The world is a beautiful place in more ways than one. Mother Nature
isn’t the only one contributing to that beauty. Among the thousands of
ordinary brick-and-mortar buildings making up the bulk of the urban
landscape, skyscrapers are architectural and engineering marvels that
rise hundreds of meters into the air, overlooking all others. The
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is the official body
that determines which buildings fall into the “The World’s Tallest
Buildings” category. It ranks the height of buildings based on the
height to the architectural top of the building, highest occupied floor,
top of the roof or the tip of the building.
Let us look at what the CTBUH says are the world’s tallest buildings as of now.
Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan – 1671 ft (509 m) 101 Floors
Taipei 101 became the world’s tallest building to be constructed in
the new millennium and the first to cross the half-kilometer mark. The
construction cost was $1.76 billion and it was completed in 2004. This
multi-use steel-and-glass skyscraper was designed by C.Y. Lee &
Partners and has 61 elevators. It reflects the traditional Chinese
pagoda, with a soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (eight
is considered a number representing prosperous growth in China), narrow
pinnacle tower, and a spire.
The building has an 18 ft, 882-ton ball-shaped damper at the top that
counteracts swaying motions during typhoons and earthquakes. Although
CTBUH only takes into consideration the floors above ground level, there
are 5 floors underground too. The number “101” represents not only the
number of floors, but also the mailing code of Taipei’s international
business district. It was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the
World by Newsweek magazine in 2006 and as one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering by The Discovery Channel in 2005.
Shanghai World Financial Center – 1614 ft (492 m) 101 Floors
This super-tall skyscraper in Shanghai dominates the skyline over
East China and is destined to become a symbolic icon, giving the city a
new status and depicts the arrival of a new era in Asia. It was designed
by Kohn Pedersen Fox and officially opened its doors to the public on
August 28, 2008. It is a mixed-use building with excellent urban
shopping malls at the base, a 174-room luxurious five-star hotel at the
top and sixty-two floors filled with offices. There are three
observation decks between the 94th and the 100th levels. It has a total
of 31 elevators and the construction cost was US $1.2 billion. The most
remarkable feature of this majestic building is the aperture at the top
of the building. It is the 2nd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers – 1483 ft (452 m) 88 Floors
The beautiful world-famous Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia were constructed in 1998. The name sounds as romantic as they
look together, standing side by side. These elegantly slender towers
once held the title of the world’s tallest buildings before being ousted
from that position by Taipei 101.
Petronas Tower 1 is the 3rd tallest building in the world.
Petronas Tower 2 is the 4th tallest building in the world.
However, they still remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.
They were designed by Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli and were
built on Kuala Lumpur’s race track. The structure is made of
high-strength concrete and has a curtain wall of glass and stainless
steel sun shades that help diffuse the intensity of light.
The major feature of the towers is the sky-bridge between the towers
on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the
world. Visitors are allowed on the Skyway. The sky-bridge is also meant
to be used in case of a fire or for other emergencies.
The Sears Tower – 1451 ft (452 m) 108 Floors
Located in Chicago, Illinois, The Sears Tower was constructed in
1974, and held the title of the world’s tallest building when it
overtook the World Trade Center in New York. Although it is no longer
the tallest building in the world, the Sears Tower is the 5th tallest
and still has the world’s highest occupied floors, highest elevator ride
and the highest roof deck. The top of the tower is the highest point in
Illinois. It is said that four states can be seen from the top of the
Sears Tower.
This tower was designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur
Khan in a “bundled tube” system with nine squares, sheathed in a dark
tinted glass curtain wall. The building leans a few inches due to its
asymmetrical design and this can be felt occasionally. The Sears Tower
has a separate tourist entrance and attracts more than 1.5 million
tourists each year.
Jin Mao Tower – 1380 ft (421 m) 88 Floors
The name of the landmark super-tall skyscraper, Jin Mao, literally
means “Golden Prosperity Building.” Currently ranked the 6th tallest
building in the world, it was designed by the Chicago-based Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill and was constructed in 1999. It is located in the
Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People’s Republic of
China. The architecture ingeniously combines elements of traditional
Chinese culture with the modern architectural styles of the time, which
makes it one of the most well-constructed buildings in China. The
proportions of this structure revolve around the number 8, which
according to Chinese belief signifies prosperity.
