World of Facts

New fact... more like an essay...

"Daddy", said the offspring, "what's the tallest building in the world?". This is one of the good things about children as they get older, they ask more interesting questions - and this is easier to answer than one of the trickiest she ever posed "what's meat made out of?".

I was sure I knew the answer to this... it had been the Petronas Towers (in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) until very recently when Taipei 101 in Taiwan was finished. The Petronas Towers peaked at 452 m at their highest points, but Taipei 101's spire hits 508 m (some sources state 509 m). However...

Life, as we know, is never simple. Firstly let's confirm the identity of the tallest man-made structure (that's structure, not building) on Earth - it's the KTHI TV-tower in Fargo, North Dakota. At 629 m there's no argument. But it's not classed as a building as it has no accommodation for people and it's primary use is for telecommunications - any building which takes the 'highest building' title must be built for residential, business, or manufacturing purposes.

So, is that the end of the argument? Taipei 101 is the tallest building, KTHI TV-tower is the tallest structure. Well, not according to the good people of Toronto - if you go to the web site of the CN Tower they proudly proclaim it to be "the world's tallest building". And standing at 553.33 m high I'd say they have a point. So why doesn't the CN Tower (pictured on the left below) hold the official record? It's all to do with the definition of the word 'building' - the CN Tower is, for the most part, an enormous concrete erection (snigger) with no individual floors and housing nothing but elevators. Of course, the elevators do go up to an observation deck which can accommodate people.

Now, if the people of Toronto are a bit miffed by this, consider the inhabitants of the Windy City (you know I mean Chicago of course). The highest point of the Sears Tower is 527 m. Hold on... that's higher than Taipei 101 (second left) and the Petronas Towers (second right). Indeed, but the Sears Tower is officially the third highest building on Earth. Confused? Let me explain - it now comes down to the rules and regulations of the World Council on Tall Buildings. The Council put in place four criteria - absolute top, structural height, the highest occupied floor and the height at the roof - criteria #2, structural height, is the clincher. The Sears Tower is the highest only because of it's antennae - it's main structure rises to only (only?) 442 m. But if you look at the image here, it appears that the main structure of the Sears Tower (on the right) is higher than the main structure of the Petronas Towers. Prior to Taipei 101 being completed, the Council gave the award to the Petronas Towers because the masts are an integral part of the structure, rather than just being bolted on. Bit of a swizz if you ask me. Taipei 101's mast is also considered 'integral' and it's 449 m at it's roof.

So there you go... the world's tallest building, according to the rules and regulations, is Taipei 101. But for how long? Work has already commenced on Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and upon completion in 2008 (possibly 2009) it's spire will reach 705 m (that's over 0.43 miles) and it's upper floor will stretch to around 650 m (subject to final confirmation). It goes without saying that this is much higher than the rumoured 540 m of New York's proposed Freedom Tower. Whatever would Steve McQueen's fire chief character from 'The Towering Inferno' say?

And a quick bonus fact (as if all this wasn't enough) - mention skyscrapers and you tend to think of the USA, perhaps New York. Think again... five of the top ten highest buildings are in China (which now includes Hong Kong), and they have another three under construction that would enter the top ten (although they would nudge out some of the current buildings).