What is the tallest structure humans could ever build? Considering the shape of Earth and existing technology, we could possibly build a 4-kilometer-tall and 6-kilometer-wide building. It would have 800 floors that could accommodate up to one million people. But we haven’t gone so far yet.
The current tallest building, Burj Khalifa, stands at a remarkable 829.8 meters (height to pinnacle). It dwarfs every structure built before 2009.
Most modern skyscrapers feature steel frames that enable them to be built taller than traditional load-bearing concrete walls. Advanced construction techniques — such as gaps to allow air to pass through and mass dampers to decrease swaying and vibrations — have allowed skyscrapers to become taller while maintaining a more slender profile.
How Are These Buildings Measured?
An international non-profit organization called the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat determines a set of standards for measuring tall buildings. The organization thoroughly examines and reports on all aspects of a building’s planning, design, and construction. It uses three methods to rank the height of buildings:
- Height to architectural top,
- Height to the highest occupied floor, and
- Height to tip (including flagpoles, antennae, and technical equipment).
Currently, there are 83 buildings taller than 350 meters, out of which 43 are in China.
Here, we’re highlighting the 18 tallest buildings (excluding telecom towers) in the world that are the results of visionary ideas and solid science. The cost of construction is converted into US dollars.
Table of Contents
19. Changsha IFS Tower T1 | 452.1 meters | 88 Floors
Location: Hunan, China
Completed in: 2017
Located in the prime area of Furong District, the Changsha IFS Tower T1 is well-positioned to achieve its main objective of attracting plenty of financial institutions based in Hunan Province.
The Changsha complex development project includes two skyscrapers: Tower 1 and Tower 2. Tower 1 features 700 meters of retail street frontage that offers dining, lifestyle, and entertainment facilities. The reduced floor plate sizes at the top are mostly reserved for hotel uses, where guests usually pay a premium for accommodations at such heights.
18. Landmark 81 | 461.2 meters | 81 Floors
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Completed in: 2018
Cost: $123 million
Landmark 81 is built as the focal point of the $1.5 billion high-end urban complex known as Vinhomes Central Park. The development includes luxury apartments, retail spaces, several entertainment facilities, and a multistory observation at the building’s crown.
The building’s design is inspired by the bundle of bamboo, symbolizing unity and strength in Vietnamese culture. The structure of Landmark 81 is simply a bundled-tube system consisting of 36 square tubes (clustered in a 6*6 matrix) of different heights.
The thinnest section is placed at the top of the building: it can be considered a spire as it doesn’t have any usable floors, but not as thin as an actual spire.
17. Lakhta Center | 462 meters | 86 Floors
Image credit: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons
Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Completed in: 2019
Cost: $1.77 billion
Constructing Lakhta Center — the tallest building in Europe — required creative engineering minds to overcome environmental and architectural challenges of magnitude.
The tower is equipped with advanced heating, lighting, and waste management systems, as well as an ‘intelligent facade’ that decreases energy consumption. Instead of traditional heaters, engineers used infrared radiators: excess heat produced by the tower’s electrical and mechanical devices is channeled into the heating system.
The foundation of the building includes 264 piles driven 279 meters into the ground, and 15 levels of grids redistribute the tower’s weight away from its core so that the skyscraper remains stable under extreme wind loads.
16. Central Park Tower | 472.4 meters | 98 Floors
Central Park Tower
Currently, the tallest residential building in the world is Central Park Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was topped out at a height of 472.4 metres (1,550 ft) in 2019. pic.twitter.com/eb5YfGEoXw
— America (@Americafakts) December 5, 2023
Location: New York City, United States
Completed In: 2021
Cost: $3 billion
Developed by Shanghai Municipal Investment Group and Extell Development Company, Central Park Tower is the second-tallest building in New York City.
The structure stands on solid bedrock, with a foundation comprised of reinforced concrete mats, spread footings, and strip footings. It has 98 above-ground floors and 3 basement levels. The tallest part where people can live is 432 meters high, and the very top, including the roof and tip, reaches 470 meters above the ground.
Because of its tall and slender design, the building is classified as one of the new generation “pencil towers” in New York City.
15. Wuhan Greenland Center | 475.6 meters | 101 Floors
Location: Hubei, China
Completed In: 2022
Cost: $4.5 billion
Wuhan Greenland Center is the tallest building in Central China, standing at a height of 475.6 meters.
It was initially supposed to be 636 meters tall, but it had to be redesigned while being built because of airspace regulations. The new design aimed to keep its height under 500 meters above ground level.
Yet, its construction cost of 4.5 billion is considerably higher than that of other skyscrapers. This is mainly due to project delays, which played a significant role in driving up the overall cost.
