Read on for a list of the current top 10 best and tallest skyscrapers in the world, as assessed by their highest architectural feature. Some, like Elon Musk, believe the solution to increasing demand is to look down instead of up perhaps future skyscrapers will actually be inverted ‘ Earthscrapers.’ The specific future of skyscraper development if we continue construction at this rate is uncertain, but likely to involve even more impossible heights and incredible technology – it is even possible that skyscrapers may become fused with smart tech and multifunctional. Overall, China holds the record for the most total skyscrapers per country – standing at 2,605 – and is followed by United States (840), and the United Arab Emirates (305). The other cities with most skyscrapers are Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China (292) followed closely by New York City, USA (287), then Dubai in the UAE (232) and Shanghai, China (175). Skyscrapers Around the WorldĬurrently the city boasting the most skyscrapers is Hong Kong, housing a staggering 480. Most buildings over a certain height will have a Turned Mass Damper, a device with a matching resonant frequency to that of the structure that serves as a counterweight to the building’s sway.

The top of the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates – sways at about two metres. This involves ensuring that the substructure is built on a strong foundation generally blasted from bedrock, as well as architectural strategies in the building design such as small nooks or channels which can catch and slow wind. Perhaps the most prominent issue is making sure that skyscrapers are capable of swaying in the wind – as all tall buildings must – without any danger of a collapse. However, this record was later crushed by the Abraj Al Brait in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the most expensive skyscraper to ever be built – costing an astounding $15 Billion USD – which was constructed in just three months.Ĭommon concerns for the construction and design of skyscrapers are challenges of gravity, plumbing, wind and elevators. One of if not the most famous skyscraper in the world is the iconic Empire State Building of Manhattan, New York City, which was constructed in just one record-breaking year and forty-five days. The strong yet light steel skeleton allows for skyscraper architecture to reach daring feats of height that walls of load-bearing reinforced concrete could not. The weight of the building is distributed amongst the vertical columns, alleviating the pressure of gravity on individual walls. Skyscraper construction begins with a steel skeleton formed by vertical columns of riveted metal beams, which are then strengthened by attached horizontal girder beams.

Generally, a skyscraper building is considered to be any continuously habitual and multistory high-rise building of over 100-150 meters in height. There is no universally agreed upon definition for what constitutes as an official skyscraper. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and developing modern architectural practices, the term has culturally shifted to mean only exceptionally tall buildings – generally over 40-50 stories. Originally, the term skyscraper referred to a building of 10-20 stories (the Home Insurance Building standing at just 10).

Since then, new feats of modern architecture have allowed skyscraper construction to soar far beyond that first design by contemporary standards, the Home Insurance Building is not even considered a skyscraper anymore. The refinement of the Bessemer process meant that steel frames, stronger and lighter than iron, could now be used to create multistory buildings the likes of which had never before been seen. Following the 1871 Great Chicago Fire which decimated most of Chicago’s wooden buildings, Chicago Home Insurance Building architect William LeBaron Jenny pioneered skyscraper design by searching for a more fire-resistant structure.

Skyscraper foundation design