World's Tallest Buildings A Short History (1901 - 2022)

World's Tallest Buildings A Short History (1901 - 2022)

Until 1889, the Great Pyramid of Giza at a height of 147m (481ft) was the tallest building ever made by man. Since then, the technological advancement within the construction industry have seen great advancements.

Inspired by earlier structures, builders and real estate developers keep going the extra mile to set new records by erecting taller buildings. Every couple of years a new building has been built that beats the old tallest building record.

From the 1901 Philadelphia City Hall at 167m (548ft) to 1972 Sears Towers (standing at 527m/1729ft) in Chicago and 1998 Petronas Towers (452m/1483ft) in Kuala Lumpur all the way to 2010 Burji Khalifa (828m/2717ft) in Dubai, the world has witnessed a great evolution in the tallest buildings.

Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia

For centuries improvement in height has been incremental and only the sky and technical engineering have determine the limits. At the moment, Burji Khalifa takes the top spot as the tallest building in the world, although the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia is projected to take this title by 2021. That being said, Dubai Creek Tower (still under construction) is more likely to lead the way into the future of skyscraper engineering in 2022.

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Height Increments On The Way To The Tallest Building

After the construction of Chicago's Home Insurance Building in the 1900s, the height increment in tall buildings became the order of the day. As such, skyscrapers such as the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building ruled New York City's skies for a while since 1902.

The Chrysler Building became the first skyscraper to break the barrier of 300m/948ft before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building. The latter went down in history as the first building with more than 100 floors at a height of 381m/1,250ft. In total, the Empire State Building boasts 102 floors.

A few decades later more skyscrapers were constructed in various cities across the world with the World Trade Center twin towers assuming the title of the tallest buildings in 1971. The north tower stood at 417m/1,450ft while the south tower reached a height of 415m/1,362ft. Both towers overtook the Empire State Building by more than 36 m/118ft.

In 1973 (two years later) the Sears Tower in Chicago was built and it stands at 442m/1,450 ft with 110 floors, thus overtaking the World Trade Center by approximately 25m/82 ft. Years later the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia stood at 10m more than the Sears Tower in 1998.

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Standing at a 452m/1,483ft with 88 floors in each tower, the Petronas Towers became the tallest buildings in the world, beating the longstanding record that had been preserved by several skyscrapers in the US. Six years later (2004), the Taipei 101 set a new record in height, by standing at 509m/1,670ft) with a staggering 101 floors. Due to its height, the Taipei 101 became famous for becoming 59m/194 ft taller than the previous tallest building in the world.

In 2010 Burji Khalifa took over the lead in height by a very large margin. Standing at 828m/2,717ft, this reigning world tallest building is towering over Taipei 101 by a whopping 60% height increment.

Burji Khalifa has since maintained the record to this date with its breath-taking design that makes it a unique man-made structure to stand at almost a mile into the sky. Besides its beauty and splendour, Burji Khalifa is reputed for breaking several skyscrapers records across the globe. The building is almost twice the height of the Empire State Building. At the same time, it breaks the record of being the world's tallest structure in the history of mankind.

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Located in the most famous of the seven emirates making up the UAE, this structure has become a symbol of status for Dubai as well as an important landmark. Unfortunately, its glory, fame, and magnificence are almost coming to an end after a decade long of shining in the Arabian sands and world over as the tallest building.

This is due to the much-talked-about Jeddah Tower that is expected to be completed in 2020. Jedar Tower will stand at a height of 1000m(3,280ft) tall with a record-breaking 202 floors. But this building will only enjoy the privilege of its height and fame for a very short time until the official opening of the Dubai Creek, another record-breaking skyscraper not only in Dubai but the entire world.

Tallest Buildings Of The Future - The Sky's The Limit

The Dubai Creek is expected to reach a height of 1,300m, making it the tallest building and structure in the world from 2022. From there, we are not sure where the tallest structure will be erected and how tall it will go. But with the advancement in technology, anything is possible only that the sky will prove to be a limiting factor.

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