Top 10 Tallest Buildings in the World

The world is a beautiful place in more ways than one.With the number of people living on earth growing exponential, there’s no room for cities to expand on the ground, especially in the big overcrowded areas, and that’s why architects are planning many ways of expanding through the air. 

No, we’re not talking about flying cities, just about skyscrapers which are architectural and engineering marvels that rise hundreds of meters into the air, overlooking all others.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Tallest Buildings of the modern world.

10. Jin Mao Tower, China

The landmark supertall skyscarper is situated in Pudong, Shanghai, China. The tower features offices, restaurants and observation decks. At the time of completion it was 5th tallest building in the world by roof and 7 th tallest by pinnacle  height. Jin Mao Tower is a part of Pudong skyline and is right next to Shanghai World Financial Center.

• Height: 421 meters or 1,380 ft
• Roof height: 370.0 meters or 1,214 ft
• Floors: 88
• Floor area: 278,707 m sq
• Completion: 1998
• Designed by: Skdimore, Owings and Merrill.
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9. Trump International Tower & Hotel, United States

Trump International Hotel and Tower also known as Trump Tower Chicago and simply Trump Tower is named after its owner Donald Trump who is a real estate developer. It is situated in downtown Chicago Illinois. This condo-hotel sits adjacent to Chicago river and has a four or five star rated restaurant &  it includes,from the ground up, retail space ,spa, a parking garage, a hotel, and condominiums and is currently the tenth tallest building in the world.

• Height: 423 meters or 1,388 ft
• Roof Height: 356 meters or 1170 ft high
• Floors: 96
• Completion: 2009
• Estimated cost: USD $ 847 million
• Floor area: 2,600,000 sq ft
• Designed by: Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease
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8.Guangzhou International Finance Center, China

The building is situated in Zhujiang Avenue West in Tianhe District at Guangzhou, China. The construction started in 2005 and is expected to finish this year (2010). First 66 floors will be used for office purposes, floor 67 and 68 will be used for mechanical equipment whereas 69 to 99 will be used as hotel. 99th and 100th floor is observation deck and the lobby of hotel is at 70th floor.

• Height: 440.2 meters tall or 1,444 ft
• Roof height: 432 meter or 1417 ft
• Floors: 103
• Completion: Will be completed in 2010
• Floor area: 285,000 m sq (3,068,000 sq ft)
• Designed by: Wilkinson Eyre
• Topped-out: 2008

7. Willis Tower, United States

The building is situated in Chicago, Illinois. At its time of construction it was the tallest building in the world (in 1974) surpassing World Trade Center in New York. Former name of the building was Sears Towers which in 2009 was changed to Willis Tower. This building is currently the tallest building in America and 5th tallest free standing structure in the world.

In 2006 seven men were arrested by the FBI. Their plan was to destroy this building. They were sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison.

• Height: 527 meters or 1,30 ft
• Roof height: 442 meters or 1,451 ft
• Floors: 108
• Elevators: 104 elevators with 16 double decker elevators
• Floor area: 4.56 million sq ft
• Completion: 1974
• Designed: Bruce Graham

6. Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, China

The building is situated in Nanjing,China. The building has offices in the lower floor and restaurant and observationdecks near the top. The observation deck is on the 72th floor of the tower. This building is second tallest building in china and was 5th tallest in the world at the time of completion.

• Height: 450 meters or 1,480
• Roof height: 339 meters or 1,112 ft
• Floors: 89
• completion: 2010
• Designed by: Adrian Smith and Marshall Strabala
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5. Petronas Towers, Malaysia

Patronas Towers are located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Building is also known as Twin Towers and are the tallest twin towers in the world. Patronas Towers were also the tallest towers from 1998 to 2004. The towers also feature a double story bridge which the highest 2 story bridge in the world. It is not attached to the mainframe but instead is slide in and out in order to protect it from being destroy in high winds.

• Height: 451 meters or 1,482 ft
• Roof height: 375 meters or 1230 ft
• Floors: 88
• Completion: 1998
• Elevators: 78
• Estimated cost: USD $ 1.6 billion
• Designed by: Cesar Pelli
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4.International Commerce Center, Hong Kong

The building is located in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. The formal development name of the building is Union Square Phase 7 as it is a part of Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. After completion it is the tallest building in Hong Kong and building with 3rd tallest roof. It also features a restaurant Ritz-Carlton which happens to be the highest restaurant in the world and it occupies the top 15 floors of the building.

• Height: 484 meters or 1587 ft
• Floors: 118
• Completion: 2010
• Elevators: 30 elevators 14 shuttle lifts and 2 VIP lifts
• Designed by: Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd, Belt Collins & Associates, Kohn Pedersrn Fox Associates

3. Shanghai World Financial Center, China

It is located in Pudon  Shanghai,China. The building features hotels, offices, conference roomsand observation decks. The hotel Park Hyatt Shanghai was the highest hotel at the time of completion and contains 178 room and is on the 93rd floor. It was surpassed by Ritz-Carlton. At the time of completion it was second tallest building on the world with the highest occupied floor and tallest roof in the world. Its observation deck is 474 meters high which is the highest observation deck in the world.

• Height: 494.4 m (1,622.0 ft)
• Roof height: 487 m (1,599 ft)
• Floors: 101
• Completion: 2008
• Elevators: 91
• Floor area: 381,600 m sq (4,107,500 sq ft)
• Estimated cost: USD $ 1.2 billion
• Designed by: Kohn Pedersrn Fox Associsutes
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2. Taipei 101, Taiwan

The building marks the identity of  Taiwan. It is located in Xinji District,taipei,Taiwan. Due to the remarkable engineering it was ranked as Seven New Wonders of the World (by Newsweek magazine 2006) and seven Wonders of Engineering (by Discovery Channel). The design of the building reflects the evolution of technology and local culture and traditions. Its was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. It also received Emprois Skyscraper Award. It is also design to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. It is a mixed used tower offering offices, fitness centers,  restaurants.

• Height: 509.2 m (1,670.6 ft)
• Roof height: 449.2 m (1,473.8 ft)
• Floors: 101
• Completion: 2004
• Elevators: 61
• Floor area: 412,500 m sq (4,440,100 sq ft)
• Estimated cost: USD  $ 1.8 billion
• Designed by: C.Y. Lee & partners
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1.Burj Khalifa, UAE

The tallest man made structure sit in the heart of UAE, Dubai. Its former name was Burj Dubai but was changed when the president of Abu Dhabi (Khalifa Bin Zayed) loaned Dubai $ 10 billion since Dubai has been drastically effected by the recession. The name was changed in his honor. Getting and office would set you back a staggering $ 43000 per sq m.

• Height: 828 m (2,717 ft)
• Floors: 160
• Completion: 2010
• Floor area: 464,511 m sq
• Estimated cost: USD $ 1.5 billion
• Designed by: Adrian Smith

Special Mention

This building is a little out of the time range, as it is scheduled to be completed way after 2010, but it worths being mentioned, being by far the tallest structure, with an estimated height of 1001 m(3,284 ft).

Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, part of the Madinat al Hareer (City of Silk), massive complex that is going to be built in Kuwait over the next 25 years, containing the tower, a new airport, a natural reservation and many business and entertainment centers.

A graphic sketch of the final project is shown in this picture, and I can’t wait to see what are the enginners going to achieve in their tasks of building a tower higher than 1 km.