World Skyscrapers : Tallest Buildings
post updated 25 September 2026
e-architect cover completed tower buildings, new skyscraper designs, and architecture competitions across the world. The focus is on contemporary high-rise buildings.
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We have 6 pages of World Skyscraper selections.
World Skyscrapers Designs
World Skyscrapers : news + major towers (this page)
Skyscraper Images : A-B
Skyscraper Developments : C-H
Skyscraper Designs : I-N
Tower Designs : O-R
Tower Images : S-Z
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Tower Architecture News – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:
17 January 2026
Inaura Dubai urban tower, UAE
Architect: MVRDV
photo © MVRDV
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International Tower Building Designs in 2025
November 19, 2025
The Greenwich by Rafael Vinoly Tower, New York City, NY, USA
photo : Evan Joseph
10 November 2025
Miracle Residential Twin Towers, Foshan, Guangdong, China
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
picture © Zaha Hadid Architects
November 10, 2025
Sutton Tower New York City, USA
Design: Thomas Juul-Hansen
photo : Kate Glicksberg
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Major Global High-rises in 2024
October 9, 2024
1000M Tower Building, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Architecture: Jahn
photo : Tom Rossiter
May 30, 2024
Salesforce Tower Chicago Office Building, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Architecture: von Weise Associates
photo : Jason O’Rear
24 May 2024
T33 Full-Time Center Shenzhen Office Tower, Shenzhen, China
Architects: Aedas
images : Blackstation Pixel, ACT STUDIO
22 February 2024
BT Tower London hotel building news, England, UK
Design: Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio
MCR Hotels, the third largest hotel owner-operator in the US, has agreed to buy the BT Tower from BT Group:
BT Tower London hotel building
January 31, 2024
Manhattan West Tower, Washington Heights, Manhattan, NY, USA
Architects: SOM
photo: Dave Burk © SOM
January 8, 2024
Four Twenty Five restaurant, New York City, NY, USA
Architects: Foster + Partners
photograph : Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
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Key Skyscraper Buildings in 2023
November 17, 2023
Lever House, 390 Park Avenue, NY, USA
Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill – SOM Architects
photograph : Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM
Lever House, 390 Park Avenue
November 21, 2023
JPMorgan Chase HQ, 270 Park Avenue, NY, USA
Design: Foster + Partners
photograph : Nigel Young / Foster+Partners
JPMorgan Chase HQ, New York City
November 8, 2023
The Greenwich by Rafael Viñoly, New York City, NY, USA
photos courtesy of architects practice
The Greenwich by Rafael Viñoly
27 October 2023
Guangxi China Resources Towers, China
Design: Goettsch Partners (GP)
photo © Arch-Exist
CTBUH 2023 Best Tall Building Award 400+ Meters
October 24, 2023
The Spiral, New York City, NY, USA
Design Architect: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
photo © Laurian Ghinițoiu
The Spiral Skyscraper in New York City
August 12, 2023
One Chicago Downtown Residences, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Architects: Goettsch Partners
photo © Ian Jolipa
25 May 2023
China Resources Qianhai Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Architects: Goettsch Partners (GP)
photo © CreatAR
China Resources Qianhai Center Development
This massive mixed-use complex was developed by CR Land. The architectural project includes five towers totaling nearly 472,000 sqm – the architecture firm’s largest completed project to-date in China.
6 April 2023
LI City Study, Chengdu, China
Architecture: MVRDV
image © Atchain and © Tiptop
Chengdu Jiaozi Courtyard Towers
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Tallest Towers in 2022
28 Oct 2022
Guangxi China Resources Tower Nanning, China
Design: Goettsch Partners
images © Arch-Exist
21 Oct 2022
Hangzhou Winland Center, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Design: Farrells
photo : Winland Group
Hangzhou Winland Center
Located on the banks of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the 230,000m² mixed-use project consists of 2 iconic office towers connected to a retail base linking 7 retail villas and 6 residential towers.
24 August 2022
Chongqing Gaoke Group Ltd Office, Chongqing, China
Design: Aedas
photo : Arch-Exist Photography
Chongqing Gaoke Group Ltd Office Building
This Chinese commercial building uses a twisting shape of the 180m tall tower to form expressive double-curved surfaces on the façades.
17 August 2022
Oasis Towers, Nanjing, China
Oasis Towers, Nanjing
Apr 11, 2022
800 Fulton Market Building, Chicago, USA
Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
photo : Dave Burk
21 February 2022
Guangzhou IFC Tower F52 Office, Guangdong Province, China
Architects: Evans Lee Design
image courtesy of architecture office
International Finance City Tower F52 Office Guangzhou
15 February 2022
Sun Tower in Yantai, Shandong province, China
Design: OPEN
image © OPEN
Sun Tower in Yantai Shandong Building
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New Skyscrapers in 2021
29 December 2021
Sincere Centre Phase II, Chongqing, China
Architects: Aedas
photo : Arch-Exist Photography
Chongqing Guanyinqiao Sincere Centre Phase II
This property development consists of a Grade-A office tower, a serviced apartment tower and a retail podium, in the core area of the Guanyinqiao business district.