14. International Commerce Centre | 484 meters | 108 Floors
Image credit: Bohao Zhao / Wikimedia Commons
Location: Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Completed In: 2010
Cost: $3.69 billion
The International Commerce Centre represents a new era of skyscraper model that not only considers achievements in design and engineering, but also includes the idea of connectivity, forward-thinking, and smart growth in highly dense regions.
It is placed among the top 10% of energy-efficient commercial buildings, which is an impressive feat for such a tall building. The air-conditioning system alone contributes to an 8% reduction in energy consumption.
Other energy-efficient features include natural lighting of the atrium, double-decker elevators with power regeneration functions, and low-emission curtain walls. The waste-management program collects more than 100,000 kilograms of recyclable materials every year.
13. Shanghai World Financial Center | 492 meters | 101 Floors
Image credit: Alton Thompson / Wikimedia Commons
Location: Shanghai, China
Completed In: 2008
Cost: $1.2 billion
The Shanghai World Financial Center is a symbol of culture and commerce, which speaks to the city’s emergence as a world capital. The most distinctive architectural feature of this building is its huge trapeziform aperture on the top, which is designed to reduce the impact of wind pressure.
Although the type of design is not unique (it can be found in other countries, such as the Kingdom Center in Saudi Arabia and Duke Energy Center in the United States), constructing it on such a large scale was really a challenging task.
The trapezoid aperture of the building is made of reinforced concrete and structural steel. The compressive and bending forces, like wind loads, are shifted down to the ground by its diagonal-braced frame.
The aim of the tower’s design is to effectively use the material: it significantly reduces the weight of the structural steel in the perimeter walls and the thickness of the outer core shear walls.
12. Taipei 101 | 508 meters | 101 Floors
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Completed In: 2004
Cost: $1.9 billion
Taipei 101 held the title of the world’s tallest building — from 2004 to 2010 — until the completion of Burj Khalifa. In 2011, the tower received a LEED Platinum certification for Operation and Maintenance, a spectacular feat for a building of its size and complexity.
Some of its less-known sustainable features include low-flow water fixtures, energy-efficient luminaires, double-paned green glass curtain walls to block solar heat, and a Smart Energy Management and Control System.
It is equipped with a 728-ton tuned mass damper — a device (steel pendulum) mounted in tall buildings to decrease the amplitude of mechanical vibrations caused by strong winds — situated in a huge multistory cavity close to the top of the tower. The building can withstand winds of up to 215 kilometers per hour and an earthquake of 9 on the Richter scale.
Taipei 101 has a series of observation decks on its upper floors, and it is the only skyscraper in the work that has a concert organized on the rooftop: numerous bands have held small-scale concerts on the 91st-floor observatory.
11. China Zun | 528 meters | 108 Floors
Location: Beijing, China
Completion: 2019
Cost: $3.78 billion
The name ‘Zun’ comes from an ancient Chinese wine vessel that inspired the tower’s design. The building rises from its 78-meter-wide base, gently decreases to a 54-meter-wide midsection, and then gradually increases to its 69-meter-wide crown at the top.
Compared to other tapering or straight supertall towers, the concave design offers larger prime-floor spaces and ample space for window washing. Although the large top section poses several structural challenges, the massive base favors structural balance and preferred core-to-perimeter distances.
Since the authorities restricted new projects in the central business district to a height of at most 180 meters to drop congestion, China Zun is likely to remain the tallest building in Beijing for a long time.
9.a) Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | 530 meters | 97 Floors
At 530 meters, the Tianjin CTF Finance Centre is the tallest building in Tianjin, and is in the Top 10 tallest in the world. It serves as an anchor for the larger area development, while housing office space, luxury serviced apartments, and a hotel. https://t.co/AZ1BkGFyCZ pic.twitter.com/rXak2HVqwb
— CTBUH (@CTBUH) January 11, 2020
Location: Tianjin, China
Completed In: 2019
Cost: $1.2 billion
Tianjin CTF Finance Centre is the world’s tallest building, with fewer than 100 floors.
Shaped like a rocket and characterized by dominating arcs, the building’s crown resembles a cicada’s wings. Its aerodynamic design is effective in minimizing vortex shedding by “confusing the wind,” disrupting any resonating wind forces and loads on the structure.
The curved columns play a crucial role in enhancing the structure’s response to seismic concerns. They are integral to both the gravity and lateral systems, effectively increasing the building’s perimeter frame stiffness.
9.b) Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre | 530 meters | 111 Floors
Image credit: Brian Sterling / Flickr
Location: Guangdong, China
Completed In: 2016
Cost: $1.5 billion
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is known for its multiple uses: its form is sculpted at four critical transition points – residential to hotel, hotel to office, office to crown, and crown to sky.
