Such Great Heights: Where Are the World’s Tallest Buildings?

Such Great Heights: The World’s Tallest Buildings

By Iman Ghosh-September 3, 2020

It seems that humanity is always vying to exceed our past accomplishments, and nowhere is the evidence clearer than in the tallest buildings that make up our cities.

We’ve previously looked at how the architectural feats of humanity have simply grown in magnitude over time, tracing this progress as far back as the Stone Age.

The question now is, how much higher and further into the skies can we reach? This infographic by Alan’s Factory Outlet looks at the glittering urban skyscrapers on every continent. We also examine some interesting facts about each region.

Asia: Growing Ever Upwards

The first name on this list certainly needs no introduction. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Middle East. With just a one minute elevator ride to the Burj Khalifa’s pinnacle, it must seem like even the sky is no longer the limit.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
Burj Khalifa	Dubai, UAE	828m / 2,715ft	163
Shanghai Tower	Shanghai, China	632m / 2,073ft	128
Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel	Mecca, Saudi Arabia	601m / 1,971ft	120
Goldin Finance 117	Tianjin, China	597m / 1,958ft	128
Ping An Finance Center	Shenzhen, China	592m / 1,965ft	115

Ping An Finance Center from Shenzhen edges into fifth place on the list, and it’s worth mentioning the speed of change occurring in the city. China’s hi-tech capital will see the completed construction of approximately 51 buildings over 145m (476ft) by the end of 2020.

North America: Concrete Jungle

The One World Trade Center, built to memorialize the loss of the Twin Towers after September 11th, 2001, is also informally called the “Freedom Tower”. It’s exactly 1,776ft high—symbolizing the year the U.S. Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
One World Trade Center	New York City, U.S.	541m / 1,776ft	104
Central Park Tower	New York City, U.S.	472m / 1,550ft	98
Willis Tower	Chicago, U.S.	442.1m / 1,451ft	110
111 West 57th Street	New York City, U.S.	435m / 1,428ft	82
One Vanderbilt	New York City, U.S.	427m / 1,401ft	67

While the Central Park Tower has reached its full height, parts of the interior are still undergoing construction. The price of luxury apartments in the complex start at $7 million for a two-bedroom, just in case you had any extra change lying around.

In fact, the illustrious New York City holds four of the top five buildings on the continent. However, a nod also goes to the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago, an imposing office building which held the title of world’s tallest building for 25 years, until the Petronas Towers were erected in Kuala Lumpur.

Europe: Russia’s Reign

The top five tallest buildings in Europe can all be found in Russia. What’s more, those from Moscow are all clustered within a single towering business district known as “Moscow-City”.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
Lakhta Center	Saint Petersburg, Russia	462.5m / 1,517ft	87
Federation Tower: East Tower	Moscow, Russia	373.7m / 1,226ft	101
OKO: South Tower	Moscow, Russia	354.1m / 1,161ft	85
Neva Tower 2	Moscow, Russia	345m / 1,132ft	79
Mercury City Tower	Moscow, Russia	338.8m / 1,112ft	75

This begs the question—why doesn’t Europe build more skyscrapers? There’s an interesting historical reasoning behind this. As North America’s new age ideals and influence on the world stage grew, European cultural values focused on preserving heritage.

Of course, with globalization, things have changed somewhat, and major financial centers of London, Paris and more boast unique skylines of their own.

Oceania: The Views Down Under

Australia’s buildings unsurprisingly dominate the tallest ones in the region. In the surfer’s paradise, Q1 on the Gold Coast has a twist in its design—literally. Its architecture is loosely based on studies of ribbons moving in the wind, as they wrap around the tower.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
Q1	Gold Coast, Australia	323m / 1,058 ft	78
Australia 108	Melbourne, Australia	316.7m / 1,039 ft	100
Eureka Tower	Melbourne, Australia	297m / 974.4ft	91
Crown Sydney	Sydney, Australia	271.3m / 889.1ft	75
Aurora Melbourne Central	Melbourne, Australia	270.5m / 889.1 ft	92

The Eureka Tower has a fascinating story behind it, too. It’s named after the 1854 Victorian gold rush, with elements of the building reflecting this history—from a gold crown to a red stripe for revolutionary bloodshed.

South America: Views From the Top

The tallest buildings in South America are mainly residential, and often found in Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela—but Chile is the one standout exception to this rule.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
Gran Torre Santiago	Santiago, Chile	300m / 984ft	62
Yachthouse Residence Club Towers 1 and 2	Balneário Camboriú, Brazil	281m / 922ft	81
Alvear Tower	Buenos Aires, Argentina	239m / 784ft	54
Infinity Coast	Balneário Camboriú, Brazil	235m / 771ft	66
Parque Central Complex: East Tower	Caracas, Venezuela	225m / 738ft	59

Gran Torre Santiago is a retail and office complex, and the largest shopping mall across Latin America. It’s often considered the heart of Chile, and built to hold its ground steadfastly in the earthquake-prone country.

Africa: Budding Buildings

Located in South Africa’s largest city, The Leonardo is the jewel of Johannesburg. The tallest building in Africa was also designed by an architectural team of mostly women.

Building	City, Country	Height	# Floors
The Leonardo	Johannesburg, South Africa	234m / 768ft	55
Carlton Center	Johannesburg, South Africa	223m / 732ft	50
Britam Tower	Nairobi, Kenya	200m / 660ft	31
Ponte City Apartments	Johannesburg, South Africa	173m / 568ft	54
UAP Tower	Nairobi, Kenya	163m / 535 ft	33

For African nations, these tallest buildings mean much more than just breaking engineering records. In a journal article, it’s posited that skyscrapers can act as a symbol of power and the continent’s drive towards modernity.

Future Superstar Skyscrapers

A few more mammoth buildings are expected to rise up in the next couple years. Saudi Arabia’s 167-floor Jeddah Tower, while currently on hold, could someday take over the first place crown.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s set to outdo itself—and compete directly with Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom Tower is inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and is proposed to break the 1 kilometer-high (or 0.6 mile) mark not yet achieved by any building.

Who knows what greater heights we could scale this century?

Each of us is carving a stone, erecting a column, or cutting a piece of stained glass in the construction of something much bigger than ourselves.