List of tallest buildings and structures in the world

While determining the world's tallest structure has generally been straightforward, the definition of the world's tallest building or the world's tallest tower is less clear. The disputes generally centre on what should be counted as a "building" or a "tower", and what is being measured.

In terms of absolute height, the tallest structure is currently the Burj Dubai, followed by dozens of radio and television broadcasting towers which measure over 600 metres (about 2,000 feet) in height. There is, however, some debate about:
* whether structures under construction should be included in the list
* whether structures rising out of water should have their below-water height included.

For towers, there is debate over:
* whether guy-wire-supported structures should be counted

For buildings, there is debate over:
* whether communication towers with observation galleries should be considered habitable buildings.
* whether only habitable height is considered.
* whether roof-top antennas should be considered towards height of buildings; with particular interest in whether components that look like spires can be either classified as antennas or architectural detail.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the organization that determines the title of the "World’s Tallest Building," recognizes a building only if at least fifty percent of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area. [Cite web |title=CTBUH Criteria for Defining and Measuring Tall Buildings |url=http://www.ctbuh.org/HighRiseInfo/TallestDatabase/Criteria/tabid/446/Default.aspx |publisher=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |accessdate=2008-08-19] Structures that do not meet this criteria, such as the CN Tower, are defined as "towers."

Tallest structures

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thumb|right|KVLY-TV mast, the height record holder from 1963–1974 and 1991–2008.] The tallest man-made structure is Burj Dubai, a skyscraper under construction in Dubai that reached m to ft|707|abbr=yes|precision=0 in height on September 26, 2008.cite web |url=http://www.emaar.com |title=Burj Dubai now a record 707m tall and continues to rise |publisher=Emaar |accessdate=2008-09-26] By 7 April 2008 it had been built higher than the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA, which is still the tallest completed structure at m to ft|628.8|abbr=yes|precision=0.cite press release|url=http://www.emaar.ae/MediaCenter/PressReleases/2008April07.asp|title=Burj Dubai surpasses KVLY-TV mast to become the world’s tallest man-made structure|publisher=Emaar|accessdate=2008-05-28] In September it officially surpassed Poland's m to ft|646.38|abbr=yes|precision=0 Warsaw radio mast, which stood from 1974 to 1991, to become the tallest structure ever built. Guyed lattice towers such as these masts had held the world height record since 1954.

The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, standing at m to ft|553.3|abbr=yes, is the world's tallest completed freestanding structure on land. Opened in 1976, it was surpassed in height by the rising Burj Dubai on September 12, 2007. [cite news | title = CN Tower dethroned by Dubai building | work = cbc.ca | publisher = CBC News | date = 2007-09-12 | url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/09/12/cntower-surpassed.html?ref=rss | accessdate = 2008-09-02] [cite press release | title = Burj Dubai scales 150 storeys and is the world’s tallest free-standing structure | publisher = Emaar Properties PJSC | date = 2007-09-13 | url = http://www.emaar.com/MediaCenter/PressReleases/2008September01.asp | accessdate = 2008-09-02] [cite news | title = Dubai building surpasses CN Tower in height | work = CTV.ca | publisher = CTVglobemedia | date = 2007-09-13 | url = http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070913/cn_tower_070913/20070913?hub=TorontoHome | accessdate = 2008-09-02] It has the world's second highest public observation deck at m to ft|446.5|abbr=yes.

The Petronius Platform stands m to ft|610|abbr=yes off the sea floor leading some, including Guinness World Records 2007, to claim it as the tallest freestanding structure in the world. However, it is debated if below-water height should not be counted, in the same manner as underground "height" is not taken into account in buildings. The Troll A platform is m to ft|472|abbr=yes, without any part of that height being supported by wires.

Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan is currently the world's tallest inhabited building in only one of the four main categories that are commonly measured: at m to ft|509.2|abbr=yes|precision=0 as measured to its architectural height (spire). Its roof height m to ft|449.2|abbr=yes|precision=0 and highest occupied floor m to ft|439.2|abbr=yes|precision=0 have recently been overtaken by the Shanghai World Financial Center (roof height m to ft|487|abbr=yes|precision=0; highest occupied floor m to ft|474|abbr=yes|precision=0). The Sears Tower is highest in the final category: the greatest height to top of antenna of any building in the world at m to ft|527.3|abbr=yes.

On its completion, projected for 2009, Burj Dubai will break the height record in all four categories for completed buildings by a wide margin. While the final height has not been released to the public, Greg Sang, the construction manager, says that the building will rise to a minimum of m to ft|700|abbr=yes|precision=0. [cite news |title=On Top of the World |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1644559,00.html |publisher="Time" |date=2007-07-18 |accessdate=2008-02-24] The developer, Emaar, is keeping structural details secret due to competition for the "world's tallest" with other proposed structures, including the nearby Al Burj. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6910536.stm BBC News, Dubai skyscraper world's tallest] ] The Shanghai World Financial Center has the world's highest roof, highest occupied floor, and the world's highest public observation deck at m to ft|474.2|abbr=yes. It will retain the latter record after the completion of Burj Dubai, as Burj Dubai's observation deck will be at m to ft|442|abbr=yes|precision=0.

