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."
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 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.
The Cairo Tower is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At 187 m (614 ft), it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing. It was the tallest structure in North Africa for 21 years until 1982, when it was surpassed by the Nador transmitter in Morocco. It was the tallest structure in Africa for one year until 1962, when it was surpassed by Sentech Tower in South Africa.
Nakheel Tower was a planned skyscraper on hold in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by developer Nakheel. The project was previously called Al Burj. While the proposal changed over time, the tower was intended to be the tallest building in the world, surpassing the 828-metre (2,717 ft) Burj Khalifa which was completed in 2010.
Adrian Devaun Smith is an American architect. He designed the world's tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower. A long-time principal of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he founded his own architectural partnership firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago in 2006. Among his other projects, he was the senior architect for Central Park Tower in New York City, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, and Zifeng Tower in Nanjing.
Al Rajhi Bank Tower is a 205-meter tall commercial skyscraper located in the al-Muruj neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The project was launched in 2006 and was completed in 2017. The sail-shaped design was created by architects from Atkins, and the tower serves commercial purposes on behalf of the Al Rajhi family, recognized as one of the wealthiest non-royal families in Saudi Arabia and prominent philanthropists.
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 New Administrative Capital (NAC), is a new urban community in Cairo Governorate, Egypt and a satellite of Cairo City. It is planned to be Egypt's new capital and has been under construction since 2015. It was announced by the then Egyptian housing minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Egypt Economic Development Conference on 13 March 2015. The capital city is considered one of the projects for economic development, and is part of a larger initiative called Egypt Vision 2030.
Dubai Creek Tower is a proposed supported observation tower to be built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The preliminary cost of the tower was estimated at AED 3.67 billion. It was expected to be completed in 2021 at the earliest, but tower construction was put on hold at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Iconic Tower is a mixed-use supertall skyscraper in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt. With a total structural height of almost 400 metres (1,300 ft), it is both the tallest building and the tallest structure in Africa. It has 77 floors, mostly for office use, and is one of 20 towers being built as part of the central business district in the new capital city. The total area of the tower exceeds 265,000 m2 (2,850,000 sq ft).
Rise Tower is a skyscraper construction project proposed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is planned to be the first 2 km (6,562 ft) tall building and would be the world's tallest building or structure upon completion, standing 1180 m (3872 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa and surpassing the Jeddah Tower by almost 1000 m. It was conceived in December 2022 by the Public Investment Fund and its designs were announced in August 2023 as the centerpiece of the North Pole project.
