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The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tokyo Skytree, Japan in 2014

The world's tallest artificial structure is the 829.8-metre-tall (2,722 ft) Burj Khalifa in Dubai (of the United Arab Emirates). The building gained the official title of "Tallest Building in the World" and the tallest self-supported structure at its opening on January 9, 2010. The second-tallest self-supporting structure and the tallest tower is the Tokyo Skytree. The tallest guyed structure is the KVLY-TV mast.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, an organization that certifies buildings as the "World's Tallest", recognizes a building only if at least 50% of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area.^[1] Structures that do not meet this criterion, such as the CN Tower, are defined as "towers".

There are dozens of radio and television broadcasting towers which measure over 600 metres (about 2,000 ft) in height, and only the tallest are recorded in publicly available information sources.

Debate over definitions

The assessment of the height of artificial structures has been controversial. Various standards have been used by different organizations which has meant that the title of world's tallest structure or building has changed depending on which standards have been accepted. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has changed its definitions over time. Some of the controversy regarding the definitions and assessment of tall structures and buildings has included the following:

• the definition of a structure, a building and a tower


• whether a structure, building or tower under construction should be included in any assessment


• whether a structure, building or tower has to be officially opened before it is assessed


• whether structures built in and rising above water should have their below-water height included in any assessment.


• whether a structure, building or tower that is guyed is assessed in the same category as self-supporting structures.

Within an accepted definition of a building further controversy has included the following factors:

• whether only habitable height of the building is considered


• whether communication towers with observation galleries should be considered "habitable" in this sense


• whether rooftop antennas, viewing platforms or any other architecture that does not form a habitable floor should be included in the assessment


• whether a floor built at a high level of a telecommunications or viewing tower should change the tower's definition to that of a "building"

Tallest structures

Warsaw radio mast, the height record holder from 1974 to 1991

The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was the world's tallest freestanding structure from 1975 to 2007.

This category does not require the structure to be "officially" open but does require it to be "topped out".

The tallest artificial structure is Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai that reached 829.8 m (2,722 ft) in height on January 17, 2009.^[2] By April 8, 2008 it had been built higher than the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA.^[3] That September it officially surpassed Poland's 646.38 m (2,120.7 ft) Warsaw radio mast, which stood from 1974 to 1991, to become the tallest structure ever built. Guyed lattice towers such as these masts had held the world height record since 1954.

The Petronius Platform stands 610 m (2,000 ft) off the sea floor leading some, including Guinness World Records 2007, to claim it as the tallest freestanding structure in the world. However, it is debated whether underwater height should be counted, in the same manner as height below ground is ignored on buildings. The Troll A platform is 472 m (1,549 ft), without any part of that height being supported by wires. The tension-leg type of oil platform has even greater below-water heights with several examples more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep. However, these platforms are not considered constant structures as the vast majority of their height is made up of the length of the tendons attaching the floating platforms to the sea floor. Despite this, Guinness World Records 2009 listed the Ursa tension leg platform as the tallest structure in the world with a total height of 1,306 m (4,285 ft). The Magnolia Tension-leg Platform in the Gulf of Mexico is even taller with a total height of 1,432 m (4,698 ft).

Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, set records in three of the four skyscraper categories at the time it opened in 2004; at the time the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010 it remained the world's tallest inhabited building 509.2 m (1,671 ft) as measured to its architectural height (spire). The height of its roof 449.2 m (1,474 ft) and highest occupied floor 439.2 m (1,441 ft) had been surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center with corresponding heights of 487 and 474 m (1,598 and 1,555 ft). Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) was the highest in the final category: the greatest height to top of antenna of any building in the world at 527 m (1,729 ft).

Burj Khalifa broke the height record in all four categories for completed buildings.

Tallest structure by category

Due to the disagreements over how to measure height and classify structures, engineers have created various definitions for categories of buildings and other structures. One measure includes the absolute height of a building, another includes only spires and other permanent architectural features, but not antennas. The tradition of including the spire on top of a building and not including the antenna dates back to the rivalry between the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. A modern-day example is that the antenna on top of Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) is not considered part of its architectural height, while the spires on top of the Petronas Twin Towers are counted.

Note: The following table is a list of the tallest completed structure in each of the structural categories below. For a list of structures by function see the list later in the article. There can only be one structure in each category, unless the tallest is the same for more than one structure in the same category.