29 July 2021
22 Bishopsgate Building, City of London, UK
image courtesy of architects practice
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High-rise Structures in 2020
Oct 15, 2020
110 North Wacker, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Architects: Goettsch Partners, Inc.
image courtesy of architects firm
10 June 2020
Civic Quarter Tower, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Civic Quarter Tower in Canberra
Jan 23, 2020
277 Fifth Avenue Building, NoMad, NYC, USA
Architects: Rafael Viñoly
rendering : THREE MARKS
This 55-storey tower is located in the heart of NoMad, where Manhattan’s East and West Sides, Uptown and Downtown, meet.
Jan 8, 2020
550 Madison in NYC, USA
Architects: Snøhetta
photo © Snøhetta and MOARE
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Modern Tall Building Design in 2019
Dec 27, 2019
Union Station Tower, Chicago, IL, United States of America
Design: Goettsch Partners (GP)
image courtesy of architects practice
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Tower Property News in 2018
15 August 2018
Southbank by Beulah Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Design: UNStudio, Architects
image : Norm Li, courtesy of UNStudio
Southbank by Beulah Tower
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Skyscraper Building Designs Archive
30 Sep 2013
UniCredit Tower, Milan, Italy
Design: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
photo : Giovanni Zanghi
UniCredit Tower
This skyscraper is now the tallest building in Italy. The three towers received LEED Gold pre-certification.
17 Sep 2013
Emporis Skyscraper Award news
Winner: Absolute World Towers, Mississauga, Canada – ‘Marilyn Monroe Skyscraper’
photo © Edvard Mahnic
Emporis Skyscraper Award
The world’s most renowned architecture prize for skyscrapers, the Emporis Skyscraper Award, goes this year to the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga, Canada. The towers were selected from over 300 skyscrapers at least 100 m tall completed in the last year.
12 Sep 2013
Tower Infinity, Seoul, Korea
Design: GDS Architects
image from architect
Tower Infinity
This 450 m tall observation tower has received approval for construction near Incheon International Airport.
30 Aug 2013
Harbin Twin Towers, Haxi District, north east China
Design: spatial practice
image from architect
Harbin Twin Towers
spatial practice has designed the Harbin High Speed Railway west train station Twin Towers. The ‘iconic’ project includes office spaces, residential apartments, retail spaces and a link to a new underground infra-structural hub.
23 Jan 2013
World’s Fastest Elevators – Skyscraper Buildings News
World’s Fastest Elevators
Passengers are catapulted at a speed of 1,010 m per minute, or 60 km/h, from the 5th to the 89th floor of Taipei 101. The ride lasts just 37 seconds, at the end of which passengers step out already 382 meters above the ground at the observation floor of Taiwan’s tallest building.
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Skyscraper Award News
New York by Gehry at Eight Spruce Street wins the Emporis Skyscraper Award
photo : Gehry Photos
Emporis Skyscraper Award winner for 2012
This tower building in New York City is the winner of this annual architecture prize for new skyscrapers. The winners were chosen from over 220 skyscrapers. It is the first skyscraper by the world famous architect Frank Gehry.
26 + 23 Nov 2012
Sky City Tower – World’s Tallest Building
Construction is due to start on the world’s tallest building in Changsha, China.
World Tallest Building image © BROAD Group
Sky City Tower Changsha
Height: 838 m high
Floors: 220 storeys
Title: Sky City tower aka SKYCITY – J220
14 Nov 2012
50 United Nations Plaza, New York, USA – Ground-raising ceremony news
Design: Foster + Partners
image : Foster + Partners
50 United Nations Plaza
Construction is underway on the first residential tower by Foster + Partners in the United States. Developed by Zeckendorf Development with Global Holdings, the 44-storey luxury apartment tower occupies a prestigious location within the green setting of United Nations Plaza, with views of the celebrated modernist UN Headquarters building, the East River and the Manhattan skyline.
Feb 23, 2012
Skyscraper Resource Site
CTBUH Debuts Groundbreaking Skyscraper Resource Site
Only one U.S. tower on list of world’s 10 tallest buildings; China dominates data
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2012 – The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat today launched The Skyscraper Center, the world’s most comprehensive resource for data and information on tall buildings.
The Skyscraper Center (www.skyscrapercenter.com) contains detailed profiles and images on every completed building in the world taller than 200 meters, as well as thousands of other buildings in various stages of development. Users can easily determine the size-ranking of the tower, globally, regionally and within the country, as well as the latest news and data on the project.
