center corporation.
4. Shanghai World Finance Centre
The 1,614 ft tall Shanghai World Finance Centre rules the skyline over East China and is intended to become a symbolic icon, giving the city a new status and depicting the arrival of a new period in Asia. It was planned by Kohn Pedersen Fox and formally opened its doors to the public on August 28, 2008. It is a mixed-use building with outstanding urban shopping malls at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the top and sixty-two floors filled with offices. There are three surveillance decks amid the 94th and the 100th levels. It has a total of 31 elevators and the building cost was $1.2 billion. The most remarkable attribute of this grand build is the opening at the top of the building.
5. International Commerce Centre
Completed in 2010 in west Kowloon, Hong Kong, International Commerce Centre is a 118 floors and 1,588 ft high skyscraper whose development is owned and jointly developed by MTR Corporation Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties. It is a part of Union Square project which was completed in phases from 2007 to 2010 and was opened in 2011, with the Ritz-Carlton opening in late March and the observatory in early April. The building’s 118th floor is a pool cum bar called OZONE; the Presidential Suite on 117th floor, the lobby on 9th floor, Club lounge for guests staying in club rooms and suites is on 116th floor, three different restaurants on 102nd floor and etc.
6. Petronas Tower 1
Designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli and Filipino-Malaysian Engineer Deejay Cerico, Petronas Tower 1 1,483 ft tall and is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The construction of the 88 floors superstructure commenced on 1 April 1994 and was officially opened by the Malaysian Prime Minister on 1st August, 1999. Due to the huge cost of importing steel, it was erected on a cheaper radical plan of super high-strength non-breakable concrete. Today it is one among the tallest buildings in the world.
7. Petronas Tower 2
Petronas Tower 2 is the tower that was constructed along with the Petronas Tower 1, thus bearing similar information. Even this is 1 1,483 ft tall accompanied by 88 floors. As a result of the Malaysian government denoting that the constructions are to be terminated in six years, two construction consortiums were rented in order to meet the time limit, one for each tower.
8. Zifeng Tower
Also famous as Greenland Center-Zifeng Tower or Greenland Square Zifeng Tower, it is an 89 floors 1,476 ft high skyscraper that was completed in 2009 in Nanjing, China. The structure comprises of retail and office space in the lower section, and restaurants, a hotel, and a public observatory near the top. Headed by Adrian Smith it was designed by Architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It also occupies a position amid the top 10 tallest buildings in the world.
9. Willis Tower
Commonly referred to as Sears Tower, Willis Tower is located in Chicago, Illinois and was constructed in 1974 and was the tallest building at the time. Although it is no longer the tallest building in the world, it still is counted as one among the top ten tallest skyscraper in the world with a height of 1,450 ft. Willis Tower is one of the most fashionable tourist destinations in Chicago, and over one million visitors visit its observation deck each year. It is a fact that four states can be seen from the peak of the Sears Tower. This tower was planned by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan in a “bundled tube” system with nine squares, enclosed in a dark coloured glass curtain wall.
10. Kingkey 100
The Kingkey 100 is a building that consist 100 floors. Previously known as Kingkey Finance Centre Plaza it is positioned in Shenzhen’s Louhu district which rises to an altitude of 1,449 ft. It is currently the tallest building in Shenzhen and is in the tenth position on the list of top ten tallest buildings in the world. The famous St. Regis Hotel occupies floors 75 to 98 of the building. The edifice has been divided in to Class A office space, six star business hotels, a garden and several restaurants.