Trends Drive Buildins Even Higher

Image via WikipediaWhile reading an article found it very interesting so I am reposting it intact as the author wrote it. But it has a very interesting about all of the big building that are built around the world

Trends Drive Buildings Even Higher
By Stefan Swanepoel
Height and creating the biggest or tallest building has fascinated man for centuries. During the 20th century the United States gradually became the dominant builder with buildings such as the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers, the KVLY-TV Mast, the Chrysler Building and the Sears Towers being but a few that had held the record as the world's tallest man-made structure.

Since the 1990s Asia has come forward as the new leader with record breaking buildings being built in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and China. Their dominance however was short lived with the United Arab Emirates making sure that Dubai is squarely placed on the world map as the #1 place in the world for the most unusual building and now it also claims the world's tallest man-made structure.

Here are the top 10 highest buildings in the world today.

10. GRES-2 Power Station

The Power Station Ekibastuz (better known as GRES-2) is located in Kazakhstan. Built in 1987 it remains one of the largest coal-fired power stations in the world.

9. Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur are the world's largest twin towers and were the world's tallest building at the date of their completion until it was surpassed by Taipei 101 in 2004. The tapering twin towers, each 88 stories, are connected by a sky bridge.

8. VLF Transmitter Lualualei

The VLF transmitter is located near Lualualei in Hawaii and is a facility of the United States Navy. Built in 1972 the two guyed masts, each 1503 feet tall, are also the tallest structures electrically insulated against ground.

7. BREN-Tower

The "Bare Reactor Experiment, Nevada" (BREN) was first erected in Yucca Flat in 1962 before being moved to its current location (Jackass Flats) for the High Energy Neutron Reaction Experiment (HENRE) program; testing radiation. The structure is owned by the Department of Energy and was closed in 2006.

6. Shanghai World Financial Center

The Shanghai World Financial Center is a mixed use skyscraper, which consists of office spaces, hotel rooms, conference rooms, observation decks and shops. The 175 room Park Hyatt Shanghai opened mid-2008. The main building topped out at 1,615 feet in 2007 to become the tallest structure in China.

5. Taipei 101

Taipei 101 is a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2006 Newsweek magazine hailed it as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World while Discovery Channel titled it one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering. Taipei 101 is the first building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height. It also holds the world record in three of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's height categories: Tallest to the structural top, tallest to the roof, and highest occupied floor.

4. Sears Tower

The Sears Tower surpassed the World Trade Towers in 1973 to become the world's highest building at the time. The 108 story building in Chicago was commissioned by Sears Roebuck and Company in 1970 and still has the highest occupied building floor, more than 200 feet higher than the highest occupied floor of the Petronas Towers.

3. CN Tower

Located in downtown Toronto, Canada, the CN Tower is a communications and tourist tower. The CN Tower has the highest public observation deck on Earth (at 1,465 feet). The tower is said to have 147 stories because the internal staircase has that many levels from the ground up to the Skypod.

2. KVLY-TV Mast

The KVLY-TV mast, located near Fargo, North Dakota and standing 2,063 ft tall, became the tallest artificial structure upon its completion in 1963. The top of the mast is reachable by service elevator or ladder. Since its completion the Federal Aviation Administration has capped this height as the maximum height for any future structure in the U.S. so no taller structure may legally be built.

1. Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai has already smashed all world records as the tallest building, tower and man-made structure on earth and will be recognized as such upon its official opening when it is expected to peak at 2,087ft. The 5-year building project started in September 2004 and is scheduled for completion September 2009.