Category	Structure	Country	City	Height (meters)	Height (feet)	Year built	Coordinates
Building[4]	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	829.8	2,722	2010	25°11′50.0″N 55°16′26.6″E / 25.197222°N 55.274056°E / 25.197222; 55.274056 (Burj Dubai)
Self-supporting tower[5]	Tokyo Skytree	Japan	Tokyo	634	2,080	2011	35°42′36.5″N 139°48′39″E / 35.710139°N 139.81083°E / 35.710139; 139.81083 (Tokyo Skytree)
Guyed steel lattice mast	KVLY-TV mast	United States	Blanchard, North Dakota	628.8	2,063	1963	47°20′32″N 97°17′25″W / 47.34222°N 97.29028°W / 47.34222; -97.29028 (KVLY-TV mast)
Mast radiator	Lualualei VLF transmitter	United States	Lualualei, Hawaii	458	1,503	1972	21°25′11.87″N 158°08′53.67″W / 21.4199639°N 158.1482417°W / 21.4199639; -158.1482417 (VLF transmitter Lualualei, Mast 1) ; 21°25′13.38″N 158°09′14.35″W / 21.4203833°N 158.1539861°W / 21.4203833; -158.1539861 (VLF transmitter Lualualei, Mast 2)
Twin building	Petronas Twin Towers	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	452	1,482	1998	3°09′27.45″N 101°42′40.7″E / 3.1576250°N 101.711306°E / 3.1576250; 101.711306 (Petronas Tower 1); 3°09′29.45″N 101°42′43.4″E / 3.1581806°N 101.712056°E / 3.1581806; 101.712056 (Petronas Tower 2)
Chimney	Ekibastuz GRES-2 Power Station	Kazakhstan	Ekibastuz	419.7	1,377	1987	52°1′26.3″N 75°28′34.5″E / 52.023972°N 75.476250°E / 52.023972; 75.476250 (GRES-2 Power Station)
Radar	Dimona Radar Facility	Israel	Dimona	400	1,312	2008	30°58′6.93″N 35°05′49.64″E / 30.9685917°N 35.0971222°E / 30.9685917; 35.0971222 (Dimona Radar Facility) ; 30°58′32.46″N 35°05′55.25″E / 30.9756833°N 35.0986806°E / 30.9756833; 35.0986806 (Dimona Radar Facility)
Lattice tower	Kiev TV Tower	Ukraine	Kiev	385	1,263	1973	50°28′16.49″N 30°27′11.97″E / 50.4712472°N 30.4533250°E / 50.4712472; 30.4533250 (Kiev TV Tower)
Electricity pylon	Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie	China	Zhoushan	370	1,214	2009	29°56′2.78″N 122°2′10.12″E / 29.9341056°N 122.0361444°E / 29.9341056; 122.0361444 (Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie, 370 metres tower) ; 29°54′41.39″N 122°1′26.38″E / 29.9114972°N 122.0239944°E / 29.9114972; 122.0239944 (Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie, 370 metres tower)
Partially guyed tower	Gerbrandy Tower	Netherlands	IJsselstein	366.8	1,203	1961	52°00′36.24″N 05°03′12.87″E / 52.0100667°N 5.0535750°E / 52.0100667; 5.0535750 (Gerbrandy Tower)
Guyed tubular steel mast	TV Tower Vinnytsia	Ukraine	Vinnytsia	354	1,161	1961	49°14′30.04″N 28°25′25.25″E / 49.2416778°N 28.4236806°E / 49.2416778; 28.4236806 (TV Tower Vinnytsia)
Bridge	Millau Viaduct	France	Millau	342	1,122	2004	44°05′09.97″N 03°01′17.94″E / 44.0861028°N 3.0216500°E / 44.0861028; 3.0216500 (Viaduc de Millau)
Blaw-Knox Tower (diamond cantilever tower)	Lakihegy Tower	Hungary	Szigetszentmiklós	314	1,031	1968	47°22′23″N 19°00′16″E / 47.37306°N 19.00444°E / 47.37306; 19.00444 (Lakihegy Tower)
Dam	Jinping-I Dam	China	Liangshan	305	1,001	2013	28°11′07″N 101°37′42″E / 28.18528°N 101.62833°E / 28.18528; 101.62833 (Jinping-I Dam)
Wind turbine	GE 3.4-137 wind turbine at Naturstromspeicher Gaildorf[6]	Germany	Gaildorf	246.5	809	2017	48°59′49″N 9°48′35″E / 48.997075°N 9.809822°E / 48.997075; 9.809822 (GE 3.4-137 Wind Turbine)
Statue (incl. base)	Statue of Unity	India	Narmada district, Gujarat	240	790	2018	21°50′17″N 73°43′09″E / 21.8380°N 73.7191°E / 21.8380; 73.7191 (Statue of Unity)
Minaret	Hassan II Mosque	Morocco	Casablanca	210	689	1993	33°36′28.71″N 7°37′58.16″W / 33.6079750°N 7.6328222°W / 33.6079750; -7.6328222 (Hassan II Mosque)
Cooling tower	Kalisindh Thermal Power Station	India	Jhalawar	202[7]	663	2012	24°32′04.97″N 76°05′57.89″E / 24.5347139°N 76.0994139°E / 24.5347139; 76.0994139 (Kalisindh Power Station cooling tower) ; 24°31′58.33″N 76°06′06.81″E / 24.5328694°N 76.1018917°E / 24.5328694; 76.1018917 (Kalisindh Power Station cooling tower)
Monument	Gateway Arch	United States	St. Louis, Missouri	192	630	1965	38°37′28.62″N 90°11′5.87″W / 38.6246167°N 90.1849639°W / 38.6246167; -90.1849639 (Gateway Arch)
