tallest skyscrapers in the world

I don't know why stuff like this fascinates me. Those with a teenage mindset would make phallic jokes. I'd like to think it's some sort of testiment to what humans can do when they want to. With my Taipei trip in 5 weeks I'll be able to knock off the second tallest building in the world (though dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai..... jeez) and I've also hit 4 and 5 on the list. So here is the top 10 (11 because Petronas 1 and 2 are considered two buildings on one site, but they are counted as one and.... etc etc etc.)

 

Rank Building City Country Height (m) Height (ft) Floors Built 1 Burj Khalifa Dubai  UAE 828 m 2,717 ft 163 2010 2 Taipei 101 Taipei  Taiwan 508 m 1,667 ft 101 2004 3 Shanghai World Financial Center Shanghai  China 492 m 1,614 ft 101 2008 4 International Commerce Centre Kowloon  Hong Kong 484 m 1,588 ft 108 2010 5 Petronas Tower 1 Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia 452 m 1,483 ft 88 1998 5 Petronas Tower 2 Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia 452 m 1,483 ft 88 1998 7 Nanjing Greenland Financial Center Nanjing  China 450 m 1,476 ft 89 2010 8 Willis Tower Chicago  USA 442 m 1,451 ft 110 1974 9 Kingkey Finance Tower Shenzhen  China 442 m 1,449 ft 98 2011 10 Guangzhou West Tower Guangzhou  China 438 m 1,435 ft 103 2010[C] 11 Trump International Hotel and Tower[6] Chicago  USA 423 m 1,389 ft 98 2009

Full list available here.

A few things amazed me about this list:

1- that the top five were all in Asia
2- the Burj Khalifa... I think I may need to visit Dubai
3- that the only ones in the US to top out the list are in Chicago (though if the WTC were still around they'd be number 6 or 7)
4- that half of them are in China (more if you count Taiwan as China)
5- keep going and you'll see the top 25 are dominated by China/Hong Kong and the UAE. The USA has several big ones as well but that's not really that surprising.
6- that New York and Singapore (two cities famous for skyscrapers) have nothing in the top ten and Singapore nothing in the top 25.


I think architecture is also a great way to judge what a culture values. The Egyptians left temples and tombs, the Greeks left temples and city walls, the Romans left aqueducts and sporting venues. In each case we learn what that society valued. I think it's no different today. The biggest buildings in America are spread between sports, residential and commerce. Americans like to play big, live big and work big. In China, they are ALL financial centres, but no one lives in skyscrapers, so far above everyone else. In the UAE it's business and the sultans.

Anyway, I'm happy to have 4 and 5 under my belt, 2 in a few weeks and 3 and 7 next year I should think.