The Willis Tower, originally and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years. It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck observation deck, the highest in the United States, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft) or 150 meters (490 ft) in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.
Taipei 101, formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a 508.0 m, 101-story skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by Taipei Financial Center Corporation. The building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening on 31 December 2004. However, the Burj Khalifa surpassed Taipei 101 in 2010. The construction of Taipei 101 was a joint venture led by Kumagai Gumi, a Japanese construction company, in cooperation with Samsung C&T of South Korea. Upon completion, it became the world's first skyscraper to exceed a height of half a kilometer. As of 2023, Taipei 101 is the tallest building in Taiwan and the eleventh tallest building in the world. The skyscraper celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024.
The Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Developed and managed by Jumeirah, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total height is made up of non-occupiable space. Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island that is 280 m (920 ft) from Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of the structure is designed to resemble the sail of a dhow. It has a helipad near the roof, at a height of 210 m (689 ft) above ground.
The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a pyramid-shaped 72-storey mixed-use development supertall skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the seventh-tallest building in Europe, and the second-tallest outside Russia behind the Varso Tower in Warsaw, which beats the Shard by less than half a metre. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.
The Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the world's tallest structure. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, surpassing Taipei 101, the holder of that status since 2004.
Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision and speed.
The Burj Al Alam was a proposed 108-story, 510 m (1,670 ft) hyperboloid skyscraper in the Business Bay area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, though the project's roots are in a 101-storey design called "Fortune 101" and slated for the Dubai Marina area. It was designed to resemble a crystal flower. If constructed, it would have become one of the world's tallest buildings. The tower was one of the projects of the Fortune Group, which has a number of other projects in Dubai such as the Fortune Bay and Fortune Tower.
Cayan Tower, known as Infinity Tower before it was inaugurated, is a 306-metre-tall (1,004 ft), 75-story skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill SOM architectural group for Cayan Real Estate Investment and Development. Upon its opening on 10 June 2013, the tower became the world's tallest high-rise building with a twist of 90 degrees. This record has since been surpassed by the Shanghai Tower, which opened in February 2015.
The Princess Tower is a 101-story, 413.4 m (1,356 ft) tall residential-only skyscraper located in the Marina district of Dubai, UAE. As of September 2022, Princess Tower is the third tallest building in Dubai, after the Burj Khalifa and Marina 101 and the 36th tallest building in the world. Princess Tower was the tallest residential building in the world from 2012 to 2015, when it was overtaken by 432 Park Avenue in New York City.
The Pentominium was a planned 122-storey, 517 m (1,696 ft) supertall skyscraper located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction on the tower was halted in August 2011. It was designed by Andrew Bromberg of architects Aedas and funded by Trident International Holdings. The AED 1.46 billion construction contract was awarded to Arabian Construction Company (ACC).
The Lighthouse Tower is a supertall, commercial skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates designed by multi-national architectural firm Atkins. It was planned to be constructed in the Dubai International Financial Centre, and was set to rise to 402 metres (1,319 ft) and have 64 floors. The tower was planned to be a Green Building with a huge emphasis put on reducing its carbon footprint and conserving energy.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), an architecture firm and design firm based in Chicago, is engaged in the design and development of energy-efficient and sustainable architecture. AS+GG designs buildings, cities, masterplans and components of these, for an international clientele, with projects located throughout the world. The primary uses of these designs are civic, commercial, cultural, hospitality, residential and mixed-use. AS+GG also specializes in supertall skyscrapers, such as the Jeddah Tower, which will overtake the Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building when completed.
The AAM Tower is a 46-floor office tower in Dubai Media City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is 243.8 m (800 ft) tall. The building was designed by Arenco Architectural & Engineering Consultants. It was also developed by Al Nekhreh Contracting Co. LLC. The construction of the building started in 2005. It was completed in 2008.
The Dynamic Tower is a cancelled 420-metre (1,378 ft), 80-floor moving skyscraper, designed by architect David Fisher.
Jeddah Tower or Burj Jeddah, previously known as Kingdom Tower, is a skyscraper construction project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is planned to be the first 1-kilometre-tall (3,281 ft) building and would be the world's tallest building or structure upon completion, standing 180 m (591 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa. Located in the north side of Jeddah, it is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City project. After almost five years of inactivity, development work on the project resumed in 2023.
Namaste Tower is a 310 m (1,017 ft) tall skyscraper mega project in Mumbai, India. It would have been a mixed-use skyscraper with 63 floors that will house a 380-room W Hotel, office and retail space. It was designed by Atkins, Dubai. The design resembles the Namaste gesture: two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting.
Australia 108 is a residential supertall skyscraper in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Having officially topped out in June 2020, it became the tallest building in Australia by roof height, surpassing the Eureka Tower, and the second-tallest building in Australia by full height, surpassed by Q1 Tower.
