World skyscrapers photos, world’s tallest buildings news, highest towers pictures, high-rises designs

World Skyscrapers : Tallest Buildings

post updated 7 March 2026

e-architect cover completed tower buildings, new skyscraper designs, and architecture competitions across the world. The focus is on contemporary high-rise buildings.

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

+++

Tower Architecture News – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:

17 January 2026
Inaura Dubai urban tower, UAE
Architect: MVRDV

photo © MVRDV

+++

International Tower Building Designs in 2025

November 19, 2025
The Greenwich by Rafael Vinoly, 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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

photo : Mathias Beinling
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.

+++

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.

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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

+++

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.

+++

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)

+++

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)

+++

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

+++

World’s Tallest Structure

CN Tower Toronto, Canada
CN Tower

+++

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

+++

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

Oriental Pearl Tower
Oriental Pearl Tower, Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai
1991-94/95
–
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

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.

+++