There are 95 elevators in the building; two of them are among the world’s fastest. They can go as fast as 21 meters per second. These high speeds are achieved through the use of permanent magnet synchronous motors and rollers for a smooth ride.
To minimize its environmental impact, the tower incorporates various energy-efficient features. This includes the use of high-efficiency chillers, heat recovery from water-cooled chiller condensers, and multiple connections to public transportation, all contributing to the building’s overall sustainability.
8. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | 530 meters | 98 Floors
Credit: New World China via CTBUH
Location: Tianjin, China
Completion: 2019
The tower utilizes undulating curves to subtly express three programmatic components while adding a bold monolithic expression to the skyline. It serves as an anchor for the wider area development while housing luxury serviced apartments, office space, and a hotel.
The gently curved glasses conceal eight sloping columns, which enhance the stiffness of the structure in response to seismic concerns. The multistory wind vents are cleverly merged with the building’s aerodynamic shape to decrease vortex shedding and minimize wind forces.
7. One World Trade Center | 541.3 meters | 104 Floors
Location: New York City, United States
Completed In: 2014
Cost: $3.9 billion
The skyscraper has the same name as the North Tower of the original WTC that was destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attack. The memorial is built of 40,000 metric tons of structural steel and 49,000 cubic yards of concrete, which is enough to pave more than 320 kilometers of New York City sidewalks.
The structure has a cubic base, and its edges form 8 isosceles triangles. At its mid part, the building forms an octagon. Also, it’s one of the safest office buildings in the world.
The high-strength concrete used in the building can resist seven times more pressure than conventional concrete, and the reinforcement steel bars are substantially longer than previous WTC rebars. There are a total of 71 elevators that can take you from the ground to the 102nd floor within a minute.
Most people don’t know that one of the trees planted around the memorial was actually recovered from the WTC debris. Since it lived through the terrorist attack, it is named ‘Survivor Tree.’
6. Lotte World Tower | 554.5 meters | 123 Floors
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Completed In: 2016
Cost: $3.3 billion
Lotte World Tower is programmed with wider functions than what is usually found in tall buildings. The top 10 floors are earmarked for extensive public use: it includes a rooftop cafe, observation deck, and other entertainment facilities.
The design of the building is inspired by Korean porcelain, ceramics, and calligraphy. The seam goes from top to bottom of the tower, exterior materials are light-toned silver glass, and the roof is designed to withstand its weight without reinforcing pillars.
Nearly 3,000 tons of steel parts, high-precision GPS alignment systems, a 64t tower crane, and highly skilled workers were used in the roof construction alone. The tower is strong enough to endure extreme winds up to 80 meters per second and earthquakes up to 9 magnitude.
5. Ping An Finance Centre | 599 meters | 115 Floors
Image Credit: Wishva de Silva / Wikimedia Commons
Location: Guangdong, China
Completed In: 2017
Cost: $1.5 billion
Ping An Finance Centre represents a new generation of prototypical skyscrapers: very dense, very tall, and hyper-connected. It seamlessly connects to neighboring residential and commercial properties, as well as the high-speed rail corridor of the Pearl River Delta.
This is the second tallest building in Asia that shares the record of having the highest observation deck (with the Shanghai Tower) at 562 meters. There are 33 double-deck elevators in the tower; each can go up to 10 meters per second.
The streamlined shape of the building enhances both wind (reduces the baseline wind loads by 35 percent) and structural performance. The overall structure is built with 1,700 tons of corrosion-resistant stainless steel.
The material used in the project will prevent the building’s appearance from degrading for several decades despite the salty coastal atmosphere.
4. Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower | 601 meters | 120 Floors
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Completed In: 2011
Cost: $15 billion
The government-owned megatall complex, Abraj Al-Bait, has the world’s largest clock face. It’s the 5th tallest freestanding structure and the most expensive building in the world, with a total construction cost of $15 billion.
The top of the tower has a 4-faced clock (400 meters above the ground), visible from 25 kilometers away. Each face measures 43 meters in diameter, and all four faces are illuminated by 2,000,000 LED lights.
The spire at the top of the clock measures 128 meters (height), and it holds a 23-meter tall golden crescent at its top. The highest prayer floor is built at 480 meters, and the highest observation deck at 475 meters above the ground.
3. Shanghai Tower | 632 meters | 128 Floors
Image credit: Flickr
Location: Pudong, Shanghai
Completed In: 2014
Cost: $2.34 billion
One of the world’s most stunning architectural marvels, the Shanghai Tower represents a green future for China. It takes the form of 9 cylindrical buildings placed on top of each other, all enclosed by the layer of the transparent glass facade.
