Imagine having a glimpse of the city you are visiting from top of the highest skyscraper, thrilling right? Check out these nine buildings across the world that you might want to visit once there.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Height: 828 m, 830 m to tip
Floors: 163
Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the completion of the exterior in 2009.
The skyscraper houses 900 apartments, as well as offices. The design of Burj Khalifa incorporates the elements of Islamic architecture. The building is a large-scale, mixed-use development that includes 30,000 residences, nine hotels, seven acres of parkland, 19 residential towers, a shopping mall, and a 30-acre man-made lake.
Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China
Height: 632 meters
Floors: 128
Construction work on the tower began in November 2008 and topped out on 3 August 2013. The exterior was completed in summer 2015, and work was considered complete in September 2015.
The building was designed by an American architectural firm Gensler designed to function as a hotel and office. There are a total of 320 hotel rooms and 1,100 parking spaces, and the views of Shanghai from the top floors are said to be unrivaled.
Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Height: 601 meters
Floors: 120
Also known as Abraj Al Bait, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel is a government-owned building complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Royal Clock Tower includes hotel rooms for visitors, residential apartments for permanent residents, a conference center, a five-story shopping mall, a large prayer room capable of holding more than 10,000 people, an Islamic Museum, and a Lunar Observation Center to see the moon during the Holy Months.
One World Trade Center, New York City
Height: 541 m, 546 m to tip
Floors: 104
The tower is designed by David M. Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and includes office space and an observation deck with unparalleled views of Manhattan.
CTF Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China
Height: 530 m
Floors: 111
Construction for the Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre started in 2010, and the approximation completion date is in 2016.
The mixed-use urban complex has four major transition points at which its function changes from apartments to offices to hotel rooms. Underground, the building will have connections to public transportation, as well as second-level bridges to connect to adjacent buildings.
Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan
Floors: 101
Height: 1,667 feet
The skyscraper was designed by C. Y. Lee & Partners and constructed by KTRT Joint Venture to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors common in that area.
The building has been awarded by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as the tallest and largest green building in the world.
Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China
Height: 492 m
Floors: 101
SWFC is the world’s tallest mixed-use urban development projects. It serves as a major center of international finance and trade and consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and ground-floor shopping malls.
International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong
Height: 484 m
Floors: 118
The skyscraper houses 118 stories of hotel rooms, commercial offices, shopping malls, five-star restaurants, and an observatory called Sky100.
It also holds the Guinness World Record for the largest light and sound show on a single building. These light and music shows happen twice nightly on a 54,000 square feet platform.
Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Towers 1 and 2 held the record as the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. These two buildings, completed on January 1, 1996, are the landmarks of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
-Sowmya
