THE WORLD’S TALLEST BUILDINGS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for
AAE 456 20th century Architecture

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

School of architecture
Frank Reynolds AICP Instructor

By
Jacob Bunting
April 8, 2002
 Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ii

Why Build Tall 1

Existing Towers

Jin Mao Tower 2

Sears Tower 4
Petronas Towers 6

Future Superstructures

Taipei Financial Center 8

Union Square 9

Conclusion 10

Appendix

The world’s 50 Tallest skyscrapers 12

Chronology of the world’s tallest buildings 14

Works Cited 17

i
List of Illustrations

Figure 1 Empire State Building 1

Figure 2 Detail of Jin Mao glass and steel Façade 2

Figure 3 Section of Jin Mao Tower 2

Figure 4 Floor Plan of Jin Mao Tower 3

Figure 5 Jin Mao Tower 3

Figure 6 Profile of Sears Tower 4

Figure 7 Ground view of Sears Tower 4

Figure 8 Sears Tower Megaclusters 5

Figure 9 Sears Tower 5

Figure 10 View of Petronas form Across the Bay 6

Figure 11 Profile of Petronas Towers 6

Figure 12 Petronas Design Scheme 7

Figure 13 Petronas Towers 7

Figure 14 Taipei Financial Center 8

Figure 15 Proposed Rendering of Taipei Financial Center 8

Figure 16 Union Square Park 9

Figure 17 Union Square 9

Figure 18 Bank of China 11

Figure 19 Ryugyong Hotel 13

Figure 20 T & C Tower 15

Figure 21 John Hancock Center 17

ii
Why Build Tall

Since the beginning of time, man has been fascinated

by height of construction. Starting from the biblical story of the

tower of Babel to gothic cathedrals, people used large buildings

as a symbol of reaching divinity. Now, super tall structures

have put on a different meaning. For financial employers and

hotel operators, height has become a synonymous with power.

Placing their structure in the view for thousands to see reminds

people of their presence or dominance over other companies.

Many cities do not have much land, therefore height is the only

way to increase their commerce. Building up increases

population and promotes business.

Currently the four tallest towers in the world are

Petronas towers one and two in Kula Lumpur, the Sears Tower

in Chicago, and Jin Mao in Shanghai. These towers, despite

the reasons for their height, lead the world as examples for their

height and structure. These towers will not keep their record

status for long as there are a few buildings that are currently in

planning and under construction that will surpass these current

record heights.

Figure 1 Empire State Building

1
Jin Mao Tower

Figure 2 Detail of Jin Mao’s glass and steel Façade

The Jin Mao Tower is Symmetrical in plan . This

symmetry is reinforced by the four entrances on ground

level. Office space occupies the lower 47 floors and a five

star Grand Hyatt Hotel resides in the top 38 floors. This

composition allows easy access for employees to their

offices and impressive view for the residence. On the 88th

floor there is an observation deck that allow panoramic

view of Shanghai. This deck is the largest (1520 m2 ) and

the tallest (340.1 m) observation deck in the China.

Underneath the impressive tower lies a three story parking

Figure 3 Section of Jin Mao Tower
garage. This garage houses the mechanical, electrical,

and sewage equipment as well as holds up to 993 cars and

1000 bicycles, the most popular way to travel in China.

Surrounding the tallest building in China lies a

landscaped courtyard and a six story arcade of shops and

services. This green space is intended to be a transition

between the busy street of Shanghai’s financial district and

2
the Jin Mao Tower. Whether people come to enjoy the reflecting

pool or to sit among the trees it is also a place to relax.

The stepped heights and the final crown of the Jin Mao

Tower is designed after the Chinese pagoda. This ancient

structure is a sacred vernacular symbol for the country, in which

one may honor Buddha. The 1380 foot tall tower also refers to Location
2 shi Ji Avenue, Lujiazui Centeral
the number eight, a lucky number in Chinese tradition. The tower Financial District, Pudong
Shanghai, China 200121
has 88 floors which signifies double good fortune. Starting from Height
Tip 421 m (1380 ft)
the 56th floor, an atrium opens up from the center of the building Structure 421 m (1380 ft)
Roof 370 m (1214 ft)
Top floor 366 m (1201 ft)
all the way to the crown creating interesting views for hotel
Floors
occupants ( see figure 3). Above ground 88
Below ground 3
The building resists lateral loads by a central reinforced Design Team
Architects
concrete core surrounded by a compellation of eight slabbed Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Shanghai Institute of Architecture
Structural
pillars and eight smaller pillars around the perimeter ( as seen in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

figure 4). General Information

Developer
China Shanghai Foreign Trade
Center Ltd
Style postmodern
Function office hotel
Materials Reinforced concrete,
steel, and glass