The design of the glass facade completes a 120-degree twist as it rises: it’s intended to decrease the wind loads on the structure while using less material. The tower used 3/4th of the steel that would be required to build a conventional building of a similar height. More than $55 million was saved in material costs.
The tower has three shuttle elevators; one of them can travel at a speed of 73.8 km/h, which makes it the world’s fastest elevator installed in a functioning building.
Additionally, at a height of 578.5 meters, the tower has set a new record for the furthest-traveling single elevator, surpassing the previous record held by the Burj Khalifa.
2. Merdeka 118 | 678.9 meters | 118 Floors
We’re raising the heat on sustainability☀️ Check out this video to learn more about our solar panels! Did you know that Merdeka 118 is the first building in Malaysia that is targeting for triple green platinum certifications in LEED, GreenRE & GBI ratings? pic.twitter.com/7DDNMDHOie
— Merdeka 118 (@merdeka_118) November 1, 2023
Location: Lumpur, Malaysia
Completed In: 2023
Cost: $1.1 billion
Merdeka 118 is the world’s second-tallest structure, only surpassed by the Burj Khalifa standing at 2,717 feet. Its spire was finished in 2021, reaching its ultimate height of 678.9 meters above ground and 700.9 meters above sea level.
The tower comprises around 18,000 glass panels that form its crystalline façade. It also features an “Edge Walk” for thrill seekers, who can wear safety harnesses and walk on a glass floor.
In 2023, Merdeka 118 became the first tower to receive a triple platinum rating from global sustainability certifications, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
1. Burj Khalifa | 828 meters | 163 Floors
Location: Dubai
Completed In: 2009
Cost: $1.5 billion
Apart from being the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa holds numerous records: it has the highest number of stories, the tallest service elevator, the highest occupied floor, and the highest outdoor observation deck in the world.
It took over 55,000 tons of steel rebar, 110,000 tons of concrete, and 22,000,000 man-hours to complete the structure. At the peak of its construction, about 12,000 people (including laborers and engineers) worked on the building per day.
An average of 964,000 liters of water is supplied through 100 kilometers of pipes installed in the building. The air conditioning system is designed to draw cooler/cleaner air from the upper floors. During extremely hot days, it delivers 46 megawatts of cooling, which is equivalent to that provided by 12 million kilograms of melting ice in a single day.
When all maintenance units are working, it takes 36 laborers up to 4 months to clean the entire structure’s exterior. The cleaning system alone cost over $5 million.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the first skyscraper built?
Advances in technology and material sciences in the mid-19th century enabled the construction of iron-framed structures equipped with new inventions like electric lighting and elevators. These advances made it possible (both technically and commercially) to construct the world’s first skyscraper.
Designed by William Le Baron Jenney, the Home Insurance Building was the world’s first modern skyscraper completed in 1885. This 138 feet tall building stood for 46 years (from 1885 to 1931) in Chicago. In 1891, two extra floors were added, bringing the total number of floors to 12 and the total height to 180 feet.
What are the tallest buildings in New York City?
New York City has 7,000 high-rise buildings, with the tallest being One World Trade Center, standing at an architectural height of 1,776 feet. This iconic structure is constructed on a floor area spanning 3,501,274 square feet, featuring 104 floors and 73 elevators. Other notable supertall buildings in the city include:
| Building | Year of Completion | Height (feet) | Number of Floors |
| One World Trade Center | 2014 | 1,776 | 94 |
| Central Park Tower | 2021 | 1,550 | 99 |
| 111 West 57th Street | 2022 | 1,428 | 84 |
| One Vanderbilt | 2020 | 1,401 | 73 |
| 432 Park Avenue | 2015 | 1,397 | 85 |
Which country has the most skyscrapers?
China has the largest number of skyscrapers in the world. In fact, no country comes close to China — it has more than 3,088 skyscrapers, which is more than the number of skyscrapers in the US (859+), United Arab Emirates (314+), Malaysia (282+), South Korea (276+), Japan (271+), and Australia (141+) combined.
The top four cities with the most number of skyscrapers are Hong Kong (554+), Shenzhen (390+), New York City (316+), and Dubai (258+).
What is the tallest wooden structure?
The tallest wooden structure ever built was the Mühlacker radio transmitter. This 623-foot structure stood from 1930 to 1945 in Germany.
At present, Gliwice Radio Tower is the tallest standing wooden structure, with a total height of 387 feet. It is located in Upper Silesia, Poland. The tower carries multiple transceiver antennas for cell services and FM transmitter broadcasting on 93.4 MHz.
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