Skyscrapers, Ranked

At 828 metres it has been the world's tallest building since 2010, holding records for highest occupied floor and tallest free-standing structure. Its tapering buttressed-core design is a genuine engineering landmark.

Built in just 410 days during the Depression, it was the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years. It remains the definitive Art Deco skyscraper and a global symbol of New York.

Its stainless-steel terraced crown is the most beautiful spire in the world and briefly made it the tallest building on Earth. A pure Art Deco masterpiece by architect William Van Alen.

The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, its symbolic 1,776-foot height honors the year of American independence. A dignified rebuilding on hallowed ground.

World's tallest building from 2004 to 2010, its pagoda-inspired tiers are famously stabilized by a giant 660-tonne tuned mass damper visible to visitors. Engineered to survive typhoons and earthquakes.

The world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 and still the tallest twin towers ever built, linked by a dramatic double-decker skybridge. Their Islamic-motif floor plan is instantly recognizable.

The world's third-tallest building, its 120-degree twisting form cuts wind loads by 24 percent and houses one of the world's fastest elevators. A showcase of sustainable supertall design.

The tallest building in the UK, Renzo Piano's tapering glass shard reshaped the London skyline. Its faceted, incomplete-spire silhouette is a modern icon.

The tallest building in the world from 1973 to 1998, its bundled-tube structural system was a revolutionary engineering breakthrough. Forever the Sears Tower to Chicagoans.

I. M. Pei's crystalline tower uses a bold asymmetric trussed structure inspired by bamboo shoots. A striking, sharp-edged landmark of the Hong Kong skyline.

Foster's aerodynamic glass 'Gherkin' became an instant London icon on completion in 2004 and an early poster child for energy-efficient tall buildings. Distinctive without being gaudy.

Three 55-storey towers crowned by a 340-metre-long SkyPark with an infinity pool make it one of the most recognizable buildings of the 21st century. Engineering theatre as tourism.

Nicknamed the 'Cathedral of Commerce,' it was the world's tallest building until 1930 and pioneered ornate neo-Gothic skyscraper design. A century on it still dazzles.

The tallest building in South Korea and sixth-tallest in the world, its sleek tapered form nods to Korean ceramics and calligraphy. Impressive but stylistically restrained.

The world's second-tallest building since 2023, its faceted glass facade references Malaysian craft patterns. Record-breaking height, but a somewhat busy exterior.

One of the world's tallest buildings, clad in stainless steel with a sharp tapering crown. Technically formidable, but a generic corporate silhouette lacking a strong identity.

Its wedge-shaped triangular footprint made it one of the most photographed buildings in the world and an early steel-frame landmark. Charming and historic, but tiny by modern standards.

This ultra-thin luxury tower has been plagued by leaks, flooding, stuck elevators, and alarming creaking and swaying that triggered lawsuits from residents. Height without livability.

The Makkah Royal Clock Tower boasts the world's largest clock face, but its bloated pastiche architecture drew criticism for looming over the Grand Mosque and demolishing Ottoman heritage. More mass than grace.

Begun in 1987, this 330-metre pyramid sat as an unfinished concrete shell for decades and has never opened to guests. Nicknamed the 'Hotel of Doom,' it is a monument to failed ambition.