Years of construction
1993-1998

Gross floor area

278,707 m2 (3,000,002 ft2)

Figure 4 Floor Plan of Jin Mao Tower

Figure 5 Jin Mao Tower

3
Sears Tower

Figure 7 Ground view of Sears Tower

The Sears Tower was the tallest building in

the world for over twenty years , only recently to be

surpassed by the Petronas Towers. The Sears,

Roebuck and Company wanted a headquarters

where they could consolidate all of their many

functions into one structure. SOM was hired to build

the Sears Tower. This tower contains almost 98

acres of office space. The first 49 floors were

designed for the use of Sears, Roebuck and

Company and the remaining floors were designed to

be leased out to tenants.

The shape of the structure became an

inspiration for other buildings. Most of it’s

predecessors were rectangular in shape no matter

the height. The Sears Tower tapers at the

Figure 6 Profile of Sears Tower

50th, 60th, and 90th floors creating a massive

structure that appears to be getting lighter as it

4
 ascends. The stepped profile and smooth curtain walls are

constructed from darkly clad aluminum and glass.

The great structure is

supported by nine seventy-five

foot square cluster tubes, Location

233 south Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
creating nine separate towers United States of America

combined to make one. Each Height

Tip 527 m (1729 ft)
Structure 442 m (1450 ft)
cluster has a different height with Roof 442 m (1450 ft)
Top floor 436 m (1430 ft)
only two reaching the full height
Floors
Above ground 108
(see figure 8). The building
Design Team
resists lateral loads by dividing Architect
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Structural
the stress among the nine Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Figure 8 Sears Tower Megaclusters Mechanical
megaclusters. Jaros Baum & Bolles

The monstrous building is just that. The building General Information

Owner
TrizecHahn Properties
creates extreme high winds at the foot of the tower creating Developer
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
discomfort for pedestrians. Tenants are subject to terrifying Construction company
Morse Diesel
Style international
heights. One employee reported creaking columns, vibrating Function office
Materials steel, aluminum,
window panes, and noticeable swaying of the building. Birds and glass

Years of construction
and bats are unable to distinguish between the reflective glass 1974
Gross floor area
and the sky, crashing into the solid wall to their deaths. In 1988, 320,171 m2 (3,446,321 ft2 )

the Sears, Roebuck and Company relocated to the suburbs

due to the problems caused by the monster and unexpected

commercial inactivity.

This building was not only a lesson for a better façade,

but it was a lesson for a poor climatic design.

Figure 9 Sears Tower

5
Petronas Towers

Upon completion of the Petronas

Towers, the United States lost a symbol of its

own invention, the world’s tallest tower. The

national oil company, Petronas, occupies both

towers. Each tower consists of conference

rooms, dining facilities, observation decks, and

shared facilities on the 41st and 42nd floors,

the same level as the sky bridge connecting the

Figure 10 View of Petronas form Across the Bay
two towers. Each of the twin towers also have

a Surau, which is a small prayer mosque where Muslim employees can go to pray toward

Mecca. The ground level holds a symphonic concert hall and commercial centers. The

Petronas towers are the first phase of a master project encompassing 96 acres in Kuala

Lumpur’s business center. The new city

center will encompass 21 million square

feet of office space, hotel rooms, shops

and recreation, all surrounding a core of

a large park.

The main requirement at the

beginning of the project was to keep a

Malaysian style of architecture. Cesar

Pelli embraced this concept and

designed the towers after traditional

Figure 11 Profile of Petronas Towers

6
 Malaysian buildings and objects, the climate and, more

importantly, the dominant Islamic culture. The impressive towers

create a portal into Kuala Lumpur, created not by the building but

by the void in between the two towers.

Location
Kuala Lumpur City Centre 50088
The Petronas towers consist of a simple structure. Cast Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

in place high strength concrete core and 16 cylindrical tube Height

Tip 452 m (1483 ft)
Structure 452 m (1483 ft)
framing around the exterior hold the building erect. The Roof 378 m (1242 ft)
Top floor 375 m (1230 ft)
foundation is a thick concrete raft under each tower supported by
Floors
Above ground 88
104 barrette piles, ranging up to 340 Below ground 5

feet deep. Even at that depth, the Design Team

Architect Cesar Pelli & Assoc.
Structural Thornton-Tomasetti
piles don’t reach bedrock. Mechanical Flack + Kurtz
Façade Design Enclos Corp.
The plan of the towers
General Information
Developer
consists of two interlocking squares Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Construction company
underlying eight small circles, Pavarini Construction Co., Inc.
Style postmodern
Function office
creating a 16 pointed figure. A Materials Reinforced concrete,
steel, and glass
similar feature to many Islamic
Years of construction
1992-1998
temples (see figure 12). Gross floor area
395,000 m (4,251,780 ft2)
2