Tallest structure by category

Due to the disagreements over how to measure and classify structures, engineers have created various definitions for categories of buildings and other" structures". One measure includes the absolute height of a building, another includes only spires and other permanent architectural features, but not antennas. The tradition of including the spire on top of a building and not including the antenna dates back to the rivalry between the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. A modern-day example is that the antenna on top of the Sears tower are not considered part of its architectural height, while the spires on top of the Petronas towers are counted.

* Mixed Use is defined as having both residential and office space.

** As Burj Dubai is still under construction and not yet inhabitable, it currently does not serve a specific function. Upon completion, it will serve as a mixed use building.

*** Although the Rose Tower is complete, it is not currently inhabited. Once the building's hotel opens (proposed date of April 2008 was not met), the tower will become the world's tallest building used exclusively as a hotel.

Tallest buildings

Up until 1998 the tallest building status was essentially uncontested. Counting buildings as structures with floors throughout, and with antenna masts excluded, the Sears Tower in Chicago was considered the tallest. When the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were built, controversy arose because the spire extended nine metres higher than the roof of the Sears Tower. Excluding the spire, the Petronas Towers are not taller than the Sears Tower. At their convention in Chicago, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reduced the Sears Tower from world's tallest and pronounced it not second tallest, but third, and pronounced Petronas as world's tallest. This action caused a considerable amount of controversy, so CTBUH defined four categories in which the world's tallest building can be measured: [ [http://www.ctbuh.org/HighRiseInfo/TallestDatabase/Criteria/tabid/446/Default.aspx - CTBUH Criteria for Defining and Measuring Tall Buildings] ]

# Height to the architectural top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles). This measurement is the most widely utilized and is used to define the rankings of the 100 Tallest Buildings in the World.
# Highest Occupied Floor
# Height to Top of Roof
# Height to Tip

The height is measured from the pavement level of the main entrance. At the time, the Sears Tower held first place in the second and third categories. Petronas held the first category, and the original World Trade Towers held the fourth. Within months, however, a new antenna mast was placed on the Sears Tower, giving it hold of the fourth category. On April 20, 2004, the Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, was completed. Its completion gave it the world record for the first three categories. On July 21, 2007 it was announced that Burj Dubai had surpassed Taipei 101 in height, reaching 512 m (1,680 feet) tall. However Burj Dubai is still under construction.

Today, Taipei 101 leads in the first category with 509 m (1,671 feet), but has been surpassed in the second two categories by the Shanghai World Financial Center whose roof height is 492 m (1,614 feet) and whose highest occupied floor is at 474 m (1,555 feet). Before either of these buildings were completed, the first category was held by the Petronas Twin Towers with 452 m (1,483 feet), and before that by Sears Tower with 442 m (1,451 feet). The second and third categories were held by the Sears Tower, with 412 m (1,351 feet) and 442 m (1,451 feet) respectively.

The Sears Tower still leads in the fourth category with 527 m (1,729 feet), previously held by the World Trade Center until the extension of the Chicago tower's western broadcast antenna in 2000, over a year prior to the Trade Center's destruction in 2001. Its antenna mast included, 1 World Trade Center measured 526 m (1,727 feet). The World Trade Center became the world's tallest buildings to be destroyed or 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.Fact|date=February 2007

Structures such as the CN Tower, the Ostankino Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower are excluded from these categories because they are not "habitable buildings", which are defined as frame structures made with floors and walls throughout.

History of record holders in each CTBUH category

Higher observation decks have existed on mountain peaks or cliffs, rather than on tall structures. For example, the Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City, Colorado, USA, was constructed in 1929 spanning the Royal Gorge at a height of 321 m (1095 ft.) above the Arkansas River.

Timeline of guyed structures on land

As most of the tallest structures are guyed masts and the absolute height record of architectural structures on land is since 1954 kept by them, here is a timeline of world's tallest guyed masts, since the beginning of radio technology.

As many large guyed masts were destroyed at the end of World War II, the dates for the years between 1945 and 1950 may be incorrect. If Wusung Radio Tower survived World War II, it was the tallest guyed structure shortly after World War II.

* International Business Center is a 130-floor, convert|580|m|ft skyscraper proposal for Seoul, South Korea.

Never-built record-breaking structures

* The Houston Tower was an envisioned skyscraper that would have been nearly 1.3 miles tall (6864 ft/2092 m) and taken up nine city blocks in Houston.

