List of tallest buildings and structures

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for?"

—Robert Browning's "Andrea del Sarto", from Men and Women (1855)

For many millennia the record holder for world's tallest structure was clearly defined (see table below.) However, there has been much debate as to the ranking of the world's tallest structures since the middle of the 20th century, chiefly depending on the criteria used for selecting the structures admissible to the list.

In particular, there is debate about whether:

guy-wire-supported structures can be counted,
only habitable height counts,
roof-top antennas can be counted towards height of inhabitable buildings; the debate over this originates from that fact that spires are included in the height but antennas are not (see the debate on the Sears Tower versus the Petronas Towers),
observation galleries on communication towers make them into habitable buildings,
structures under construction can be included in the list, and whether
structures rising out of water should have their below-water height included.

Tallest structures

The tallest currently standing structure is the KVLY-TV mast near Mayville, North Dakota, at 629 m (2,063 ft). It is a transmission antenna, consisting of a bare metal structure supported by guy-wires. Transmission towers in excess of 600 meters (~2000 ft) are common in the American Midwest; similar structures exist near Alleman, Iowa and Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Warsaw radio mast near Warsaw, Poland at 645 m (2,115 ft) was taller, but it collapsed in 1991.

The main reason these transmission antennas are not usually included with the world's tallest buildings is that they are not self-supported. Another example of a structure that's not self-supporting is a long rope tethered to the ground on one end and to a helium balloon on the other. If structures that are not self-supporting were counted then these would be the tallest in the world.

The Petronius Platform stands 610 m (2,001 ft) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure in the world. However, as this oil and natural gas platform is partially supported by buoyancy, some critics argue that the below-water height should not be counted, in the same manner as the underground 'height' of buildings is not taken into account.

The CN Tower in Toronto stands 553.33 m (1,815 ft) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure above ground. Ostankino Tower in Moscow is currently being renovated following a fire. When completed it will stand 577m.

Tallest buildings

Up until 1998 the tallest building status was essentially uncontested. Counting buildings as structures with floors throughout, New York City's World Trade Center was the tallest including the antennas, Sears Tower in Chicago excluding the antennas. As antennas were usually excluded, Sears Tower was counted as the tallest. When Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was built, some felt that the "spire" extending to 9 meters higher than the roof of the Sears Tower was just added to "cheat" its way into the spot as tallest building. Excluding the spire, the Petronas Towers were not taller than the Sears Tower. Therefore, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat defined four categories in which the "world's tallest building" can be measured:

Height to the structural or architectural top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles)
Height to the highest occupied floor
Height to the top of the roof
Height to the top of antenna

The height is measured from the sidewalk level of the main entrance. In all of these categories, Sears Tower had held the top spot. After Petronas was built, Sears Tower became second in the first category only.

As of April 20, 2004, Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan leads in the first category with 508 m (1,667 ft); in the second category with an occupied floor at 438 m (1,437 ft); and in the third category with 448 m (1,470 ft). The first category was formerly held by the Petronas Twin Towers with 452 m (1,483 ft), and before that by Sears Towers with 443 m (1,448 ft). The second category was held by the Sears Tower, with 435 m (1,431 ft). The third category was formerly held by the Sears Tower with 442 m (1,445 ft).

The Sears Tower still leads in the fourth category with 529 m (1,736 ft), previously held by the World Trade Center until its destruction in 2001; its antenna included, it measured 536 m (1,758 ft). The World Trade Center became the world's tallest buildings to be demolished–indeed, its site entered the record books twice on September 11, 2001, in that category, replacing the Singer Building, which once stood a block from the WTC site.

The CN Tower is excluded from these categories because it is not a "habitable building", which is defined as a frame structure made with floors and walls throughout.

