When counting the 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year. But before going further and exploring some cool facts about these buildings, its important to distinguish a building from a tower. The engineering definition of a tower is, “A tall man-made structure, always taller than it is wide, meant for regular access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are self-supporting or free-standing, which means no guy-wires for support.” Guy wires are tension cables designed to add stability to a free-standing structure. You may recognize them with as the yellow covered wires that support electric and telephone poles. Towers are also different from buildings because they are often built to use their height for various purposes such as telecommunications, radio signals, or simply a viewing platform. Thetallest tower in the world is the Tokyo Skytree in Japan, followed by the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China, and the CN Tower in Toronto. It used to be that the Warsaw Radio Mast was the tallest tower in the world (646.38 metres/2,120.7 ft) but it collapsed in 1991 due to several crucial errors. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
There are other structures that don’t fall into the category of towers or buildings such as: bridge towers, pylons, chimneys, transmission towers, and most large statues. These structures usually allow human access for maintenance, but not as part of their normal operation, and therefore are not considered to be towers or buildings.
Moving back to the 50 tallest buildings, below is a detailed chart that shows the height and name of each building. As you can see, the Burj is quite clearly the tallest standing at a whopping 2717 feet (828 meters). No other building is taller than 2000 feet, with the Royal Clock Tower coming in at ‘just’ 1972 feet (601 meters). 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
These 50 skyscrapers are located in 9 different countries in the world, with the vast majority in China, the world leader in skyscraper construction. Outside of China, these skyscrapers can be found in the UAE, USA, Taiwan, Malaysia, Kuwait, Russia, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
If you would have looked at this list 5 years ago, it would have been very different, and a full 27 of the top 50 were completed in the years since 2010. It’s very likely that this list will look very different in another 5 years, and in fact the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia is slated to be completed in 2019 and will stand over 1km (3,300 feet) high! Of today’s 50 tallest, the vast majority (37) were built in the years since 2000, but the list still has architectural legends such as the Empire State Building, completed in 1931, and the John Hancock Center, completed in 1969. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
Finally, the prestigious title of ‘the tallest building in the world‘ has changed hands several times since 1931 when the Empire State Building was completed. Before 1930, several other buildings in the U.S. held the title, but none of them remain on the list of the tallest 50. From New York the title traveled to Chicago and then Kuala Lampur, Taiwan, and finally, Dubai. As you can see from the map, the original World Trade Center held the title for a brief 2 years and though the recently completed One World Trade Center is a symbolic 1776 feet (541 meters) tall, and the third tallest building in the world, it will never hold the title of the world’s tallest building. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
In the pictures below, created by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), we can also see the physical progression of the tallest building in the world. Once again, this list excludes towers and other non-buildings such as the Great Pyramid which stands at 138.8 metres (455.4 ft). As you can see, before 1930, the tallest building was located in New York all the way back to 1885 when Chicago held the title with the Home Insurance Building, which stood at 180 feet (55 meters). The Home Insurance Building is noted as the first tall building to be supported, by a fireproof metal frame, but it was eventually demolished in 1931. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
The 15 buildings which has held the title of the world’s tallest building have also evolved in many ways and below there are even more graphs from the CTBUH illustrating the transformation of skyscrapers over the years. 50 tallest buildings in the world, it starts and ends in the UAE, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai coming in at number 1 and the Landmark in Abu Dhabi rounding out the list at number 50. The list is filled with some fascinating structures, some which have held the title of tallest building in the world, some which were built before the 1970’s, and some which were only completed this year.
Finally, as the world gets taller and taller, it is now more important than ever to ensure proper fire safety measures are taken in the building process and that skyscraper dwellers have an alternate safe evacuation route in case of an emergency.