* The Illinois, envisioned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956, was to be a mile high (1609 m / 5280 ft) skyscraper in Chicago.

* Until late 1995, there were plans to rebuild the collapsed Convert|646|m|ft|0|abbr=on Warsaw Radio Mast to its previous height on the same site, using the basements of the old mast. Although some refurbishment of the basements started, work was canceled after violent protests by local residents, who feared harmful radiation effects from the high-power transmitter served by the antenna. A new transmission facility with two smaller masts measuring 330 and 289 m was built as a replacement in 1998-99 at Solec Kujawski.

* The Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle in Chicago was to be Convert|610|m|ft|0|abbr=on [ [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=103012 Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, Chicago ] ] tall in 1988.

* Eaton's / John Maryon Tower was a planned Convert|503|m|ft|0|abbr=on (686m to spire) tall building in Toronto in 1971.

*The Grant USA Tower was planned by developer Harry Grant, who started New York Apple Tours. The building was to be completed in 1986 in Newark, New Jersey and to be the tallest hotel, tallest building and tallest structure. Harry Grant went bankrupt and the building never broke ground. [ [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=grantusatower-newark-nj-usa Grant USA Tower, Newark / Emporis.com ] ]

* The Palace of Soviets in Moscow, planned in 1932, was to be 415 m (including a 100 m Lenin statue), and would have been the tallest building in the world at the time if completed. Construction was halted during World War II, during which the uncompleted structure was partially dismantled; its foundations were later to serve as the world's largest open-air swimming pool before being razed in 1995.

* During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Tatlin designed a structure named " The Monument to the Third International", which was to serve as the international headquarters of the Komintern. Better known as the Tatlin Tower, the structure was to rise to a height of Convert|400|m|ft|0|abbr=on, which would have made it by far the tallest building in the world at that time, but the time and resource shortages that resulted from the Russian Civil War halted the project.

* Watkin's Tower in Wembley, London was planned in 1891 to surpass the Eiffel Tower by Convert|50|m|ft|0|abbr=on, but construction stopped before that height was reached due to unstable land. The tower remnants were dismantled in the 1900s, and the site was redeveloped as Wembley Stadium.

* 7 South Dearborn in Chicago was planned in 1999 to be Convert|610|m|ft|0|abbr=on.

* Construction was scheduled to begin in 2006 on the now-canceled Strait of Messina Bridge. It would have been the world's largest suspension bridge as well as the tallest, as the proposed height of the two towers, Convert|382.6|m|ft|0, exceeded the Convert|343|m|ft|0|abbr=on|abbr=on of current record-holder Millau Viaduct in France.

* Construction was cancelled on the Grollo Tower (named after the architect) in Melbourne's developing Dockland precinct in April 2001 after Melbourne's Docklands Authority ruled it out of the tender for development of the Batman Hill's precinct. The area is now occupied by a mixture of smaller commercial and residential buildings. The Grollo Tower would have been the world's tallest building at the time at 560m (1837ft) tall.

*A series of super-tall sky-scrapers were planned for the major Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth from 1985-95 but were all cancelled. The plans included (in order of height) the Grollo Tower (mentioned above), Brisbane Central Tower (450m/1476ft, Brisbane), Minuzzo Tower (450m/1476ft, Brisbane), CBD-1 (445m/1459ft, Sydney), Melbourne Plaza (338m/1109ft, Melbourne), City Tower (305m/1000ft, Sydney) and the Westralia Tower (287m/941ft, Perth). The buildings would have been some of the tallest buildings in the world at the time, but were cancelled mainly due to their unnecessary heights which would have dwarfed all surrounding buildings

* The Ultima Tower is a hypothetical two-mile high skyscraper by architect Eugene Tsui that would be 3,217 m (10,560 ft) tall and comprise 500 stories if built. [ [http://www.tdrinc.com/ultima.html The "Ultima" Tower, Two-mile High Sky City ] ]

* The Millennium Freedom Tower was a project to be located in Newport, Kentucky, United States was originally proposed in 1998 to be dedicated on Dec 31, 1999. The original height was a proposed 1,234 feet (376 m) and was later lowered to 1,103 ft (306 m). Pilings were driven in 1998, but construction never continued above ground. [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=103174 Emporis Buildings accessed February 21, 2008]

* The World Science Tower was to be one of the world's tallest buildings, proposed in 1964. It was to be located near Larkspur, Colorado, U.S.A. Its design would have had an amusement park at the base.

References

External links

* [http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b7787,46244,471,23522,21,5,18,576,57183,1297,1541,871,51948,19525,65501,51951,45485,1656,56835,1746,93,40728,47,959,281,12795,178,1815,242,1027,1006,62763,54345,10609,765,26123,27136,46049,40682,46005,1924,3424,10436,71997 Collection] of many record holders on [http://www.skyscraperpage.com Skyscraperpage]