From the United Arab Emirates to China and the United States, a review of the top ten of a list that is constantly mutating.
The race to be the tallest tower in the world reveals architects, cities and tourism agencies alike,
who feel (possibly, with some reason) that a place in that select group is the means by which to become part of the select list of desired destinations in the world.
Things have changed a lot since the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) was the tallest building in the world, from 1973 to 1996. From being a rather static issue, the competition has now become a kind of roller coaster, where the first places can be modified with months of difference, and sometimes even more than once in the year. Among the tallest but outside the first ten will end in 2016 the Marina 101 in Dubai, National Engineering Bureau (426.5 meters) and 432 Park Avenue, in New York, Rafael Viñoly, the tallest residential tower in the world, with 425 meters high.
Of the first 10, 4 correspond to China, 2 to the United States, 1 to the United Arab Emirates, 1 to Saudi Arabia, 1 to Taiwan and 1 to Malaysia. If this list of countries can be read as an indicator of something, it would be another proof of the preeminence that the Asian giant has acquired in the new global economic scenario. But postulating interpretations about what this says about the state of architecture and construction in the world requires a more detailed and detailed analysis. We can, however, make a brief review of the characteristics of the 10 tallest buildings in the world. As an explanation, it must be taken into account that only those works already inaugurated were considered, and that the final height is taken in reference to the last floor or crowning needle, without considering the antenna, if any.
1 - Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 828 meters
Designed by the architect Adrian Smith for the studio Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Burj Khalifa tower is the highest in the world since 2010, and at the moment there is no project underway that can displace it. It has 211 floors in total (163 of which are useful, plus 46 service and two parking floors) and almost 310 thousand square meters of surface. The tower was originally part of a project that was to have 19 skyscrapers, which would house nine hotels, 30 thousand homes, 3 hectares of green space and even a lake. However, in the end only Burj Khalifa was built. The work is part of the government's initiative to diversify its economy, moving away from an oil base in search of a profile that points to services and tourism.
2 - Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China- 632 meters
Designed by Gensler, the recently completed Shaghai Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in the world and the first in China. With 632 meters high, it becomes the third building in the world to exceed 600 meters, known as megatall (mega-high). Its spiral shape symbolically points to the economic consolidation of China, but also ensures a 24% saving in structural load when compared to a building of parallelepiped shape and of the same height.
3 - Towers of Abraj Al-Bait, Mecca, Saudi Arabia - 601 meters
The complex where the Abraj Al-Bait Towers are located is an undertaking undertaken by the Saudi government with the intention of modernizing the city where the largest mosque in the world and the greatest symbol of Islam, the Masjid al-Haram. The group was inaugurated in 2012 and was built by the country's most important construction company, the Saudi Binladin Group. It has more than 1.5 million square meters of surface and has the largest clock in the world, with 43 meters in diameter, which is illuminated by 2 million LED lights.
4 - One World Trade Center, New York, United States - 542 meters
The first building to be completed in the Ground Zero area, the One World Trade Center is surely the most anticipated work of recent years. Designed by architect David Childs, also for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the tower opened in 2014 and is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. It has 94 floors available (104 in total, counting technical floors) and 5 levels of subsoils, which add more than 325 thousand square meters of surface. Three more towers will also be built on the site, where the Memorial and the Museum of the Victims of September 11 are already located.
5 - Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwán - 508 metros
The Taipei 101 tower is an icon of the country and its silhouette is beginning to be recognized thanks to its appearance in films and tourist guides. The project belongs to architect C.Y. Lee, and it has 101 floors and 5 basements; It also has 193 thousand square meters of surface. The design includes motifs of Asian culture, such as the repetition of blocks composed of 8 segments at the top of the building (the number is associated with abundance, prosperity and good fortune), which follow the compositional rhythm of a pagoda Asian It is also claimed that it is inspired by a bamboo cane.