Water tower	Main tower of Kuwait Towers	Kuwait	Kuwait City	187	614	1979	29°23′22.75″N 48°00′11.57″E / 29.3896528°N 48.0032139°E / 29.3896528; 48.0032139 (Kuwait Towers)
Wooden structure	ATLAS-I at Kirtland Air Force Base	United States	Albuquerque	180	600	1980	35°01′48″N 106°33′27″W / 35.029898°N 106.557574°W / 35.029898; -106.557574 (ATLAS-I)
Masonry tower	Anaconda Smelter Stack	United States	Anaconda, Montana	178.3	585	1919	46°06′36.53″N 112°54′48.8″W / 46.1101472°N 112.913556°W / 46.1101472; -112.913556 (Anaconda Smelter Stack)
Inclined structure	Olympic Stadium	Canada	Montreal	175	574	1976	45°33′33.53″N 73°33′7.61″W / 45.5593139°N 73.5521139°W / 45.5593139; -73.5521139 (Montreal Olympic Stadium)
Obelisk	San Jacinto Monument	United States	La Porte, Texas	173.7	570	1939	29°44′59.46″N 95°04′50.52″W / 29.7498500°N 95.0807000°W / 29.7498500; -95.0807000 (San Jacinto Monument)
Ferris wheel	High Roller	United States	Las Vegas	167.6	550	2014	36°07′03″N 115°10′05″W / 36.117402°N 115.168127°W / 36.117402; -115.168127 (High Roller)
Masonry building	Mole Antonelliana	Italy	Torino	167.5	550	1889	45°04′8.45″N 7°41′35.62″E / 45.0690139°N 7.6932278°E / 45.0690139; 7.6932278 (Mole Antonelliana)
Masonry building	Philadelphia City Hall	United States	Philadelphia	167	548	1901	39°57′9.79″N 75°09′48.72″W / 39.9527194°N 75.1635333°W / 39.9527194; -75.1635333 (Philadelphia City Hall)
Flagpole	Jeddah Flagpole	Saudi Arabia	Jeddah	171[8]	561	2014	21°30′28.23″N 39°10′11.04″E / 21.5078417°N 39.1697333°E / 21.5078417; 39.1697333 (Jeddah Flagpole)
Church tower	Ulmer Münster	Germany	Ulm	162	530	1890	48°23′55″N 9°59′30.78″E / 48.39861°N 9.9918833°E / 48.39861; 9.9918833 (Ulmer Münster)
Industrial hall	Vehicle Assembly Building	United States	Kennedy Space Center, Florida	160	525	1966	28°35′9.64″N 80°39′2.11″W / 28.5860111°N 80.6505861°W / 28.5860111; -80.6505861 (Vehicle Assembly Building)
Dome	Dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro	Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	158	518	1990	6°48′40″N 5°17′47″W / 6.81111°N 5.29639°W / 6.81111; -5.29639 (Dome of Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro)
Memorial cross	Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos	Spain	El Escorial	152.4	500	1957	40°38′31.46″N 4°9′19.6″W / 40.6420722°N 4.155444°W / 40.6420722; -4.155444 (Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos)
Telescope	Arecibo Telescope	Puerto Rico	Arecibo, Puerto Rico	150	492	1963	18°20′39″N 66°45′10″W / 18.34417°N 66.75278°W / 18.34417; -66.75278 (Arecibo Telescope)
Roller coaster	Kingda Ka	United States	Jackson, New Jersey	138.98	456	2005	40°08′26.54″N 74°25′59.83″W / 40.1407056°N 74.4332861°W / 40.1407056; -74.4332861 (Kingda Ka)
Tomb	Great Pyramid of Giza	Egypt	Giza	138.8	455.2	2560 BCE	29°58′44.93″N 31°08′3.09″E / 29.9791472°N 31.1341917°E / 29.9791472; 31.1341917 (Great Pyramid of Giza)
Air traffic control tower	Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 Control Tower	Malaysia	Sepang	141.3	463.6	2013[9]	2°44′26″N 101°40′45″E / 2.740486°N 101.679069°E / 2.740486; 101.679069 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 Control Tower)
Stupa	Jetavanaramaya	Sri Lanka	Anuradhapura	122	400
Wooden lattice tower	Gliwice Radio Tower	Poland	Gliwice	118	387	1935	50°18′48.12″N 18°41′20.26″E / 50.3133667°N 18.6889611°E / 50.3133667; 18.6889611 (Gliwice Radio Tower)
Storage silo	Schapfen Mill Tower	Germany	Ulm	115	377	2005	48°25′57″N 9°58′58″E / 48.43250°N 9.98278°E / 48.43250; 9.98278 (Schapfen Mill Tower)
Aerial tramway support tower	Pillar of third section of Gletscherbahn Kaprun	Austria	Kaprun	113.6	373	1966	47°11′58.62″N 12°41′16.96″E / 47.1996167°N 12.6880444°E / 47.1996167; 12.6880444 (Glacial Aerial Tramway Kaprun III Support Pillar)
Sphere	Ericsson Globe	Sweden	Stockholm	85	279	1989	59°17′36.92″N 18°04′58.79″E / 59.2935889°N 18.0829972°E / 59.2935889; 18.0829972 (Ericsson Globe)
Lighthouse	Île Vierge Lighthouse	France	Finistère	82.5	271	1902
Gopuram	Murudeshwara Temple	India	Murudeshwara	76	249	2008	14°05′39″N 74°29′07″E / 14.094197°N 74.485163°E / 14.094197; 74.485163 (Murudeshwara Temple)