Figure 12 Petronas Design Scheme

Figure 13 Petronas Towers

7
 Under Construction

Location
8, Sung-Chih Road,
Shin-Yi District, Taipei, Taiwan

Height
Tip 508 m (1667 ft)
Structure 508 m (1667 ft)
Roof 448 m (1470 ft) Figure 15 Proposed Rendering of
Top floor 438 m (1437 ft) Taipei Financial Center

Floors The Taipei Financial Center will be the largest project in the
Above ground 101
Below ground 5
history of the National Architectural field, as well as the tallest building
Design Team
Architect C.Y. Lee & Partners in Taiwan. This project, which is currently under construction, will be
Structural Thornton-Tomasetti
include an arched shopping mall, a multi-functional social space, and
General Information
Developer an observation loft in the tower.
Taipei Financial Center Corp.
Construction company
The Turner Corporation The financial center takes advantage of traditional Japanese
Style setback skyscraper
Function office architecture for the creation of it form. The building also was designed
Materials
Reinforced concrete, Steel,
and glass after a blossoming flower. In the Japanese culture this type of flower

Years of construction signifies financial richness and everlasting vitality. The newest tower in
1999-2003
Gross floor area
412,500 m2 (4,440,150 ft2) Taipei takes on these characteristics by opening upward.

The tower will be built with high technological, energy conserv-

ing equipment, including crystal clear, low-e glazing and economical,

innovative lighting. With this combination the building will radiate at

night and be beautifully transparent during the day. The Taipei Finan-

cial Center will reorganize the city’s skyline and provide a light of hope

to all that live there.

Figure 14 Taipei Financial Center

8
 Proposed Tower
Union Square is a proposed land development using the latest

technology in every aspect. Situated on 266.8 acres, this master

complex will include luxury apartments, two high class hotels, one

million square foot indoor shopping mall, 2.5 million square foot state

of the art office space, 700,000 square foot beautifully landscaped

park, and plenty of parking

spaces for residents, workers and

Location
Kowloon Station
guests. Residential living Hong Kong, China

includes three 75 story towers Height

Tip 480 m (1575 ft)
Structure 480 m (1575 ft)
providing 1,122 high quality Roof 480 m (1575 ft)

apartments, top class clubhouse, Floors

Above ground 102
Figure 16 Union Square Park
and serviced apartments. The Design Team
Architects
soon to be largest shopping mall in Asia will include a range of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
DLN Architects & Engineers
Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP
international and local brands, as well as, a wide variety of different
General Information
cuisines. The Park will include a multi-sport and entertainment Developer
Sun Hung Properties

complex. Residents, workers, guests, and tourists will have Function mix use

panoramic views over Victoria Harbor to the sea.

Years of construction
2003-2007
Union Square is conveniently placed minutes from the airport, Gross floor area
356,838 m2 (3,841,004 ft2)
the business district of Hong Kong, and a new Disneyland Theme

Park in Hong Kong. Union Square is also traveling distance from

mainland China. Proposed roadways and railways will help to

improve traffic.

In 2007, upon completion, Union Square will be the tallest

building in the world. Officials are hoping that this will be the global

gateway of the world as China becomes the new focal point of the

21st century. This will be the trademark of Hong Kong and an

architectural icon to the world.

Figure 17 Union Square

9
Buildings of the Future

Despite the collapse of the World Trade Center in New

York, construction of new towers will continue to soar higher and

higher into the sky. New technology, New materials, and new

construction methods unknown to us today will let us build taller

then ever before. Perhaps up is not the direction of the future.

Future structures could easily be build underground, in the sea, or

even on the moon. In the 1960s, people never dreamed of anyone

being able to reach the moon, yet Neil Armstrong touched the lunar

surface in 1969. We cannot predict the future of our built

environment, but we do know that it will be grand.

10
 Appendix

Appendix A
The world’s 50 Tallest skyscrapers 12

Appendix B
Chronology of the world’s tallest buildings 14

Figure 18 Bank of China

11
 The World’s 50 Tallest Skyscrapers
This was taken from the official SKYSCRAPERS.COM Tallest Buildings Listing of The World's
100 Tallest buildings. This page holds the World's Top 50 high-rise buildings and is the most
accurate compilation of its kind worldwide. The listing is determined through the members of the
SBDC and is updated every three to twelve months. It contains completed and topped out
towers which are under construction or on hold. This Listing is based entirely on the buildings'
structural height. TV towers, masts, or any other building types are not included. For more
information go to WWW.SKYSCRAPERS.COM.

