Question: What Is the World's Tallest Building?
Answer:
It depends on who does the measuring! Skyscraper buffs disagree on whether features like flagpoles, antennas, and spires should be included when measuring building height.
Also under dispute is the question of what, exactly, constitutes a building. Technically, observation towers and communications towers are considered structures, not buildings, because they are not habitable. They do not have residential or office space.
So, who are the contenders?
The Burj Dubai
Soaring 818 meters (2,684 feet) the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates claims to be the world's tallest building. But the Burj Dubai is still under construction, and statistics include the skyscraper's enormous spire.The Taipei 101 Tower
Other record-breaking skyscrapers are on the drawing board, but they are too far from completion to enter the running. Among buildings that are fully completed, the world's tallest appears to be the soaring Taipei 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan. The Taipei 101 Tower measures 509 meters (1,670 feet). However, the Tower's massive 60-foot spire contributes to much of that height.Petronas Twin Towers
Before the Taipei 101 Tower was built, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were described as the tallest buildings in the world. But, like the Taipei 101 Tower, the Petronas Towers get much of their height from spires, not from usable space.Sears Tower
If you count only habitable space and measure from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural top of building (excluding flagpoles and spires), then Chicago's Sears Tower, built in 1974, may still be the tallest building in the world.One World Trade Center
For awhile it was thought that New York's new World Trade Center skyscraper, One World Trade Center ("Freedom Tower"), would become the world's tallest building. But security concerns lead designers to scale down their plans. One World Trade Center will rise 541 meters (1,776 feet), but much of that height will be in it's needle-like spire. The structural height of One World Trade Center will be 417 meters (1,368 feet). Sears Tower in Chicago and the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai are taller.CN Tower
Now, supposing we included spires, flagpoles, and antennas when measuring building heights. In that case, it might not make sense to distinguish between buildings and towers when ranking building heights. If we rank all man-made structures, whether or not they contain habitable space, then the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada ranks near the top. Measuring 553.33 meters (1,815 ft., 5 inches) tall, the CN Tower is surpassed by only the Burj Dubai.See the World's Tallest Buildings ranked >>
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How high can buildings go and how should we measure them? Tell us what you think!
