Where Are the Tallest Buildings in the World?

 

Skyscrapers² look like their name: They are buildings so high; it appears like they are scraping, or touching³ the sky.

With better technology, architects — people who design buildings — engineers and builders have been able to build buildings higher and higher.

For the cities and countries where they are built, they bring a sense of pride and visitors. They bring their money and the desire to be entertained.

Daniel Safarik works for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a group with members all over the world. He says the race to build tall buildings started in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries between companies showing their economic power.

Now, he says, the competition is between cities, and countries.

“Part of the competition, of course has to do with pure height and the bragging⁴ rights to say that you hold that title. That is certainly the case with say, the top ten and twenty.”

But just being a very tall building is no longer enough to get people to visit. Safarik says those that invest heavily in entertainment will be most successful financially.

“Some of the things that they have done is put amusement park style rides at the top. That includes Ferris wheels, roller coasters, sheer drop type rides — where you’re basically just in a moment of free fall before whatever safety equipment they have engages.”

Older buildings have added items like glass floors or tilting⁵ rooms that give you the feeling of looking out high over the edge.

Even within the same city, some of these tall buildings compete for people’s attention—and money.

Take Shanghai, China for example. The Shanghai Tower is the world’s second tallest building. Its unusual shape—rounded and twisted, with a second outer layer is a sight to see. Nearby is the Shanghai World Financial Center, number nine on the list. There you can walk on a sky bridge with a glass floor to look down to the roofs and neighborhoods below.

Safarik says a third building in the city, the 19th tallest one in the world, also opened a new attraction.

“The Jin Mao tower the oldest of the three has just recently opened up an experience where basically you can be tied to the side of the building and lean over the edge outdoor and sort of (laugh) test your fortitude⁶.”

Because of what it takes to get these buildings to rise up out of the ground, and stay there, Safarik says they are some of the safest buildings around.

Grouping many people in one place makes sense as the planet’s population grows. These tall buildings can be environmentally sustainable, especially when they are located near mass transportation like trains and subways.

How high will the next ones be? For now, one limit appears to be elevators-- how fast and far they can go, and what peoples’ comfort level is.

Here is a list of the top ten tallest buildings in the world.

1. Burj Khalifa

Standing⁷ 828 meters high, this building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates has 163 floors. The center of a new downtown, it was completed in 2010. It calls itself a “vertical city.” Level 148 holds the world’s highest observation deck. A new spiral flight enclosed in glass connects Levels 124 and 125 and opens to views of the city.

2. Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Tower, completed in 2015, has 128 floors and is the tallest of three in the city’s finance area. The curved building is 632 meters tall and its twisted shape provides protection from wind. It has a see-through glass second skin that wraps around the building. It has one of the world's fastest elevators that moves up at 20.5 meters per second.

3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower

Standing at 601 meters high, this tower is in the center of the holiest Islamic city, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Completed in 2012, it 120 floors and housing for Muslims making the journey there every year for the Hajj. Four very large clocks — the largest and highest in the world -- are located near the top of the tower.

4. Ping An Finance Center

Located in Shenzhen, China, it stands 599 meters high and was completed in 2017. It is connected to neighboring business and residential⁸ properties. The tower’s shape narrows to form a pyramid at the top. It has 115 floors and the world’s largest stainless⁹ steel fa?ade, or face.

5. Lotte World Tower

Newly opened in Seoul, South Korea. The 123-story glass and steel structure is South Korea’s tallest building. It rises 554.5 meters above the Seoul skyline. The tower features the world’s highest floor made of glass. The building also has the highest swimming pool in the world, and one of the world’s fastest elevators.

6. One World Trade Center

This New York City building replaces the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001. It rises 541.3 meters above the memorials in the ground where the twin towers once stood. With 94 floors, the building helped bring back downtown Manhattan as a business center. It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

7. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

Located in Guangzhou, China, this building is 530 meters high with 111 floors. Completed in 2016, it has four setbacks as it climbs in the air. This design allows for sky terraces and dramatic skylights. The use of terracotta as a building material helped environmentally.

8. Taipei 101

Located in Taipei, Taiwan, this building was the first 100 plus story building built in the 21st century. It once was the world’s tallest building because it had a 60-meter spire¹¹ that made it 508 meters. The tower’s top section has observation levels and a private club, on floor 101.

9. Shanghai World Financial Center

Completed in 2008, this is the second tallest skyscraper¹ in China. It is 492 meters tall, and has 101 floors. Located in the financial center, it has luxury hotels and meeting areas. Builders say it can survive a massive 8-magnitude earthquake. Its Sky Walk is on floor 100 and creates the sense of walking in the air above the nearby buildings and city.

10. International Commerce Centre

Located in Hong Kong, this building is 484 meters high with 108 floors. Completed in 2010, it houses financial institutions, a 360-degree observation deck and the world’s highest hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.

Words in This Story

bragging rights – n. a good reason to talk with pride about something you have done

amusement park – n. a place that has games and rides for entertainment

twisted – adj. not a normal shape

fortitude – n. mental strength and courage that allows someone to face danger, pain, etc.

sustainable – adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

elevator – n. a machine used for carrying people and things to different levels in a building

spiral – n. a circular curving line that goes around a central point while getting closer to or farther away from it

pyramid – n. a shape, object, or pile that is wide near the bottom and narrows gradually as it reaches the top

setback¹⁰ – n. in architecture, a steplike recession in the side of a high-rise building

terracotta – n. a reddish clay that is used for pottery and tiles

1 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

2 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

3 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

4 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

5 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

6 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

9 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

10 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

11 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。