Tallest destroyed structures by category, not surpassed by existing structures

There are some destroyed architectural structures which were taller than the tallest existing structure of their type. There are also destroyed structures omitted from this list that had been surpassed in height prior to being destroyed.

Category	Structure	Country	City	Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Coordinates	Remarks
Guyed mast	Warsaw Radio Mast	Poland	Gąbin	646.38	2,121	52°22′3.74″N 19°48′8.73″E / 52.3677056°N 19.8024250°E / 52.3677056; 19.8024250 (Konstantynow Radio Mast (destroyed))	Completed in 1974, collapsed on August 8, 1991
Scientific research tower	BREN Tower	United States	Nevada Test Site	462	1,516	36°46′50.23″N 116°14′36.9″W / 36.7806194°N 116.243583°W / 36.7806194; -116.243583 (BREN-Tower)	Completed in 1962, demolished May 23, 2012[10]
Guyed tubular steel mast	Shushi-Wan Omega Transmitter	Japan	Tsushima	389	1,276	34°36′53″N 129°27′13″E / 34.61472°N 129.45361°E / 34.61472; 129.45361 (Shushi-Wan Omega Transmitter (dismantled))	Completed in 1973, dismantled in 1998
Structure for scientific experiment	Smokey Shot Tower	United States	Nevada Test Site	213	700	37°11′13.63″N 116°4′7.93″W / 37.1871194°N 116.0688694°W / 37.1871194; -116.0688694 (Smokey Shot Tower(destroyed))	Guyed mast, which carried 44 kt yield nuclear bomb "Smokey" (part of operation Plumbbob) on top until its explosion on August 31, 1957
Wooden structure	Mühlacker Wood Radio Tower	Germany	Mühlacker	190	623	48°56′27.67″N 8°51′8.24″E / 48.9410194°N 8.8522889°E / 48.9410194; 8.8522889 (Mühlacker Wood Radio Tower (replaced by guyed mast))	Completed in 1934, destroyed on April 6, 1945, by the Germans to prevent usage by the Allies, replaced by mast radiator
Masonry building	Mole Antonelliana	Italy	Turin	167.5	549.5	45°04′8.45″N 7°41′35.62″E / 45.0690139°N 7.6932278°E / 45.0690139; 7.6932278 (Mole Antonelliana)	Spire destroyed by a tornado in 1953 (rebuilt since then)
Pre-Industrial era building	Lincoln Cathedral	United Kingdom	Lincoln	160	524	53°14′3.26″N 0°32′10.54″W / 53.2342389°N 0.5362611°W / 53.2342389; -0.5362611 (Lincoln Cathedral)	Completed in 1311, spire blown off in 1549
Gasometer	Gasometer Zeche Nordstern	Germany	Gelsenkirchen	147	482		Completed in 1938, damaged at an air raid on May 13, 1940 in such a manner, that it was not usable any more and had to be demolished.
Storage silo	Henninger Turm	Germany	Frankfurt	120	394	50°05′50.18″N 8°41′36.81″E / 50.0972722°N 8.6935583°E / 50.0972722; 8.6935583 (Henninger Turm)	Constructed in 1961, demolished in 2013

