Top 10 Tallest Buildings in the World - 2012

1. Burj Khalifa – Dubai, UAE (828 meters):

Formerly known as Burj Dubai, the immense skyscraper was completed in 2010. It is 828 meters (2,716 ft) tall and has 163 floors.

Some of the amazing facts about the World’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa:

• World’s highest elevator installation, situated inside the cylindrical rod at the very top of the building.
• World’s fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s).
• World’s highest mosque (located on the 158th floor)
• World’s highest swimming pool (76th floor)
• World’s highest nightclub (144th floor)
• World’s highest restaurant, Atmosphere, located on 122nd floor at the height of 442 m (1,450 ft).

2. Abraj Al Bait Tower (The Mecca Clock Tower) – Mecca, Saudi Arabia (601 meters):

Mecca Clock Tower, is a building complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It reaches up a height of 601 meters (1,972 feet) and 120 floors. Upon its official opening the structure would surpass Dubai International Airport having the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1,500,000 m²

The complex holds several world records, including:

• The tallest hotel in the world.
• The tallest clock tower in the world.
• The world’s largest clock face.
• The world’s largest building floor area.

The complex’s hotel tower became the second tallest building in the world in 2011, surpassed only by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

3. Taipei 101 Tower - Taipei, Taiwan (509 meters):

Taipei World Financial Center (101), is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District. Built in 2004, it is 509 meters (1667 ft) tall and comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The building ranked officially as the world’s tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

4. World Financial Center – Shanghai, China (492.0 meters):

The Shanghai World Financial Center  is a super-tall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai, China. On 14 September 2007, the skyscraper was topped out, at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) with 101 floors making it the second-tallest building in the world and the tallest structure in the People’s Republic of China at the time. It will be exceeded in height by the nearby Shanghai Tower, due for completion in 2014.

5. Petronas Tower 1 & 2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (452 meters):

The Petronas Towers, built in 1998 (also known as KLCC), they represent the central landmark of the new downtown development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world for six years, until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004. It has 88 floors and is 452 meters (1,483 ft) tall.

6. Greenland Financial Center, Nanjing, China (450 meters):

The Nanjing Greenland Financial Center is a 450-meter (1,476 ft) super-tall skyscraper completed in April 2010 in Nanjing, China. The 89-story building comprises retail and office space in the lower section, and restaurants, a hotel, and a public observatory near the top.

7. Sears Tower – Chicago, Illinois, USA (442 meters):

The Willis Tower (formerly named, and still commonly referred to as, the Sears Tower) is a 108-story, 442 meters (1,451-foot) 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, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years. The Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States and the seventh-tallest freestanding structure in the world.

8. Guangzhou International Finance Center – China (440.2 meters):

Guangzhou International Finance Center also known as Guangzhou West Tower, is a 103 story, 440.2 meters (1,444 ft) tall skyscraper developed by 2010 in China.  The building will be used as a conference center, hotel and office building.

9. Jin Mao Building – Shanghai, China (421 meters):

Jin Mao Building, was developed in 1999 in Shanghai, China. The tower has 88 floors and is 421 metres (1,381 ft.) tall.  It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in China, until surpassed by neighbor, Shanghai financial center.

10. International Finance Center – Hong Kong (415 meters):

International Finance Center Tower, was built in 2003 in Hong Kong. The tower has 88 floors and is 415 meters (1,362 ft) tall. It is the fourth-tallest building in the Greater Chinaand the tenth-tallest building in the world.