Very Tall Buildings
Very Tall Buildings
For 25 years, the 108-story Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago, Illinois, held the title of world’s tallest building. But this reign ended in 1998, when the César Pelli-designed Petronas Twin Towers opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Since then, the “very tall tower” trend has accelerated around the world with several buildings surpassing both of these towers in height. First it was Taipei 101 in Taiwan; today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (designed by U.S. firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) holds the title at 2,722 feet.
With many “very tall” projects proposed around the world (including one getting underway in Saudi Arabia that is twice the height of the Willis Tower), it would appear that, for now, America will not be holding the record for tallest building again anytime soon.
Meanwhile, when it is completed, the new World Trade Center in New York will be the tallest building in the U.S., at a symbolic 1,776 feet.