The Top 10 Lists

10. Shun Hing Square (China)

Shun Hing Square (Chinese: 信兴广场/地王大厦) is a 384m (1,260 ft) tall skyscraper in Shenzhen, China. It is the 5th tallest building in China, and the 9th tallest in the world. It was the tallest building in China from its completion in 1996 until CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou was completed the next year. The building was built at the fast pace of four floors in nine days. The main tower has offices, while an accomping 35 floor annex contains apartments, car park and shopping arcade complex which has 5 floors, four sets of escalators, five passenger lifts and two service lifts, and a floor area ranging from 3450sq m to 4900sq m. On the top floor is the Meridian View Centre, an observation deck.

9. CITIC Plaza (China)

CITIC Plaza (simplified Chinese: 中信广场; traditional Chinese: 中信廣場; pinyin: Zhōngxìn Guǎngchǎng) is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m (1,283 ft) 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world. Currently, it ranks as the fourth tallest building in China, seventh in Asia, and eighth worldwide.

Located in the growing and expanding Tianhe District, it is part of a complex of the same name which also consists of two 38-story residential buildings. Its proximity includes a new train station which serves the extremely busy Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Hong Kong railways. A new metro station, and the Tianhe Sports Center, where the 6th National Games was held and parts of the upcoming Asian Games 2010 will be held. It is on the same Axis as two new building developments in Guangzhou, the first being the East and West Towers in Zhujiang New City and the Pearl Observation tower. It is surrounded by other tall buildings and is a symbol of Guangzhou's growing wealth and importance.

8. 2 International Finance Centre (China)

A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, IFC consists of two skyscrapers, the IFC Mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the tallest building in Hong Kong, a title formerly held by Central Plaza. It is the third-tallest building in the Greater China region and the seventh-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only the Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Willis Tower exceed it. It is of similar height to the former World Trade Center. The International Commerce Centre, currently under construction above the MTR Kowloon station and scheduled for completion in 2010, will surpass 2IFC in each of these categories.

IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and Towngas.

The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.

7. Jin Mao Tower (China)

The Jin Mao Tower (simplified Chinese: 金茂大厦; traditional Chinese: 金茂大廈; pinyin: Jīn Mào Dàshà; literally "Golden Prosperity Building") is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. Its height was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center which is next to the building. The Shanghai Tower, a 128-story building located next to these two buildings and now under construction, will be even taller.

6. Trump International Hotel & Tower (United States)

The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 92-story structure, which reached a height of 1,389 feet (423 m) including its spire, its roof topping out at 1,170 feet (360 m). It is adjacent to the main branch of the Chicago River, with a view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges over the river. The building received publicity when the winner of the first season of The Apprentice television show, Bill Rancic, chose to manage the construction of the tower.

Trump announced in 2001 that the skyscraper would become the tallest building in the world, but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the building plans were scaled back, and its design has undergone several revisions. When topped out in 2009 it became the second-tallest building in the United States after Chicago's Willis Tower. It is expected to be surpassed by the 1 World Trade Center in New York City in the middle of 2013, and by the on-hold Chicago Spire if completed. Trump Tower surpassed Chicago's John Hancock Center as the building with the world's highest residence above ground-level and held this title until the completion of the Burj Khalifa.

The design of the building includes, from the ground up, retail space, a parking garage, a hotel, and condominiums. The 339-room hotel opened for business with limited accommodations and services on January 30, 2008. April 28 of that year marked the grand opening with full accommodation and services. A restaurant on the 16th floor, named Sixteen, opened in early 2008 to favorable reviews. The building topped out in late 2008 and construction was completed in 2009.

5. Willis Tower (United States)

Willis Tower, formerly named Sears Tower, is a 108-story 1,451 feet (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York. Currently, Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States and the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the world as well as the fifth tallest building in the world to the roof.

Although Sears' naming rights expired in 2003, the building continued to be called Sears Tower for several years. However, in March 2009 London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., agreed to lease a portion of the building and obtained the building's naming rights as part of the agreement. On July 16, 2009, at 10:00 am Central Time, the building was officially renamed Willis Tower.

4. Petronas Twin Towers (Malaysia)

The Petronas Twin Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas) (also known as the Petronas Towers or just Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world's tallest buildings before being surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the international organization Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996).

3. Shanghai World Financial Center (China)

The Shanghai World Financial Center (Abbr: SWFC; simplified Chinese: 上海环球金融中心; traditional Chinese: 上海環球金融中心; pinyin: Shànghǎi huánqiú jīnróng zhōngxīn) is a supertall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai, China. It is a mixed use skyscraper which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and shopping malls on the ground floors. Park Hyatt Shanghai is the hotel component containing 174 rooms and suites. Occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, it is the highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the 53rd to 87th floors of the neighboring Jin Mao Tower.

On 14 September 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) and became the second-tallest building in the world; as well as the tallest structure in the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong. It is currently the third-tallest building in the world.

On 28 August 2008, the SWFC officially opened for business. On August 30 the Observation Deck opened with a view from 3 levels. The highest view is at 474 m (1,555 ft) above ground level.

The SWFC has been lauded for its design and named by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as the best skyscraper of 2008.

2. Taipei 101 (Taiwan)

Taipei 101 (traditional Chinese: 台北101 / 臺北101), also known as the Taipei Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building was the tallest building in the world (with occupiable floors) until it was surpassed in height by the Burj Khalifa on July 21, 2007. The skyscraper was officially the tallest building until the opening of the Burj Khalifa on the 4 of January 2010. Taipei 101, designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed primarily by KTRT Joint Venture and South Korean Samsung C&T received the 2004 Emporis Skyscraper Award and was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005). The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media.

Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The name of the tower (pronounced "Tie-pay one-oh-one" in English) reflects its floor count and carries symbolic meanings alluding to technology and Asian tradition (see "Symbolism" below.) Its postmodernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and gives them modern treatments. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs.

Taipei 101 is owned by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation (TFCC) and managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago. The name originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was literally, Taipei International Financial Center (traditional Chinese: 臺北國際金融中心; pinyin: Táiběi Guójì Jīnróng Zhōngxīn).

Taipei 101 was surpassed in height on 2007 July 21 by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, upon the completion of the Burj's 141st floor.

1. Burj Khalifa (United Arab Emirates)

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"), formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the chief architect, and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa. Therefore, by adoption of SOM's design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting was legally the Design Consultant for the tower.

The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2). The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as "the latest ... in string of monuments to architectural vacancy."

Source: Wiki