Tallest building by function

Category	Structure	Country	City	Architectural top (metres)	Architectural top (feet)
Mixed-use*	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	830	2,722
Office	One World Trade Center	United States	New York City	541	1,776
Military structure	Large masts of INS Kattabomman	India	Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu	471	1,545
Residential	432 Park Avenue	United States	New York City	425.5	1,396
Hotel	Abraj Al-Bait Towers	Saudi Arabia	Mekka	601	1,972
Scientific research tower	Amazon Tall Tower Observatory	Brazil	160 km NE of Manaus	325[11]	1,066
Educational	Moscow State University	Russia	Moscow	240	787
Religious	Hassan II Mosque	Morocco	Casablanca	210	689
Hospital	Outpatient Center, Houston Methodist Hospital	United States	Houston	156.05	511.8

* "Mixed-use" is defined as having three or more real estate uses (such as retail, office, hotel, etc.) that are physically and functionally integrated in a single property and are mutually supporting.^[12]

Tallest buildings

Up until the late 1990s, the definition of “tallest building” was not altogether clear. It was generally understood to be the height of the building to the top of its architectural elements including spires, but not including "temporary" structures (such as antennas or flagpoles), which could be added or changed relatively easily without requiring major changes to the building's design. Other criteria for height measurement generally were not considered, which occasionally caused some controversy.

One historic case involved the building now famous for the Times Square Ball. Known as One Times Square (at 1475 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan), it was the headquarters for The New York Times, which gave Times Square its name. Completed in 1905, it reached a height of 364 feet (111 meters) to its roof, or 420 feet (130 meters) including its rooftop flagpole, which the Times vainly hoped would give it a record high status. But because a flagpole is not an integral architectural part of a building, One Times Square was not generally considered to be taller than the 390-foot-high (120 m) Park Row Building in Lower Manhattan, which was therefore still New York's tallest.^[13]

A bigger controversy was the rivalry between two New York skyscrapers built in the Roaring Twenties — the Chrysler Building and the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, now called the Trump Building but better known as 40 Wall Street (thus avoiding confusion with the many other Trump-named buildings). The latter was 927 feet (283 meters) tall, had a shorter pinnacle, and had a much higher top occupied floor (the second category in the 1996 criteria for tallest building). In contrast, the Chrysler Building employed a very long 125-foot (38 m) spire secretly assembled inside the building to claim the title of world's tallest building with a total height of 1,048 feet (319 m), despite having a lower top occupied floor and a shorter height when both buildings' spires are not counted in their heights. Although the architects of record for 40 Wall were H. Craig Severance and Yasuo Matsui, the firm of Shreve & Lamb (who also designed the Empire State Building) served as consulting architects. They wrote a newspaper article claiming that 40 Wall was actually the tallest, since it contained the world's highest usable floor. They pointed out that the observation deck of 40 Wall was nearly 100 feet (30 m) higher than the top floor of the Chrysler, whose surpassing spire was strictly ornamental and essentially inaccessible.^[14] Despite the protest, the Chrysler Building was generally accepted as the tallest building in the world for almost a year, until it was surpassed by the Empire State Building’s 1,250 feet (380 meters) in 1931.