# Building City Height Floors Year

1 Petronas Tower Kuala Lumpur 452 m 88 1998
2 Petronas Tower II Kuala Lumpur 452 m 88 1998
3 Sears Tower Chicago 442 m 108 1974
4 Jin Mao Tower Shanghai 421 m 88 1998
5 CITIC Plaza Guangzhou 391 m 80 1997
6 Shun Hing Square Shenzhen 384 m 69 1996
7 Empire State Building New York City 381 m 102 1931
8 Central Plaza Hong Kong 374 m 78 1992
9 Bank of China Tower Hong Kong 369 m 72 1989
10 Emirates Office Tower Dubai 355 m 54 1999
11 The Center Hong Kong 350 m 73 1998
12 T & C Tower Kaohsiung 348 m 85 1997
13 Aon Center Chicago 346 m 83 1973
14 John Hancock Center Chicago 344 m 100 1969
15 Burj Al Arab Dubai 321 m 60 1999
16 Baiyoke Tower II Bangkok 320 m 94 1997
17 Chrysler Building New York City 319 m 77 1930

18 Bank of America Plaza Atlanta 312 m 55 1992

19 Library Tower Los Angeles 310 m 73 1990
20 Menara Telekom Kuala Lumpur 310 m 55 2000
21 Emirates Hotel Tower Dubai 309 m 56 2000
22 AT&T Corporate Center Chicago 307 m 60 1989
23 Chase Tower Houston 305 m 75 1982
24 Two Prudential Plaza Chicago 303 m 64 1990
25 Ryugyong Hotel Pyongyang 300 m 105 1991
26 First Canadian Place Toronto 298 m 72 1975
27 Kingdom Centre Riyadh 296 m 30 2001
28 Wells Fargo Plaza Houston 296 m 71 1983
29 Landmark Tower Yokohama 296 m 70 1993

12
 # Building City Height Floors Year
30 Bank of America Tower Seattle 295 m 76 1985
31 311 South Wacker Drive Chicago 293 m 65 1990
32 SEG Plaza Shenzhen 292 m 72 2000
33 American International New York City 290 m 66 1932
34 Cheung Kong Center Hong Kong 290 m 70 1999
35 Key Tower Cleveland 289 m 57 1991
36 One Liberty Place Philadelphia 288 m 61 1987
37 Plaza 66 Shanghai 288 m 66 2001
38 Tomorrow Square Shanghai 285 m 55 2001
39 Trump Building New York City 283 m 71 1930
40 Bank of America Plaza Dallas 281 m 72 1985
41 United Overseas Bank Plaza One Singapore 280 m 66 1992
42 Republic Plaza Singapore 280 m 66 1995
43 OUB Centre Singapore 280 m 63 1986
44 Citigroup Center New York City 279 m 59 1977
45 Scotia Plaza Toronto 275 m 68 1989
46 Williams Tower Houston 275 m 64 1983
47 Renaissance Tower Dallas 270 m 56 1974
48 Heyin Plaza Guangzhou 269 m 66 2002
49 Trump World Tower New York City 269 m 72 2001
50 Al Faisaliah Center Riyadh 267 m 30 2000

Figure 19 Ryugyong Hotel

13
Chronology of the world’s
tallest buildings
This page was taken From www.skyscrapers.com.
This is a listing of the tallest buildings in the world in
the order of their construction. This chronology dates
back to 1890. For further information go to
WWW.SKYSCRAPERS.COM.

14
 Figure 20 T & C Tower

15
16
Works Cited

Cerver, Francisco Asensio. The Architecture of Skyscrapers. New York:

Watson-Guptill Publications, 1997.

Pelli, Cesar and Michael j. Crosbie. Petronas Towers. New York: Wiley
Academy, 2001.

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 100 of the World’s Tallest
Buildings. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press Inc., 1998.

Pelli, Cesar. “The Petronas Towers.” Architectural Design. 65.7/8 (July-

August 1995) 62-65.

“Jin Mao Building.” Architectural Design. 65.7/8 (July-August 1995) 96.

Mierop, Caroline. Skyscrapers, Higher and Higher. France: Institut Fran-

cais D’Architecture, 1995.

Dupre, Judith. Skyscrapers. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publish-
ers, Inc., 1996.

www.Skyscrapers.com

www.skyscraperpage.com

Figure 21 John Hancock Center

17