Unlike the highest mountain in Europe, there’s no question as to what the tallest building in the world is – it’s quite a black and white picture really (it’s the Burj Khalifa). The tallest building in the world doesn’t sit between two tectonic plates and can be clearly measured without taking into account the prominence of each building – just measure top to bottom.
With that being said, this is a list of the tallest buildings in the world (we’re not including out and out towers, like the 634 metre high Tokyo Skytree).
The tallest building in the world is something that will frequently change.There are buildings being constructed which will knock many buildings off this list. There is, for example, a new number one incoming – keep an eye out for the kilometre high Jeddah Tower due later this year (2020). Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to keep this list of the tallest buildings in the world updated as and when the buildings are built.
“The Burj Khalifa reaches … 8,020 metres short of the highest mountain in the world”
The most interesting thing about all of these buildings is that nine out of ten of them are in Asia, and all were built in the 21st century – showing the speed at which the eastern hemisphere are developing and building these skyscrapers.
It’s also interesting to look at the height of these buildings. The highest, the Burj Khalifa, reaches up to a height of 828 metres. That’s 8,020 metres short of the highest mountain in the world – Mount Everest. Better luck next time, Burj.
1) Burj Khalifa
Height: 828 m
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Construction started: 6th January 2009
Construction completed: 1st October 2009
Coming in at an astonishing 1.5 million US dollars, the Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world is also one of the most expensive buildings in this roundup. Consisting of over 160 floors, the building has a multi-purpose use ranging from ‘Armani Hotel’ to office spaces.
Because of the extremely weak underlying rock beneath the Burj Khalifa, over 43,000 metres cubed of concrete had to be used to construct the concrete and steel foundations. These foundations weigh more than 110,000 tonnes and are buried more than 50 metres deep. All of the foundations have been designed to support the astonishing total building weight of 450,000 tonnes.
Has the Burj Khalifa been climbed? Well-known ‘Spiderman’ Alain Robert spent six hours climbing the outside of the Burj Khalifa. Unlike many of his other attempts, Robert was assisted by a rope and harness in order to comply with UAE safety laws.
The Burj Khalifa has also been climbed to the top by three BASE jumpers, who then jumped from the summit of the world’s tallest building.
