In 1883, the term "skyscraper" first appeared in the American Architects and Building News. In 1885, the home insurance building, the world's first skyscraper, was built in Chicago, but it was 10 stories tall.
With the continuous innovation and breakthrough of building technology, and the global urbanization process with the help of capital, the construction of skyscrapers is becoming more and more like a competition, and the record for the tallest building is constantly being refreshed. Until 2021, a height of 450 meters will be able to enter the global top 20 list.
The following are the 20 tallest skyscrapers in the world as of 2021, of which China accounts for 11, and the information is compiled by GA Global Architecture.
As of 2021, the world's tallest 20 skyscrapers, the 11 buildings marked in blue in the picture are located in China
1. Burj Khalifa / Dubai, UAE
Completed in 2010, the Burj Khalifa is 828 meters tall, has 162 floors and costs $1.5 billion, making it the tallest building in the world to date. The tower was designed by SOM Architects and is inspired by the geometry of a desert flower whose motif has influenced many Muslim buildings.
2. Shanghai Tower / Shanghai, China
Completed in 2015, the 632-metre-tall Shanghai Tower cost 14.8 billion yuan broke many supertall records when completed: The tallest building in China, the world's tallest viewing platform, and the world's fastest elevator system. The project was designed by Gensler and the building is "dragon-shaped". According to reports, the 678.9-meter-high Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur will be completed in 2022, when the Shanghai Tower will fall back in third.
3. Royal Clock Tower of Mecca / Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The 601-metre-high, 120-storey Mecca Royal Bell Tower was completed in 2012 at a cost of $15 billion and is the third largest superstructure in the world, second in the Middle East and first in Saudi Arabia. Designed by Dar al-Handasah Shair & Partners + SL Rasch, the Islamic style makes the tower very recognizable.
4. Ping An Financial Center / Shenzhen, China
With a height of 599.1 meters, Shenzhen Ping An Financial Center ranks fourth in the world, second in China and first in Shenzhen, and is a super landmark of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Designed by KPF Architects, the entire tower is cylindrical all the way up to the top of the six-hundred-meter-high and converged, so that the tension of the earth can be adjusted to a point in the air.
5. Lotte World Tower / Seoul, South Korea
With a height of 554.5 meters, the tower ranks fifth in the world and the tallest in South Korea, redefining the Seoul skyline. Designed by KPF, the exterior's continuous curves and soft tapered form are reflections of Korean art, with seams running through the top and bottom of the building pointing to the old city center. Standing on the tower-top aerial rope bridge at a distance of 541 meters above the ground, on a clear day, visitors can see the Yellow Sea more than 25 miles away with their naked eyes.
6. One World Trade Center / New York, USA
Originally known as the "Freedom Tower", the World Trade Center Building 1 is 541 meters (1776 feet) high, symbolizing the United States' Declaration of Independence in 1776 and declaring its independence from British rule; the beacon light on the spire echoes the Statue of Liberty on the other side. The tower was designed by SOM Architects and was the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere when it was completed in 2014.
7. Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre / Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre (also known as The East Tower) has a total height of 530 meters and cost more than 10 billion yuan, and was designed by KPF. The building adopts a "zigzag" shaped retreat design, forming a sky garden on different floors. The tower is equipped with two of the world's highest-speed elevators, which can reach speeds of up to 20 meters per second, and the elevators take only 43 seconds from the 1st floor to the 95th floor.
7. Tianjin CTF Financial Center / Tianjin, China
Tianjin CTF Financial Center (commonly known as Jingu Stick) has a total height of 530 meters, making it the tallest building in northern China. Designed by SOM, Lv Yuanxiang Architects and East China Architectural Design and Research Institute, the architectural expression and shape of the tower are inspired by the fluid geometry in art and nature, and the floor slab design is superimposed and gradually reduced, and the cone shape is straight into the sky.
9. CITIC Tower / Beijing, China
The 528-meter CITIC Tower, completed in 2018, is by far the tallest building in Beijing. The $24 billion project was designed by KFP Architects and is inspired by the Chinese Bronze Age ceremonial vessel "bottle".
10. Taipei 101 / Taipei, China
Completed in 2004, the 508-metre-tall Taipei 101 was recognized as one of the three world firsts: the world's tallest building, the world's tallest floor, and the world's tallest roof. The tower was designed by architects Li Zuyuan and Wang Chongping, with the number 8 as the design unit, each 8 floors as a structural unit, the building surface is inclined by 7 degrees, and it is connected to each other and stacked layer by layer to construct the whole.
11. Shanghai World Financial Center / Shanghai, China
Completed in 2008, the Shanghai World Financial Center was designed by KPF and Miyake Design Office of Japan Corporation. The top of the original plan was a circular hollow, which was later changed to an inverted trapezoidal design, and the height was adjusted from 466 meters to 492 meters.
12. International Commerce Centre / Hong Kong, China
The 484-meter-high International Commerce Centre was built in 2010. The initial plan of the building was designed by SOM as a 574-meter-high conical-roofed skyscraper, and due to the structural and cost-effectiveness of the tower, KPF's 484-meter-high plan was finally implemented.
13. Central Park Tower / New York, USA
Central Park Tower is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York, on West 57th Street, known as the "Billionaire Avenue." Designed by AS+GG Architects, the 472-metre-high, 131-storey building took 10 years to build and is the tallest residential building in the world today.
14. Lakhta Center / St. Petersburg, Russia
At 462 meters high, the Lakhta Center is the tallest building in Russia and Europe. Designed by Gorproject and RMJM, the project has won several architectural awards for its dynamic "blazing" shape and energy savings.
15. Landmark Tower 81 / Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The 461.2-meter-high Landmark Tower 81 has 81 floors above ground and 4 floors underground, with a total construction area of 249,000 square meters and a cost of about 1.4 billion US dollars. The building was built in 2015 and completed in 2018. At present, it ranks first in Southeast Asia.
16. Changsha IFS Building T1 / Changsha, China
Changsha IFS Building has an investment of more than 20 billion yuan, T1 is 452.1 meters high, and is the tallest building in Hunan Province. Designed by Wang Dong Architects, the tower is inspired by the Tourist Resort of Zhangjiajie in Hunan, and its form is a metaphor for the Qifeng Xiushi of Zhangjiajie; the podium embodies the element of water and characterizes the characteristics of Huxiang culture.
17. Petronas Twin Towers 1 / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
At 452 meters high and with 88 floors, the Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers were once the tallest skyscrapers in the world. The building, designed by American architect Cesar Pelli, uses a lot of stainless steel and glass on its surface. Petronas Twin Towers, along with the neighbouring Kuala Lumpur Tower, is a well-known landmark and symbol of Kuala Lumpur.
17. Petronas Twin Towers 2 / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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19. Suzhou International Finance Center / Suzhou, China
Suzhou International Finance Center is 450 meters high, with a total of 91 floors, designed by KPF Architects. Facing Jinji Lake, the main tower stands, the project design excavates the important element of Suzhou's history and urban impression - the water element, and combines the current situation, the overall use of "carp jumping dragon gate" of "fish" as the symbolic theme, with "fish leaping dragon gate" as the design concept, showing the trend of carp leaping means prosperity.
19. Zifeng Building / Nanjing, China
Built in 2010, Nanjing Zifeng Tower is the world's first fully Chinese-invested and Chinese-built super skyscraper. Designed by SOM, the tower is 450 metres high and has 89 floors. The architectural design incorporates three intentions rich in Chinese elements, namely dragon culture, Yangtze River and garden city, reflecting the combination of contemporary world architecture and traditional Chinese culture and local historical materials in Nanjing.