World’s Tallest Buildings
Soaring 1,670 feet (509 meters), the Taipei 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan appears to be the world’s tallest building. But the Taipei 101 Tower’s massive 60-foot spire contributes to much of that height.
Before the Taipei 101 Tower was completed, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were described as the tallest buildings in the world.
But, like the Taipei 101 Tower, the Petronas Twin Towers get much of their height from spires, not from usable space.
If you count only habitable space and measure from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural top of building (excluding flagpoles and spires), then Chicago’s Sears Tower, built in 1974, may still be the tallest building in the world.
But none of these buildings will keep their rankings for long. Even taller buildings are on the drawing board. Freedom Tower at the new World Trade Center in New York City is expected to rise 541 meters (1,776 feet) tall, including its enormous spire.
However, if spires, flagpoles, and antennas can be counted when we measure building heights, perhaps rankings of the World’s Tallest Buildings should include all man-made structures, whether or not they contain habitable space. In this case, the CN Tower in Canada is the world’s tallest building. The communications tower and tourist attraction measures 553.33 meters (1,815 ft., 5 inches) tall.

Taipei 101, Taipei
Designers and Builders: C.Y. Lee and Partner, Architects, and Turner International Industries, Inc., project and construction management
Vital Statistics: With a massive 60-foot spire inspired by Twaiwan’s native bamboo plant, Taipei 101 Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world. At 508 meters (1,667 feet) high, the tower and its spire outrank the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Taipei Tower has 198,347 m2 (2,336,000 sq. ft.) of office space, 77,033 m2 (796,000 sq. ft.) of retail space, and 83,000 m2 (893,000 sq. ft.) of parking space for more than 1,800 vehicles.
Earthquake Safety: Designing a building this large presented unique challenges because Taiwan is subject to typhoons and earthquakes. To counter movement, a tuned mass damper system has been incorporated into the structure. The 800-metric ton (1,764,000 lbs.), spherical steel mass is located on level 88 and will be visible from the restaurant and observation decks. The system transfers the energy from the building to the swinging sphere, providing a stabilizing force.
Special Design Features: The design of Taipei 101 borrows heavily from Chinese culture. Both the building’s interior and exterior incorporate the Chinese pagoda form and the shape of bamboo flowers. The lucky number eight, which means blooming or success, is represented by the eight clearly delineated exterior sections of the building.
Observation Deck : Located on floors 89 and 91, the observation decks include the highest restaurant in Taiwan. Two high-speed elevators reach a maximum speed of 1,010 meters/minute (55 ft./second) when traveling to the 89th floor.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Each of the twin Petronas Towers is 88 stories plus an additional architectural point (at 1242 feet), plus a tall spire to 1483 feet.
At 1483 feet (452m) tall, the tallest building in the world at the date of its completion, measured to the highest point. However, the Sears Tower in Chicago still has the highest occupied building floor, more than 200 feet higher than the highest occupied floor of the Petronas Towers.
The foundation under each tower is a 4.5 meter thick, 32,500 tonne raft containing 13,200 m³ of grade 60 concrete, supported by 104 barrette piles driven into the soft rock.
A steel skybridge connects the towers 170m (558 feet) above the ground at the 41st and 42nd floors. The bridge is open to the public.
The security system includes a card access and alarm monitoring system, closed circuit television, a voice intercom, and a photo ID system.
The two towers have a total of 76 lifts, including 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower. Each double-decker elevator can carry 26 persons.
The architectural and engineering team was chosen on the basis of its experience with the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a world’s-tallest proposal from Chicago with a narrow concrete structure that was very similar to the Petronas design.

Sears Tower, Chicago IL
Chicago became home to the world’s tallest building in 1973 when the Sears Tower was topped off. The Sears Tower remained the tallest building in the world until February 13, 1996. The Sears Tower continues to be the tallest building in North America.
On July 10, 1997, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat met in Chicago to announce new standards with four categories for measuring tall buildings. These categories are:
Height to the structural or architectural top.
Height to the highest occupied floor.
Height to the top of the roof.
Height to the top of antenna.
The Sears Tower leads in the second and third categories. The height to the top of the roof is 1,450 feet and the height to the highest occupied floor is 1,431. The twin Petronas Towers in Malaysia win the first category with its 111-foot decorative spires.
Sitting on two city blocks and rising one quarter mile (1,454 feet) above the ground, the Tower’s 110 stories comprise some 4.5 million gross square feet of office and commercial space. It was designed by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and was constructed in a little less than two and half years.

Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai SH
The Jin Mao Building, the tallest building in China, was built by the Shanghai Jian Gong Group and was completed on 18 March 1999.
The Jin Mao Building is almost as tall as Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Sears Tower in Chicago. It is the highest in China and the third highest in the world. The building is located in the Lu Jia Zui district in Huang Pudong east. There are three basement levels and 88 storeys. The total GFA is 289,500 sq m and the height of the tower is 420.5 m or 1,381 feet
The building is designed by US architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and was built by the Shanghai Jian Gong Group, the first Chinese national construction group to tackle such a large and significant project. Construction of the Jin Mao Building began in June 1994, and the building was completed by March 1999.

2 International Finance Centre, Hong Kong HK

CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou GD

Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen GD

Empire State Building, New York City NY

Central Plaza, Hong Kong HK

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