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| World's tallest buildings - built - proposed - under construction © CTBUH |
On December 31st, 2004, 509 m (1,670 ft) tall Taipei 101 was the first building which passed 500 m mark and became world's tallest building. It was a big day then because new milestone was reached, a half of kilometer tall building was opened. Today, a little more than 8 years later, 13 buildings taller than 500 m are under construction across the globe.
Bigger, better, taller are three very popular words today when we talk about architecture and skyscrapers. Everyone wants to build big, be noticed and say "yes, we have the tallest". 13 skyscrapers are currently under construction and hundreds are still proposed or waiting approval. Let's take a look what's going on above that half a kilometer mark.
#13 Federation Tower, Moscow, Russia. 506 m (1,660 ft) tall skyscraper made of two buildings with the spire between them. Federation Tower is currently restarting its construction after new contractor had to be chosen. Once finished, it will be the tallest building in Europe with 93 floors.
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| Federation Tower, Moscow, Russia © ICube visualization |
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| Federation Tower, Moscow, Russia © ICube visualization |
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| Federation Tower, Moscow, Russia © Night City Dream/SSC |
#12 Lotte Town Tower, Busan, China. Yes, China is country about which you will read most here. Their cities are growing like crazy and new skyscrapers pushing the boundaries are proposed almost every day! Lotte Town Tower will be 510 m (1,674 ft) tall with 107 floors.
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| Lotte Town Tower, Busan, China © SOM |
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| Lotte Town Tower, Busan, China © Jens Olaf |
#11 The Pentominium, Dubai, UAE. A Skyscraper which was supposed to be world's tallest residential building with 516 m (1,693 ft) and 122 floors. But recession did what it did and Pentominium went on hold. As of this moment no one is interested in financing this building.
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| Pentominium, Dubai, UAE © Aedas Architecture |
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| Pentominium, Dubai, UAE © Imre Solt |
#10 Zhongguo Zun (CITIC Plaza), Beijing, China. 528 m (1,732 ft) tall skyscraper is still below ground. When finished it will be part of new business complex built next to the famous CCTV building.
_Beijing_China_world_of_architecture_01.jpg "Zhongguo Zun (CITIC Plaza), Beijing, China") |
| Zhongguo Zun (CITIC Plaza), Beijing, China © TFP Ferrells |
_Beijing_China_world_of_architecture_02.jpg "Zhongguo Zun (CITIC Plaza), Beijing, China") |
| Zhongguo Zun (CITIC Plaza), Beijing, China © 黑水 |
#9 The Chow Tai Fook, Guangzhou, China. This 530 m (1,739 ft) tall monster is already well under construction to its final 111 floors.
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| The Chow Tai Fook, Guangzhou, China © KPF |
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| The Chow Tai Fook, Guangzhou, China © KPF |
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| The Chow Tai Fook, Guangzhou, China © 罗生 |
#8 One World Trade Center, New York City, USA. You probably know about this one. It's one of the most talked about skyscrapers in the world for the last 10 years. It's almost done, construction of the spire is under way which will tale it to the final height of 541 m (1,776 ft) and 104 floors.
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| One World Trade Center, New York City, USA © The Durst Organization/Port Authority of New York & New Jersey/Miller Hare |
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| One World Trade Center, New York City, USA © NYMAN2010/SSC |
#7 Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea. Back to Asia. This skyscraper will be 555 m (1,819 ft) tall with 123 floors.
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| Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea © KPF |
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| Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea © muse87 |
#6 Goldin Finance 117 Tower, Tianjin, China. This building is known for its huge diamond shaped crown. It will be 597 m (1,957 ft) tall with 117 floors.
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| Goldin Finance 117 Tower, Tianjin, China © P&T Group |
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| Goldin Finance 117 Tower, Tianjin, China © lulujune/SSC |
#5 Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China. Now we are going above 600 m. You probably heard about this one too. When finished it will be second tallest building in the world. But not for long. Shanghai Tower will soon be 632 m (2,073 ft) tall with 121 floor.
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| Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China © Gensler |
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| Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China © mori/SSC |
#4 Greenland Center, Wuhan, China. This beautiful skyscraper still has long way to go, since excavating just begun. It will be 636 m (2,086 ft) tall with 118 floors when finished.
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| Greenland Center, Wuhan, China © AS+GG |
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| Greenland Center, Wuhan, China © MT/Gaolumni |
#3 Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China. One of the most interesting and massive buildings currently under construction. It just grew out of the hole and it's ready to rise to 660 m (2,165 ft) and take the title of the second tallest building in the world with 115 floors.
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| Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China © KPF |
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| Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China © 宜青 |
#2 India Tower, Mumbai, India. This skyscraper will be, for now, the only building above 700 m. Construction of this 720 m (2,362 ft) tall monster already started but went on hold and financial problems. There were some good signs of recovery recently and we are looking forward to see it back soon.
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| India Tower, Mumbai, India © Foster & Partners |
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| India Tower, Mumbai, India © Coolguyz/SSC |
And #1: The big Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. First building that will reach 1 km mark and become new world's tallest building. Construction is about to begin. As you read this, machines are being delivered to the site to start on the foundations. For now we know that this skyscraper is planned to be 1007 m (3,304 ft) tall and have more than 160 floors. We are following closely construction of this record setting building.
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| Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia © AS+GG |
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| Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia © Rody69/SSC |