World Tallest Buildings image © CTBUH
“The new site builds on our database compiled through 40 years of research and adds valuable new functions, new information and extensive assets for both professionals and non-professionals exploring the world of skyscrapers,” said Timothy Johnson, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a not-for-profit organization based on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (CTBUH), is the leading international organization for builders and designers of tall buildings and cities of the future.
The data in The Skyscraper Center spotlights the latest trends in skyscraper construction, which is in the midst of an unprecedented building boom.
The United States, once the leader in the development of tall buildings, now has only one building, the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower), on the list of the world’s 10 tallest buildings, according to CTBUH research. New York’s Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world for 41 years, is now ranked 18th on the list.
China now boasts 11 of the top 20 buildings in the world.
photo © Andrew McRae
The homepage of The Skyscraper Center features a world map tool which can instantly generate relevant facts and tall building lists on any country in the world. The site also makes it easy to track the latest news and changes to the database.
“The site is interactive,” said Nathanial Hollister, CTBUH production coordinator and leader of the database project. “We encourage people to send in new information and images on projects.”
CTBUH plans to add several significant new elements to the center in the next few months, including robust city and country profiles which will provide detailed graphs and statistics on specific regions, he said.
CTBUH: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
About CTBUH: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (www.ctbuh.org), a not-for-profit group based on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, is the world’s leading resource for professionals involved in the creation and execution of skyscrapers and the cities of the future. Founded in 1969, the group conducts independent research and facilitates the exchange of the latest knowledge available to the public around the world through events, publications and its international network of country representatives.
CTBUH developed international standards for measuring tall building heights and is recognized as the arbiter of such global designations as “The World’s Tallest Building.”
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20 Jan 2012
World Skyscrapers : Tallest Buildings in 2011
Skyscraper Completion Reaches New High for Fifth Year Running
In January of each year, CTBUH publishes a review of tall building construction and statistics from the previous year. The annual story is becoming a familiar one: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and now 2011 have each sequentially broke the record for the most 200 meter or higher buildings completed in a given year. Once again, more 200 m+ buildings were completed in 2011 than in any year previous, with a total of 88 projects opening their doors. It is now foreseeable – indeed likely – that the recent trend of an annual increase in building completions will continue for the next several years, perhaps even through the end of the decade, due in large part to China.
The three tallest buildings to complete in 2011: Kingkey 100 (Shenzhen), Al Hamra Firdous Tower (Kuwait City), and 23 Marina (Dubai).
KK100 Tower, Shenzhen, China
Design: TFP Farrells
photo from TFP Farrells
Kingkey 100 Tower
Al Hamra Firdous Tower project, Kuwait City
Design: SOM Architects
image © Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Al Hamra Firdous Tower
In addition to profiling the tallest buildings completed in 2011, this study examines continuing shifts in the tall building industry and profiles several dominant and emerging construction markets. What surprise city completed the most 200-meter buildings in 2011, surpassing traditional tall building centers like Dubai, Shanghai, and Singapore?
Will the already-remarkable Chinese market continue to expand exponentially and further dominate the skyscraper typology? Are there other, unrealized markets that are yet to discover the benefits of building tall? These and many other questions are examined and answered in this study.
The Shard, London, UK
Design: Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW)
photograph © Andy Spain
The Shard London – new photos
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Some of the world’s highest skyscrapers + background on earlier skyscrapers:
World’s Highest Skyscraper
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
2009
Design: SOM Architects
Burj Khalifa skyscraper + Burj Khalifa – tallest building in the world
photo © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Tallest skyscraper : world’s tallest building since 2007 : 808 metres (2650 feet) reported
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Design: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG)
image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
To be the world’s tallest building, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, near the Red Sea.
At over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and a total construction area of 530,000 square meters (5.7 million square feet), Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece and first construction phase of the Kingdom City development on a 5.3 million-square-meter site in north Jeddah. The tower’s height will be at least 173 meters (568 feet) taller than the world’s current tallest building, Dubai’s 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, which was designed by Adrian Smith while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Kingdom Tower Jeddah – World’s Tallest Building
High Rise Buildings – article added 14 Jun 2011
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World’s highest skyscraper prior to Burj Dubai
Taipei 101, Taiwan – In 2004 Taipei 101 became the tallest building in the world
2003
Design: C.Y. Lee & Partners
photo : Daniel Shih
Taipei 101
449m high; antenna 509m (thus beating Petronas Towers) / 101 storeys
Tallest building in the world ‘ground to pinnacle’ previously: Sears Tower at 527m – 1729ft
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World’s highest skyscraper upon construction
Shanghai World Financial Center
1997-2008: under construction
Design: Kohn Pederson Fox – Architect : William Pedersen
photo © Andrew McRae
492m – 1614ft / 101 storeys
Shanghai World Financial Center – construction info
Developer: Minoru Mori
Due to be tallest building in the world briefly in 2008 (ie tallest ignoring spires), but the building has no spires proposed at time of writing.