Tallest structures before 1954

Held record		Name and Location	Constructed	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Notes
From	To	Name and Location	Constructed	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Notes
c. 2600 BC	c. 2570 BC	Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Egypt	c. 2600 BC	105	345
c. 2570 BC	c. AD 1300	Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt	c. 2570 BC	146	481	By AD 1439 the Great Pyramid had eroded to a height of approximately 139 m (455 ft)
c. 1300	1549	Lincoln Cathedral, England	1092–1311	160	524	The central spire was destroyed in a storm in 1549
1549	1625	St. Olaf's Church, Tallinn, Estonia	1438–1519	159	522	The spire burnt down after a lightning strike in 1625
1625	1847	Notre Dame Minster, Strasbourg, Germany, now France	1439	143	469	Still standing
1847	1876	St. Nikolaikirche, Hamburg, Germany	1846–1847	147	483	Designed by George Gilbert Scott
1876	1880	Cathédrale Notre Dame, Rouen, France	1202–1876	151	495
1880	1884	Cologne Cathedral, Germany	1248–1880	157	515
1884	1889	Washington Monument, United States	1884	169	555
1889	1930	Eiffel Tower, Paris, France	1889	300	986
1930	1931	Chrysler Building, New York, United States	1928–1930	319	1046
1931	1954	Empire State Building, New York, United States	1930–1931	381	1250	The 481 meter KWTV Mast, Oklahoma City was constructed in 1954

Currently-standing tallest structures

Rank	Name and location	Year completed	Height¹		Stories
Rank	Name and location	Year completed	m	ft	Stories
Buildings
1	Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan	2003	508	1,668	101
2	Petronas Tower I, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1998	452	1,483	88
(tie) 2	Petronas Tower II, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1998	452	1,483	88
4	Sears Tower, Chicago (IL), United States	1974	442	1,450	110
5	Jin Mao Building, Shanghai, China	1998	421	1,380	88
–	~~One World Trade Center², New York (NY), United States~~	1972	417	1,368	110
–	~~Two World Trade Center², New York (NY), United States~~	1973	415	1,362	110
6	Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong, China	2003	412	1,352	88
7	CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou, China	1997	391	1,283	80
8	Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, China	1996	384	1,260	69
9	Empire State Building, New York (NY), United States	1931	381	1,250	102
10	Central Plaza, Hong Kong, China	1992	374	1,227	78
11	Bank of China, Hong Kong, China	1989	368	1,209	72
12	Emirates Tower One, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	1999	355	1,165	55
13	T & C Tower, Kaohsiung, Taiwan	1997	347	1,140	85
14	Aon Center, Chicago (IL), United States	1973	346	1,136	80
15	The Centre, Hong Kong, China	1998	346	1,135	73
16	John Hancock Center, Chicago (IL), United States	1967	344	1,127	100
17	Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea	1995	330	1,083	105
18	Burj al Arab Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	1999	321	1,053	60
19	Chrysler Building, New York (NY), United States	1930	319	1,046	77
20	Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta (GA), United States	1993	312	1,023	55
21	U.S. Bank Tower, Los Angeles (CA), United States	1990	310	1,018	75
22	Telekom Malaysia Headquarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1999	310	1,017	55
23	Emirates Tower Two, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2000	309	1,014	56
24	AT&T Corporate Center, Chicago (IL), United States	1989	307	1,007	60
25	JP Morgan Chase Tower, Houston (TX), United States	1982	305	1,000	75
Towers and Other Structures
–	~~Warsaw radio mast³, Konstantynów, Poland~~	1974	646	2,120	–
–	KVLY-TV mast, Fargo (ND), United States	1963	629	2,063	–
1	CN Tower, Toronto (ON), Canada	1976	553	1,815	–
2	Ostankino Tower, Moscow, Russia	1967	540	1,772	–

¹ Height for inhabited buildings (with stories) does not include TV towers and antennae.
² Collapsed as a result of terrorist attack, September 11, 2001.
³ Collapsed during renovation, August 1991.

Source: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Proposed record-breaking structures

A Solar Tower that has been proposed in Buronga, New South Wales, Australia would be 1,000 m (3,281 ft) tall. Engineering feasibility has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of consulting engineers, and construction is a matter of financial viability.

The 492 m (1,614 ft; roof height) Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, China has proposed completion in 2007, but has been delayed by evaluation of soil stability. A competing on-going project for the world's tallest is the 474 m (1,555 ft) Union Square Phase 7 in Hong Kong, also scheduled for completion in 2007. This would make either building the tallest under categories 2 and 3 by the CTBUH.

The Freedom Tower of the new World Trade Center in New York City will reach 1,776 ft (541.3 metres) to its spire and about 1,100 ft (335 m) to its roof once completed in 2008. This would make it the tallest building under categories 1 and 4 by the CTBUH. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 2004.

Burj Dubai is a 705-metre (2,313-foot) skyscraper currently under development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed to be completed around 2008, this would put it at the number one spot in all four of CTBUH's categories, as well as make it the tallest freestanding structure.

External links