Tallest Skyscrapers
This site is a showcase for the Tallest Skyscrapers and buildings in the world.
The word skyscraper was first applied to such buildings in the late 19th century, reflecting public amazement at the tall buildings being built in New York City.
#1 - Burj Khalifa in Dubai 828m/2716ft, 162 Floors
#2 - Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel
#3 - Taipei 101 in Taipei 509m/1671ft, 101 Floors
#4 - Shanghai World Financial Center 492m/1614ft
#5 - International Commerce Center,484m/1588ft
#6 - Petronas Towers 1+2 452m/1483ft
The structural definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-story buildings. This definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicago's Monadnock Building. Although Philadelphia's City Hall, completed in 1901, is the world's tallest load-bearing masonry structure - a title to which it still holds claim.
The steel frame developed in stages of increasing self-sufficiency, with several buildings in New York and Chicago advancing the technology that allowed the steel frame to carry a building on its own.
Today, however, many of the tallest skyscrapers are built more or less entirely with reinforced concrete. In the United States today, it is a loose convention to draw the lower limit on what is a skyscraper at 150 metres. Elsewhere, though, a shorter building will sometimes be referred to as a skyscraper, especially if it is said to "dominate" its surroundings. Thus, calling a building a skyscraper will usually, but not always, imply pride and achievement.
More and more skyscrapers, towers and buildings are being built in China and East Asia as there population grows and the race for every city to have more impressive space and buildings takes off.
Skyscraper News
USA TODAY | 6 rescued from elevator in one of Chicago's highest skyscrapers after crews break wall USA TODAY CHICAGO – Firefighters broke through a wall in one of Chicago's tallest skyscrapers to rescue six people who were trapped in an elevator. The Chicago Fire Department responded early Friday following a report that the six visitors, including a pregnant ... |
The Independent | Skyscrapers make hurricanes much worse, study finds The Independent In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey – a category 4 tropical cyclone – ripped into the US city of Houston causing catastrophic flooding, killing 68 people and causing $125bn in damage, tying with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest cyclone on record. Houston skyscrapers may have snagged Hurricane Harvey, causing it to dump extra rain: studies Studies: Houston Skyscrapers May Have Worsened Hurricane Harvey Rain Urbanization exacerbated the rainfall and flooding caused by hurricane Harvey in Houston |
Chron.com | Meet the skyscrapers that joined Houston's skyline in 2018 Chron.com It's the second year in a row six buildings have been completed in Houston. Before that, the last time that many skyscrapers joined Houston's skyline was in 2003. Curiously though, it seems that streak is coming to an end since no skyscrapers are lined ... |
Forbes | First Look At Four Hot Skyscrapers Forbes City skylines are as almost as crowded as the streets—soaring higher due to in-demand skyscraper living offering enviable views and convenient lifestyle choices. Here's a first look at four prominent projects heading to market. Madison Square Park ... |
CityMetric | Look up! Among the skyscrapers! On superheroes and the American City CityMetric Regardless of publisher, American superheroes live in American cities, and while those cities have different moods and characters they're all modern American cities with everything you would expect: skyscrapers in the middle, suburbs around the edge, ... |
City of London to 'encourage' new skyscrapers Construction News The City of London Corporation has opened the door to a new wave of towers and an overhaul of one of its main routes as part of draft new local and transport plans. The local authority wants to encourage the development of new towers able to provide an ... |
Dezeen | SOM's "sister skyscrapers" for doomed Chicago Spire site halted Dezeen The controversy surrounding the site of Santiago Calatrava's ill-fated Chicago Spire continues, as the city stalls the pair of skyscrapers that SOM's David Childs has proposed for the vacant waterfront plot. Child's 400 Lake Shore Drive, designed for ... |
Dezeen | Residential skyscrapers on the rise in Manhattan's Financial District Dezeen British architect David Adjaye's first skyscraper in New York is rising towards its 66-storey height in the heart of FiDi. The 244 luxury condos at 130 William will boast views of the city through arch-shaped windows, which will be inverted and doubled ... |
Philippe Starck sets his sights on Sri Lankan skyscrapers with 'vertical village' The Sapphire Residences Telegraph.co.uk To the ubiquitous French designer Philippe Starck, the dozens of global developments he has worked on with YOO – his 20-year-old business partnership with the property entrepreneur John Hitchcox – aren't about real estate or architecture or even design. |
The Express Tribune | Half the skyscrapers in Karachi are illegal: Sindh LG minister The Express Tribune KARACHI: The Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani on Tuesday conceded that half of the high-rise buildings in Karachi were built illegally with the help of Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). This disclosure was made by him in the Sindh ... |