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Top Ten World Architecture

top ten supertall skyscrapers (by height)

For a more complete list, see Top Ten World Architecture

Burj Dubai

architect	Architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
location	located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence Roundabout") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street.
date	Groundbreaking 21 September 2004, Estimated completion 30 December 2008
style	Modern
construction	Height Antenna/Spire ~818 m (2,684 ft) Floor count 164
type	Armani Hotel (the first of its kind) will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private apartments Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 123rd floor lobby and 124th floor (about 440 metres (1,444 ft)) indoor/outdoor observation deck.

Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي "Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When it is completed in late 2008, it is predicted to be the tallest man-made structure in the world, as well as the tallest building by any measure. Scheduled for occupancy in September 2009, the building is part of a 2 km² (0.8 sq mi) development called 'Downtown Burj Dubai' and is located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence Roundabout") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street.
The building is being built mainly by a South Korean company Samsung, along with the Belgian company Besix and the UAE company Arabtec. It was designed by American Adrian Smith before he left Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago to start his own independent practice, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in October 2006. However, SOM continues to lead the architectural, structural engineering and mechanical engineering of Burj Dubai. The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about $4.1 billion US and for the entire new 'Downtown Burj Dubai', $20 billion US.

Taipei 101

Taipei Republic of China (Taiwan) 509 m 1,671 ft 101 2004

architect	C.Y. Lee Contractor KTRT Joint Venture, Samsung Engineering & Construction
location	Taipei, Taiwan
date	1999-2004
style	Postmodern Modern Oriental Skyscraper Gothic
construction	Taipei 101 has been the world's tallest building since 2004. Height Antenna/Spire 509.2 m (1,670.60 ft) Roof 449.2 m (1,473.75 ft) Top floor 439.2 m (1,440.94 ft) Technical details Floor count 101 Floor area 412,500 m² (4,440,100 sq ft) Elevator count 61, including double-deck shuttles and 2 high speed observatory elevators) Cost US$1,758,000,000
type	Office Building, hotel, museum, observation, parking garage, retail

The Burj Dubai, located in Dubai, UAE, overtook Taipei 101 in height upon completion of its 141st floor on July 7 2007. The Burj Dubai is expected to hold a number of world records by the time it opens in mid-2009. Taipei 101 retains its official title until the Burj Dubai is completed, however, as the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat does not officially recognize a structure as a "building" for record purposes until it is functional--that is, until it is completed and can be occupied.
Various sources, including the building's owners, give the height of Taipei 101 as 508.0 m (1,667 ft), roof height and top floor height as 448.0 m (1,470 ft) and 438.0 m (1,437 ft). This lower figure is derived by measuring from the top of a 1.2 m (4 ft) platform at the base. CTBUH standards, though, include the height of the platform in calculating the overall height, as it represents part of the man-made structure and is above the level of the surrounding pavement.

Shanghai World Financial Center

Shanghai People's Republic of China 492 m 1,614 ft 101 2008

architect	Kohn Pedersen Fox Structural Engineer Leslie E. Robertson Associates RLLP Contractor China State Costruction Engineering Corp. and Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co.
location	Pudong, Shanghai, China
date	1998-2008
style	Postmodern
construction	Roof 492.0 m (1,614.2 ft) 101 floors Floor area 377,300 m² (4,061,223 sq ft) Elevator count 31 Cost 8.17 billion RMB (approx. $1 billion USD)
type	Office Building, hotel, museum, observation, parking garage, retail

The Shanghai World Financial Center (simplified Chinese: 上海环球金融中心; traditional Chinese: 上海環球金融中心; pinyin: Shànghǎi huánqiú jīnróng zhōngxīn) is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Shanghai, China. It is a mixed use skyscraper which will consist of office spaces, hotel rooms, conference rooms, observation decks and shops on the ground floors. The hotel component will open with 175 rooms and suites in mid-2008 as the Park Hyatt Shanghai.

On September 14, 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492 meters (1,614 ft) and became the tallest structure in China, including Hong Kong, as well as the world's third tallest building (including unfinished ones).

Petronas Towers

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 452 m 1,483 ft 88 1998

architect	César Pelli Contractor Samsung Engineering & Construction, Hazama Corporation, B.L. Harbert International
location	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
date	1992-1998
style	Postmodern Modern Oriental Skyscraper Gothic
construction	Petronas Twin Towers was the world's tallest building from 1998 to 2004. Surpassed by Taipei 101. Height Antenna/Spire 452.0 m (1,482.9 ft) Roof 378.6 m (1,242.1 ft) Top floor 375.0 m (1,230.3 ft) Technical details Floor count 88 Floor area 395,000 m² (4,252,000 sq ft) Elevator count 78
type	Office Building, hotel, museum, observation, parking garage, retail

The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers or Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are the world's tallest twin buildings. Tower 1 was built by the South Korean multinational Samsung Engineering & Construction and Tower 2 by Hazama Corporation of Japan. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996).

Sears Tower

Chicago United States 442 m 1,451 ft 108 1973

architect	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
location	233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
date	1974-76
style	Modern
construction	steel frame, curtain wall. Sears Tower was the world's tallest building from 1973 to 1998.
type	Office Building

Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America. The building is constructed of nine 75-foot-square tubes of welded steel that extend 50 and 108 stories high. Floors are suspended within the tubes. Engineer Fazlur R. Kahn devised this structural solution specifically for the project. The steel-frame building is clad in black aluminum and bronze-toned glass.

