According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a global nonprofit organization with its headquarters located in Chicago, a tall building is one that is 14 floors or more and more than 50 meters (165 feet) in height. Which is the tallest building in the world?
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The Burj Khalifa building in Dubai
The Burj Khalifa’s construction started in 2004. It was to be a part of a new flagship development at the ‘First Interchange’, close to Dubai’s major commercial center in the United Arab Emirates, which would span 2 km2 (490 acres).
With 163 stories and 828 meters, the Burj Khalifa, located at 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in Dubai, was opened as the world’s tallest structure on January 4, 2010. It surpassed the 319 meters Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time, which is situated in Taipei, Taiwan’s Xinyi District.
In addition to being the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa is also the tallest freestanding construction and has the most storeys of any building. Besides, it has the tallest service elevator, the highest occupied floor, and the highest outdoor observation deck in the world.
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This towering skyscraper, which rose an astounding 828 meters (2,716 feet 6 inches) into the sky, would soon be referred to as a “vertical city” and would come to symbolize the modern world.
Who owns the Burj Khalifa building?
The world’s tallest building is owned by Emaar Properties, a real estate development firm led by Mohamed Kajoor Alabbar. The building was constructed by the well-known American architect, Adrian Smith for $1.5 billion in 5 years.
Some of the world’s tallest buildings
The 138-foot (42.1-meter) Home Insurance Building, constructed in Chicago in 1885, was the first structure to be classified as a skyscraper. Until the Petronas Towers were finished in 1998, the United States would have the highest structure in the world for the remainder of the 20th century.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, surpassed the Sears Tower as the tallest office skyscraper in the world in March 1996. The 88-story towers were raised to 451.9 meters (1,482 feet 8 inches) in height by installing stainless steel pinnacles that were 73.5 meters (241 feet) long.
At a massive 508 meters (1,666 feet), Taiwan’s Taipei 101, also called the Taipei Financial Centre, then won the title in 2003.
From 2004 to 2009, Taipei 101 was recognized as the world’s tallest structure.
Is The Jeddah Tower likely to be the tallest building in the world?
The Jeddah Tower, formerly known as the Kingdom Tower, is currently under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is set to reach 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). It is the world’s first 1-kilometer building and will rise 170 meters (550 feet) higher than the Burj Khalifa.
Designed by Adrian Smith, the same architect who created the Burj, the Jeddah Tower may soon surpass the Burj’s record. As of December 31, 2016, 38 floors had been completed, and the central core, which houses elevator shafts and stairwells, is at level 49.
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