List of the tallest buildings and structures in the world

Until 1998, the ranking of high-rise structures was based on the structural height of the building, that is, the height from the pavement level at the main entrance to the top of the building’s structural elements, including the spiers, but not counting the “temporary” structures (antennas, masts or flagpoles) that can be added or changed relatively easily without major changes to the building structure. Other criteria for measuring height were not used. According to these indicators, the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago, 442 meters high by roof level and 527 meters with antennas, was considered the tallest building in the world. The twin towers of the World Trade Center built at the same time were considered the second highest (417 m), despite the fact that a 110-meter antenna was mounted on the North Tower in 1978, increasing the height of the skyscraper to 527 meters.

Another well-known example of the inconsistency of the overall height of the building with the accepted height according to the criteria was the rivalry between the Bank of Manhattan building on Wall Street and the Chrysler Building in 1930 in New York. It was planned that the building on Wall Street will be 41 meters higher than the Woolworth Building (241 m) standing nearby and half a meter higher than the Chrysler Building skyscraper being built at the same time (282 m). However, Chrysler Building architects changed the design height of the building after the completion of the Bank’s construction. The building was erected with a 38-meter high spire secretly assembled inside, making the Chrysler skyscraper the tallest in the world, despite the fact that the last inhabited floor (useful floor) in it was 30 meters lower than that of Wall Street. But the fame was short, because a year later (in 1931) the construction of the Empire State Building was completed.

However, none of the disputes regarding height criteria were as strong as the one that arose after the completion of the Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 1998. This structure had the highest architectural height (452 ​​m with spiers), but the absolute height of the roof (378.6 m) was lower than that of the Sears Tower. The controversy arose because the spiers of the Malaysian towers were nine meters above the roof of the Sears Tower. At the convention in Chicago, the Council on High-Rise Buildings and the Urban Environment (CTBUH) determined to consider the Sears Tower the second tallest building in the world after the Petronas Tower. This decision has caused criticism in the media, because for the first time outside the United States the tallest building in the world has appeared, and by disputed criteria. Thus, the Council revised the classification system and identified four categories by which the tallest building should be determined. To the former criterion of the height of the structural part, three new ones were added:

1. Structural height of the building (spire level) - height to the top of the structural elements of the building (including towers and spiers, but excluding antennas, masts and flagpoles). This criterion is considered the main one.
2. The height of the last inhabited floor is the height to the floor of the last floor where people are constantly, safely and legally located. This does not include elevator engine rooms and other technical facilities.
3. The height to the roof level (in 2009, the height to the roof was canceled: modern skyscrapers rarely have a flat roof).
4. Height to the level of the top of the spire / antenna - the height to any object fixed at the top, regardless of the material and purpose (including towers, spiers, antennas, masts, flagpoles, and others).

In all categories, the floor is the floor level of the lowest significant open pedestrian entrance. The level of the floor is measured inside the building near the entrance, while the entrance must be located outdoors. By type of construction are divided into skyscrapers and towers , the line between the first and second - 50% of the height should go to the inhabited floors.

At that time, the Sears Tower was ranked first in the second and third categories, and the Petronas towers were in the lead in the first position. In 2000, a new antenna was installed on the Sears tower, which allowed it to lead in the fourth category. On April 20, 2004, the construction of the Taipei 101 skyscraper with a height of 509 meters was completed in Taiwan. It won the world record height in the first three categories. On July 21, 2007, the Burj Dubai skyscraper under construction surpassed Taipei 101 in height, reaching 512 meters (1,680 feet). After completing the construction of Burj Dubai in 2010, renamed Burj Khalifa , it reached a height of 829.8 meters, becoming the tallest structure ever built in the world.

TV towers are excluded from these categories because they are not “residential buildings” and are determined by the total height from base to top.

• Destroyed buildings or structures are marked with a symbol † , under construction - with a symbol * .
• For all buildings or structures, the height is indicated taking into account the spire and masts installed on the building.
• Buildings under construction are included in the list if their height currently exceeds 350 meters.

• List of buildings with 100 or more floors

• Photos of the tallest buildings in the world in high resolution 2011
• The highest building in the world will be built in Azerbaijan
• Tallest Buildings in the Islamic World (2017)
• Collection of many record holders on Skyscraperpage
• tallestbuildingintheworld.net
• A map visualization of each country tallest building
• The highest abandoned skyscraper in the world