The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the CTBUH announces the title of "The World's Tallest Building" and is widely considered to be an authority on the official height of tall buildings. Its stated mission is to study and report "on all aspects of the planning, design, and construction of tall buildings."
Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions.
Al Faisaliah Tower is a pyramid-shaped commercial skyscraper and mixed-use complex located in the al-Olaya district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 267-metre-high office tower, the centerpiece of the Foster + Partners development, it is notable for having been the first skyscraper built in Saudi Arabia, and for the monumental stained glass wall of its lobby, designed by architectural artist Brian Clarke in collaboration with Norman Foster. It was the largest building in Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2002 and currently is the seventh tallest building in the country, after Kingdom Centre, Burj Rafal and Abraj Al Bait. The tower is named after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and presently ranks as the 325th tallest building in the world.
Kingdom Centre, formerly Kingdom Tower, is a 41-story, 302.3 m (992 ft) skyscraper in the al-Olaya district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When completed in 2002, it overtook the 267-meter (876 ft) Faisaliah Tower as the tallest tower in Saudi Arabia. It has since been surpassed and, as of 2021, is the fifth-tallest skyscraper in the country, whose tallest two buildings are the The Clock Towers and the Capital Market Authority Tower. It is the world's third-tallest building with a hole after the Shanghai World Financial Center and the 85 Sky Tower in Taiwan. It contains the King Abdullah Mosque, which is the world's most elevated mosque from ground level.
Saudi Binladin Group, known as Binladin Group Global Holding Company since 2019, is a multinational construction conglomerate headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the Saudi Binladin Group signed a US$1.23 billion contractual agreement to construct the tallest building in the world, Jeddah Tower in Jeddah. They are also party to a US$3.4 billion agreement to construct the Doha Metro located in Doha. The conglomerate comprises an estimated 537 companies. The group's founder was business magnate Muhammad bin Ladin.
The Clock Towers, is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These towers are part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that aims to modernize the city in catering to its pilgrims. The central hotel tower, which is the Mecca Clock Royal Tower, is the fourth-tallest building and sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The clock tower contains the Clock Tower Museum that occupies the top four floors of the tower.
Al-Olaya, alternatively transliterated as al-Ulaya, is the central business district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located mostly in the sub-municipality of its namesake, al-Ulaya, and partially in al-Malaz and al-Ma'dher. Situated on the north side of the city, it hosts sites and local landmarks, such as the Kingdom Centre, which houses the Four Seasons luxury hotel.
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.
The tallest building in the world, as of 2025, is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The title of "world's tallest building" has been held by various buildings in modern times, including Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln, England, and the Empire State Building and the original World Trade Center, both in New York City.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) Tower is a 385 m (1,263 ft) skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Construction started in 2010 and was topped-out in 2014. The building was finally completed in 2022, making it the tallest building in Riyadh, surpassing Burj Rafal, and the second-tallest in Saudi Arabia. Designed by HOK and Omrania, the 76-story PIF Tower is one of the most high-tech skyscrapers in the world and the centerpiece of the King Abdullah Financial District.
KAFD World Trade Center is a skyscraper in the King Abdullah Financial District of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was completed in 2022 and is the fourth tallest building in the country at 304 metres (997 ft), with 67 floors and nearly 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2) of floor space. The Abraj Al Bait, Capital Market Authority Headquarters, and Burj Rafal are taller, while KAFD is slightly taller than the older and well-known Kingdom Centre. The tower was designed by Gensler.