It houses the very luxurious Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel and several
offices. The construction cost is estimated to be 530 million dollars.
The tower has several exhibition halls, banquet halls, entertainment
venues, and an observation deck on the 88th floor that can fit about
1000 tourists. The daily maintenance of this tower is reported to be an
unbelievable US$121,000.
Two International Finance Center (IFC) – 1362 ft (415 m) 88 Floors
Constructed in 2003, the IFC with its two skyscrapers overlooking the
Victoria Harbor is a prominent landmark in Hong Kong, China. One
International Finance Center is 38 stories high. The Two International
Finance Center, which is the world’s 7th tallest building, has 88
stories and has been designed to house financial firms with advanced
telecommunications, featuring raised floors for better cabling and floor
plans that are almost without columns. About 15,000 people can be
accommodated in this building. Although there are 88 stories, there are
some floors that are considered to be taboo and which are not used, such
as the 14th and 24th floors, as these numbers signify evil for the
Chinese.
The IFC mall has an array of famous retailers and several top jewelry
retailers, health & skin care and fashion houses, restaurants, and a
cinema. It is one of the few buildings in the world to be equipped with
double-deck elevators.
CITIC Plaza – 1283 ft (391 m) 80 Floors
The China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC) Plaza,
built in 1997, is located in Guangzhou, in the growing Tianhe District.
It was the tallest building in the world when it was built and is
currently the tallest concrete building in the world. It is ranked as
the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia and eighth in the
world. This building is part of a complex which has two other 38-story
residential buildings.
CITIC Plaza has two antennas on the top like spires. This elegant
building is surrounded by several other tall buildings and gives an
indication of the increasing prosperity of Guangzhou. It is close to
the Tianhe Sports Center where part of the Asia games 2010 will be held.
Shun Hing Square – 1260 ft (382 m) 69 Floors
The Shun Hing Square tower, built in 1996, is one of the world’s
tallest buildings and occupies the 9th place currently. This brilliantly
constructed building is in Shenzhen, China and is said to be one of the
most beautiful buildings in the world. It has the distinction of being
the tallest all-steel building in China and the fifth tallest building
overall in China. An interesting tid bit about this building: it was
built at an incredible speed of four floors in nine days. The spires on
the top of the building add to the height and without them, it stands at
325 m tall.
Shun Hing Square is a complex that has an office tower and another
35-story building for residential, office, and retail purposes. The 69th
floor has an observation deck called the Meridian View Center. Tourists
will have to pay US$12 to go up to that observation deck.
Empire State Building – 1250 ft (381 m) – 102 Floors
The Empire State Building of New York, in the United Stats was built
in 1931, and it is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in the
world. There probably aren’t many people who have not heard of it. Now
rated as the 10th tallest building, it was the world’s tallest building
for forty-one years until the World Trade Center was constructed in the
year 1972. After the unfortunate incident with the World Trade Center in
2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building
in the State of New York.
It has also been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern
World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The beauty of the
Empire State Building is highlighted by the beautiful lights at the top
of the building. In fact, the view of the building at night is
considered to be a tourist attraction all on its own.
Coming Up
Standing tall among all others is another marvel, the Burj Dubai
Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is still under construction and
will not be considered the tallest building until completion in
September 2009. It already has 160 stories and overtook Taipei 101 and
surpassed the KVLY-TV mast in the U.S. (which is 629 m), achieving the
status of being the tallest man-made structure on the planet. The
eventual height remains a secret, but speculation is that it will reach
900 meters.
There may be a magical moment in the future. The plan for the
proposed Sky City 1000 by Japan shows its height at 1000 meters and 196
floors. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Burj Dubai, Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (167 Stories)
EDIT: The Burj Dubai had a delayed opening. It’s
name has been changed to the Burj Khalifa, and it officially opened and
became the world’s tallest building on January 4, 2010. It stands at 828
meters (2717 feet) tall. You can view a picture of the completed
building below.
source : http://www.dirjournal.com/info/ten-tallest-buildings-in-the-world/
1 Komentar untuk "Top Ten Tallest Buildings in the World"
I could say that Dubai is really a place for tall buildings.