Tallest Buildings in the World

When speaking of the tallest buildings in the world, it is imp

ortant to specify exactly what is being measured.Listers must decide if the building is to be measured from sidewalk level or below, whether or not TV towers or masts are included, and whether an antenna, flagpole, or spire should count.A building is considered to differ from a tower in its primary use, being designed for residential, business, manufacturing, or mixed use,

whereas a tower is not.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, formerly the Joint Committee on Tall Buildings in conjunction with Emporis Buildings,is the authoritative source for information about the tallest buildings in the world, and their list of the tallest buildings, drawn from an extensive database, is based on the height of the building to the structural or architectural top, which includes spires and pinnacles, but does not include antennas, masts, or flagpoles.Prior to 9/11, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York were ranked fifth - 1,368 ft (417 m) – and sixth – 1,362 ft (415 m) – on the list of the tallest buildings in the world.













The height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance. At the time, the Willis Tower held first place in the second and third categories, the Petronas Towers held the first category and the original World Trade Towers held the fourth. Within months, however, a new antenna mast was placed on the Willis Tower, giving it hold of the fourth category. On April 20, 2004, 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 Khalifa had surpassed Taipei 101 in height, reaching 512 m (1,680 ft). Since being completed in early 2010, Burj Khalifa leads in all categories (the first building to do so). With a spire height of 828 m (2,717 ft), Burj Khalifa surpassed Taipei 101 as the tallest building to architectural detail and the Willis Tower as the tallest building to tip. It also leads in the category of highest occupied floor. Before Burj Khalifa was completed, Willis Tower led in the fourth category with 527 m (1,729 ft), 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 World Trade Center’s destruction in 2001. Its antenna mast included, One World Trade Center measured 526 m (1,726 ft). 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. 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.