That was in turn surpassed by the 1,368-foot-high (417 m) twin towers of New York’s original World Trade Center in 1972, which were in turn surpassed by the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1974. Now called the Willis Tower (since 2009) it was 1,451 feet (442 meters) to its flat rooftop, or 1,518 feet (463 meters) including its original antennas.^[15] But in 1978 One World Trade Center (commonly known as the north tower) attained a taller absolute height when it added its 360-foot (110 m) new broadcasting antenna, for a total height of 1,728 feet (527 meters). The WTC north tower maintained this height record (including its antenna) from 1978 until 2000, when the owners of the Willis Tower extended its broadcasting antennae for a total height of 1,729 feet (527 meters).^[15] Thus the status of the Willis Tower as the “totally” tallest was restored in the face of a new threat looming in the Far East — the “Siamese Twins.”

The Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin towers in the world.

A major controversy erupted upon completion of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. These twin towers, at 1,483 feet (452 meters), had a higher architectural height (spires, not antennas), but a lower absolute pinnacle height and a lower top occupied floor than the Willis Tower in Chicago. Counting buildings as structures with floors throughout, and with antenna masts excluded, the Willis was still considered the tallest at that time. Excluding their spires, which are 9 meters (30 feet) higher than the flat roof of Willis, the Petronas Towers are not taller than Willis. At their convention in Chicago, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) found the Willis Tower (without its antennas) to be the third-tallest building, and the Petronas Towers (with their spires) to be the world's two tallest buildings.^[13]

Responding to the ensuing controversy, the CTBUH then revised their criteria and defined four categories in which the world's tallest building can be measured,^[16] retaining the old criterion of height to architectural top, and adding three new categories:^[13]

1. Height to Architectural Top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles). This measurement is the most widely used and is used to define the rankings of the 100 Tallest Buildings in the World.


2. Highest Occupied Floor


3. Height to Top of Roof (omitted from criteria from November 2009 onwards)^[17]
   


4. Height to Tip

The height-to-roof criterion was discontinued because relatively few modern tall buildings possess flat rooftops, making this criterion difficult to determine and measure.^[18] The CTBUH has further clarified their definitions of building height, including specific criteria concerning subbasements and ground level entrances (height measured from lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance rather than from a previously undefined "main entrance"), building completion (must be topped out both structurally and architecturally, fully clad, and able to be occupied), condition of the highest occupied floor (must be continuously used by people living or working and be conditioned, thus including observation decks, but not mechanical floors) and other aspects of tall buildings.^[18][19]

The height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance. At the time, the Willis Tower held first place in the second and third categories, the Petronas Towers held the first category, and the original WTC north tower held the fourth (height to tip) category with its antenna.^[13] In 2000, however, a new antenna mast was placed on the Willis Tower, giving it the record in the fourth category. On April 20, 2004, the 101-storey Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, was completed, taking the world record for the first three categories. On July 21, 2007, it was announced that Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, had surpassed Taipei 101. Since its completion in early 2010, Burj Khalifa leads in all categories (the first building to do so) with its spire height of 2,722 feet (830 meters).

Before Burj Khalifa was completed, Willis Tower led in the height-to-tip category with 1,729 feet (527 meters) after its antenna was extended in 2000, making Willis Tower slightly taller height-to-tip than the WTC north tower's antenna that measured 1,728 feet (527 meters). After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the WTC became the world's tallest two buildings to be destroyed or demolished. They took that distinction from the Singer Building, which stood 612 feet (187 meters) tall until the late 1960s where One Liberty Plaza now stands right across Church Street from the WTC site.

A different superlative for skyscrapers is their number of floors. The original World Trade Center set that record at 110 in the early 1970s, and this was not surpassed until the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010.

Structures such as the CN Tower, the Ostankino Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower are excluded from these categories because they are not "habitable buildings", which are defined as frame structures made with floors and walls throughout.^[1]

History of record holders in each CTBUH category

Tallest freestanding structures on land

Freestanding structures must not be supported by guy wires, the sea or other types of support. It therefore does not include guyed masts, partially guyed towers and drilling platforms but does include towers, skyscrapers (pinnacle height) and chimneys.
(See also history of tallest skyscrapers.)