The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It has been the tallest building in the United States since 1973, surpassing the World Trade Center, which itself had surpassed the Empire State Building only a year earlier. Commissioned by Sears, Roebuck and Company, it was designed by chief architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Construction commenced in August 1970 and the building reached its originally anticipated maximum height on May 3, 1973. When completed, the Sears Tower had overtaken the roof of the World Trade Center in New York City as the world's tallest building. The tower has 108 stories as counted by standard methods, though the building owners count the main roof as 109 and the mechanical penthouse roof as 110. The distance to the roof is 1,451 feet (442 m), measured from the east entrance.

Jin Mao Tower

Shanghai People's Republic of China 421 m 1,380 ft 88 1998

architect	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
location	88 Century Boulevard, Pudong District, Shanghai 200121, China
date	1998
style	Postmodern Modern Oriental Skyscraper Gothic
construction	Antenna/Spire 421 m 1,380 ft Roof 370.0 m / 1,214 ft [1] Top floor 366.0 m / 1,201 ft The exterior curtain wall is made of glass, stainless steel, aluminium, and granite, and is criss-crossed by complex latticework cladding made of aluminum alloy pipes.
type	Office Building, hotel, museum, observation, parking garage, retail

The Jin Mao Building or Jin Mao Tower (Chinese: 金茂大厦; pinyin: Jīn Mào Dàshà; literally "Golden Prosperity Building") is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. It was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center.

Two International Finance Centre

Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR 415 m 1,362 ft 88 2003

architect	Rocco Design Ltd. Design Architect César Pelli & Association Architects
location	Hong Kong, China
date	1997 - 2003
style	Postmodern Modern Oriental Skyscraper Gothic
construction	Antenna/Spire 415.8 m (1,364.2 ft) Roof 406.9 m (1,335.0 ft) Top floor 401.9 m (1,318.6 ft) Technical details Floor count 88 Floor area 185,805 m² (1,999,988 sq ft) Elevator count 62
type	Office Building, parking garage, retail.

International Finance Centre (abbr. IFC, branded as "ifc") is an integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District.

A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, it consists of two skyscrapers, the ifc mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the tallest building in Hong Kong, usurping the place once occupied by Central Plaza. It is the third-tallest building in the Greater China region and the seventh-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only Taipei 101 and Sears Tower exceed it. The International Commerce Centre, currently under construction above the MTR Kowloon station and scheduled for completion in 2010, will usurp 2IFC's various titles.

The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.

CITIC Plaza

Guangzhou People's Republic of China 391 m 1,283 ft 80 1997

architect	Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers (HK) Ltd.
location	Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China
date	1997
style	Postmodern
construction	Structural height is 391 m (1,283 ft) including two tall antenna-like spires on the top (tallest concrete building in the world). 80 floors, 36 elevators.
type	Office Building

CITIC Plaza is an 80-story skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m (1,283 ft) including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world. Currently, it ranks as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia, and eighth worldwide. Located in the growing and expanding Tianhe District, it is part of a complex of the same name which also consists of two 38-story residential buildings. Its proximity includes a new train station, a new metro station, and the Tianhe Sports Center, where the 6th National Games was held.

Shun Hing Square

Shenzhen People's Republic of China 384 m 1,260 ft 69 1996

architect	K.Y. Cheung Design Associates
location	Shenzhen, China
date	1996
style	Postmodern
construction	structural height of 384 m (1,260 ft) and has 69 stories. Tallest all-steel building in China.
type	Office Building, parking garage, retail.

Shun Hing Square (Chinese: 信兴广场, Aka. 地王大厦) is a supertall skyscraper in Shenzhen, China. Designed by K.Y. Cheung Design Associates, it has a structural height of 384 m (1,260 ft) and has 69 stories. It was completed in 1996 and for one year (from 1996 till 1997), it was the tallest building in China until Guangzhou's CITIC Plaza was completed. It now ranks fourth in China and ninth worldwide in the high-rise ranking.

Empire State Building, New York

architect	Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, William F. Lamb as chief designer
location	350 Fifth Ave., bet. W33 and W34
date	1930-1931
style	Art Deco
construction	Steel frame 102 floors, 1252 feet, 381 meters high. Effective use of setbacks to emphasize tower. The building is clad in Indiana limestone and granite, with the mullions lined in shiny aluminium. There are in all 6,500 windows, with spandrels sandblasted to blend their tone to that of the windows, visually creating the vertical striping on the facade. The windows and spandrels are also flush with the limestone facing, an aesthetic and economic decision.
type	Office Building
	Click here for an Empire State Building gallery

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, New York at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building became for the second time, the tallest building in New York City.
The Empire State Building has been named by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. The building and its street floor interior are designated landmarks of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and confirmed by the New York City Board of Estimate.[5] It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[3][6][7] In 2007, it was ranked number one on the List of America's Favorite Architecture according to the AIA. The building is owned by Harold Helmsley's company and managed by its management/leasing division Helmsley-Spear.