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World’s highest skyscraper – proposed
Subjective, may change Chicago Spire – aka Fordham Spire: proposed skyscraper
2006-11 [currently delayed, 2008]
Design: Santiago Calatrava Architects
due to be 610m
Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, China
2009
Design: Information Based Architecture
due to be 610m
picture : Information Based Architecture
Guangzhou TV Tower
Jakarta Tower – Menara Jakarta, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta
2010/11
Design: East China Architecture Design & Research Institute – ECADI
due to be 558m / 1,831 ft high (5m taller than CN Tower)
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World’s highest skyscraper – previous to Taipei 101
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
1998
452m – 1483 ft
Tallest building in the world until 2003 (Taipei 103 took over)
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World’s highest skyscraper – previous to Petronas Towers
Sears Tower Chicago, USA
1973
Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – SOM Architects
Tallest tower in north America; 3rd tallest building in world at time of writing
1450ft / 110 storeys
Sears Tower: world’s tallest building for 25 years, beaten 1998 by Petronas Towers
Sears Tower still tallest building in the world to tips of the antennae: 1729ft
Sears Tower – world-famous Chicago skyscraper building
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World’s Tallest Structure
CN Tower Toronto, Canada
CN Tower
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Famous tall buildings now destroyed
World Trade Center, New York, USA
1966-73; destroyed 2001
Design: Minoru Yamasaki, Emery Roth & Sons
One World Trade Center
417m high
Two World Trade Center
415m high
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Tall buildings over 400m high
International Commerce Centre
International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon, Hong Kong
due to complete 2010
Design: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates with Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd
484m – 1,588ft / 118 storeys
Skyscraper originally planned to be 574m – 1,883ft high
The International Commerce Centre skyscraper should overtake 2 IFC by 2007
Designed by leading world architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the world’s highest hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong is now open. Located within the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the new hotel stands 490 meters above Victoria Harbour, occupying floors 102 to 118 of the building.
Oriental Pearl Tower
Oriental Pearl Tower, Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai
1991-94/95
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468m high
Shenzhen Tower
Kingkey Finance Tower, Luohu, Shenzhen, China
2007-10
Design: Farrells (formerly Terry Farrell & Partners)
439m high / 97 storeys
Architecture competition – winner
Jin Mao Tower Shanghai
Jin Mao Tower, Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai
1998
Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – SOM Architects
420m high / 88 storey skyscraper
Tallest building in China since 2005
Seventh tallest building in world at time of writing
Shanghai Building
This skyscraper is the seventh tallest building in world at time of writing. This Pudong tower’s proportions relate to the number 8, which symbolises prosperity in Chinese traditional culture.
2 IFC Hong Kong
Two International Finance Centre – 2 IFC Hong Kong
2003
Design: Rocco Design Limited, Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects
415m high
ifc2 skyscraper the tallest tower in hong kong, taking over from the 374m high Central Plaza. However, the International Commerce Centre skyscraper is under construction and should overtake 2 IFC skyscraper by 2007.
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Tall buildings over 300m high
Bank of China, Central, Hong Kong
1985-90
I M Pei & Partners; Sherman Kung & Associates Architects Ltd
367m high
Hong Kong tower
Apparently bad feng shui according to Hong Kong architects that I spoke to. Tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989-92, until the completion of Central Plaza, 374m high.
Al Sharq Tower, Sheik Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
2007-
SOM Architects – Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
360m high / 100 storeys
Dubai skyscraper
Residential skyscraper – 268 apartments: For Al Sharq Investments
The Center, Central / Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
1998
DLN Architects & Engineers
346m high
The Center skyscraper
John Hancock Center, Chicago, USA
1970
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
344m high ; 459 m high including antennae
John Hancock Center
Infinity Tower, Dubai
2006-
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Architects
330m high / 80 storeys
Trump International Hotel & Tower, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
2006-
Architects: Atkins
255m high approx / 60 storeys
Shanghai Shimao International Plaza, Shanghai, China
2001-05
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246m high; 333m high – with spires / 60 storeys
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Early Skyscrapers – Major Buildings
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Skyscraper Buildings by City
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Skyscraper Buildings by Country
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Skyscraper Architecture
World’s Tallest Building : Burj Khalifa
Tall Buildings : UK Tower building proposals
Burj Khalifa skyscraper, Dubai
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
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Global High-Rise Structures
Buildings / photos for the World’s highest skyscrapers buildings designs page welcome.