The world's tallest freestanding structure on land is defined as the tallest self-supporting artificial structure that stands above ground. This definition is different from that of world's tallest building or world's tallest structure based on the percentage of the structure that is occupied and whether or not it is self-supporting or supported by exterior cables. Likewise, this definition does not count structures that are built underground or on the seabed, such as the Petronius Platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Visit world's tallest structure by category for a list of various other definitions.

The tallest freestanding structure on land is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building surpassed the height of the previous record holder, the 553.3 m (1,815 ft) CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, on September 12, 2007. It was completed in 2010, with final height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

History

The following is a list of structures that have held the title as the tallest freestanding structure on land.

Diagram of the principal high buildings of the Old World, 1884

Notable mentions include the Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, built in the third century BC and estimated between 115–135 m (377–443 ft). It was the world's tallest non-pyramidal structure for many centuries. Another notable mention includes the Jetavanaramaya stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which was built in the third century, and was similarly tall at 122 m (400 ft). These were both the world's tallest or second-tallest non-pyramidal structure for over a thousand years.

The tallest secular building between the collapse of the Pharos and the erection of the Washington Monument may have been the Torre del Mangia in Siena, which is 102 m (335 ft) tall, and was constructed in the first half of the fourteenth century, and the 97-metre-tall (318 ft) Torre degli Asinelli in Bologna, also Italy, built between 1109 and 1119.

World's highest observation deck

Timeline of development of world's highest observation deck since inauguration of Eiffel Tower.

Higher observation decks have existed on mountain tops or cliffs, rather than on tall structures. The Grand Canyon Skywalk, constructed in 2007, protrudes 21 m (70 ft) over the west rim of the Grand Canyon and is approximately 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above the Colorado River, making it the highest of these types of structures.^{[citation needed]}

Timeline of guyed structures on land

As most of the tallest structures are guyed masts, here is a timeline of world's tallest guyed masts, since the beginning of radio technology.

As many large guyed masts were destroyed at the end of World War II, the dates for the years between 1945 and 1950 may be incorrect. If Wusung Radio Tower survived World War II, it was the tallest guyed structure shortly after World War II.

Tallest towers

Towers include observation towers, monuments and other structures not generally considered to be "habitable buildings", they are meant for "regular access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are self-supporting or freestanding, which means no guy-wires for support", meaning it excludes from this list of continuously habitable buildings and skyscrapers as well as radio and TV masts.

Bridge towers or pylons, chimneys, transmission towers, and most large statues allow human access for maintenance, but not as part of their normal operation, and are therefore not considered to be towers.

The Tokyo Skytree, completed in February 2012, is 634 m (2,080 ft), making it the tallest tower, and second-tallest freestanding structure in the world.^[28][29][30]

History of tallest tower

Tokyo Tower held the record of being the tallest tower in the world from 1958 to 1967. In addition, it held the record of being the tallest structure in Japan from 1958 to 2011, when the Tokyo Skytree (the current tallest tower in the world) surpassed it.

The following is a list of structures that have historically held the title as the tallest towers in the world.

Tallest structures, freestanding structures, and buildings

Burj Khalifa and other tallest structures

The list categories are:

• The structures (supported) list uses pinnacle height and includes architectural structures of any type that might use some external support constructions like cables and are fully built in air. Only the three tallest are listed, as more than fifty US TV masts have stated heights of 600–610 metres (1,970–2,000 ft).


• The structures (media supported) list uses pinnacle height and includes architectural structures of any type that are not totally built in the air but are using support from other, denser media like salt water. All structures greater than 500 metres (1,640 ft) are listed.


• The freestanding structures list uses pinnacle height and includes structures over 500 metres (1,640 ft) that do not use guy-wires or other external supports. This means truly free standing on its own or, in similar sense, non-supported structures.


• The building list uses architectural height (excluding antennas) and includes only buildings, defined as consisting of habitable floors. Both of these follow CTBUH guidelines. All supertall buildings (450 m and higher) are listed.

Notes:

• Eight buildings appear on the freestanding structures category list with heights different from another category. This is due to the different measurement specifications of those lists.


• Only current heights and, where reasonable, target heights are listed. Historical heights of structures that no longer exist, for example, for having collapsed, are excluded.

Source: Emporis

References

External links

• Tallest Buildings in the Islamic World (2017)


• 
  Collection of many record holders on Skyscraperpage
  


• tallestbuildingintheworld.net


• A map visualization of each country's tallest building


• The highest abandoned skyscraper in the world