Table of Contents
What’s the Tallest Building in the World?
Are you afraid of heights? If so, then this may not be the right blog post for you. However, if you’re excited by big or tall buildings and would like to journey to the biggest or tallest building in the world, then you’re in luck! Here, you will discover the exact location to get a bird’s eye view of the world from the tallest buildings that humankind has ever made! Are you ready to carpe diem? Awesome! Then let’s dive in.
Oh, and a quick side note, there’s also a pretty cool blog post on Holiday Nomad about the tallest buildings in New York, if you’re interested. There, you’ll find some great information about “the city that never sleeps“. Anyway, let’s get back to the topic at hand. We’re going to start off with the largest buildings in the world and then move onto the tallest building in the world.
Throughout history, human knowledge on engineering and architecture has tremendously increased, especially with the aid of computer-aided design and other technological breakthroughs. It is a wonder to see such ingenuity produce the most amazing structures that literally soar to high heavens.
I. Largest Buildings in the World
3. Jean-Luc Lagardere Plant
With 1.5 billion gallons in volume, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant at the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France is known as the second largest building by usable space. It houses the world’s largest airplane as well, the Airbus A380, for it is an aviation facility. Though it may seem unimaginable, but the four massive walls of this huge facility can hold out the aircraft’s assembly and the ground testing processes. Using more than 50,000 tons of steel, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant was completed in 2004. Inclusive of the plant were other facilities such as restaurants, salons, a fuel station, and a congress center.
2. Great Mosque of Mecca
All the way from Saudi Arabia lies the Great Mosque of Mecca, also known as Al Masjid Al Haram, which holds a maximum capacity of 4 million people—could you believe that? It is also the largest and oldest mosque in the world with 2.1 billion gallons in volume. The whole area surrounds the Kaaba, the holy shrine to which it receives millions of Islamic worshipers.
1. Boeing Everett Factory
Based on a volume of 3.5 billion gallons, the largest building in the world is the Boeing Factory in Everett, Washington. Constructed in 1967, this aircraft assembly facility manufactures Boeing airplanes and supports the assembly of aircraft, primarily Boeing aircraft, from 747 to 787. In fact, due to the intense heated machinery, the million lightbulbs installed, and the 15,000 plus employees who work here, the facility doesn’t even need a heating system for its enormity. Despite that, the Boeing Factory implements and exercises safety precautions. It also has its own hospital clinic, a fire department, and a police station.
II. Tallest Buildings in the World
3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower
With a height of 1,972 feet, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia has a total of 120 floors. Completed in 2012, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel caters to rich Muslim patrons seeking comfortable accommodations on their pilgrimage to the Hajj. With a gigantic footprint providing a broader base support, this skyscraper is like the Big Ben on steroids.
2. Shanghai Tower
Spiraling toward the sky, the 2073-feet Shanghai Tower has 128 floors with a design from Gensler that embraces an inner glass façade and a twirling form. The tower’s interior is divided into nine zones with components stacking atop one another. The curved exterior is not just a beauty to behold; it is also an engineering wonder because it reduces the wind loads, making it more balanced and resistant.
Opened in 2016, this gigantic tower features one of the world’s highest observation decks, from which onlookers can expect a to see the best angles of the city from the top.
1. The Burj Khalifa
What is the tallest building in the world? The Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. As of now, the sprawling sky-pointing Burj Khalifa remains to be the tallest building in the world, with a height of 2,716 feet. This 163-storey mega-structure has a lot of stories to tell, architecture-wise. Its innovative tripodal design make its fine-shaped edges cut through the wind like the front of a boat, reducing turbulence and providing greater stability.
The Burj Khalifa took five years to finish with a total cost of a hefty $1.5 billion. This remarkable landmark of Dubai shatters all world records for tallest structures—coming in at nearly 100 times higher than Palestine’s Tower of Jericho.
III. Highest Buildings in the World
3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower
2. Shanghai Tower
1. Burj Khalifa
Main Takeaways
Take a leap of faith and explore for yourself the beauty of the world from a bird’s eye view. Here is a list of the largest, tallest, and highest buildings in the world.
I. Largest Buildings in the World
3. Jean-Luc Lagardere Plant
2. Great Mosque of Mecca
1. Boeing Factory
II. Tallest Buildings in the World
3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower
2. Shanghai Tower
1. Burj Khalifa
III. Highest Building in the World
3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower
2. Shanghai Tower
1. Burj Khalifa
Appendix
Figure 1 | Largest Building in the World
| Rank | Touropia (10 Largest Buildings in the World) | CNet (Biggest buildings in the world ranked) | Largest.org [10 Largest Buildings in the World (by Height and Area)] |
| 1 | Boeing Factory | Boeing Factory | Aalsmeer Flower Auction |
| 2 | Great Mosque of Mecca | Great Mosque of Mecca | Dubai Mall |
| 3 | Jean-Luc Lagardere Plant | Jean-Luc Lagardere Plant | Tesla Factory |
| https://www.touropia.com/largest-buildings-in-the-world/ | https://www.cnet.com/pictures/biggest-buildings-in-the-world-ranked/14/ | https://largest.org/structures/buildings/ |
Figure 2 | Tallest Building in the World
| Rank | Business Insider (The 17 tallest buildings in the world right now, ranked) | Popular Mechanics (These Are the World’s 30 Tallest Buildings) | Largest.org [10 Largest Buildings in the World (by Height and Area)] |
| 1 | Burj Khalifa | Burj Khalifa | Burj Khalifa |
| 2 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai Tower |
| 3 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel | Kingdom Clock Tower |
| Website | https://www.businessinsider.com/the-tallest-buildings-in-the-world-2015-12 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/g1705/21-tallest-buildings-in-the-world/ | https://largest.org/structures/buildings/ |
Figure 3 | Tallest Structure in the World
| Rank | WeForum.org (These are the world’s tallest structures throughout history) | Wikipedia (List of Tallest Structures) |
| 1 | Burg Khalifa | Burg Khalifa |
| 2 | Warsaw Radio Mast* | Warsaw Radio Mast* |
| *Note: The Warsaw Radio Mast had collapsed in 1991, and it was once the tallest structure in the world with 2,120 feet or 646 meters high, so I had to disregard the list. | ||
| Website | https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/tallest-historical-structures/ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_structures |
Figure 4 | Highest Building in the World
| Rank | Skyscraper Center (100 Tallest Completed Buildings in the World by Height to Architectural Top) | Arch Daily (These Are the Tallest Buildings in the World Right Now) | CNN (10 tallest buildings in the world) |
| 1 | Burj Khalifa | Burj Khalifa | Burj Khalifa |
| 2 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai Tower |
| 3 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Makkah Royal Clock Tower |
| Website | https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings | https://www.archdaily.com/779178/these-are-the-worlds-25-tallest-buildings | https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/tallest-buildings-world-2019/index.html |
