Countries all across the world are in an ego-fueled race to build the tallest skyscrapers
due to the rapid increase of innovation and technological advancement.
Having the tallest structure boosts tourism earnings and serves as a symbol of state strength and glory.
Countries do not keep this title for long because skyscrapers are constantly being built all around the world.
In this video, we look at the tallest structures in each continent.
7.ASIA - THE BURJ KHALIFA
Not only is the Burj Khalifa the tallest skyscraper in Asia, but it is also the tallest skyscraper in the whole world.
Prior to its inauguration in 2010, the Burj Khalifa was known as the Burj Dubai.
It is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Since topping out in 2009, the Burj Khalifa has been the world's tallest structure and building,
displacing Taipei 101, with a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, little over half a mile)
and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft)
(without antenna, but includes a 244 m spire).
The exterior of the Burj Khalifa was completed in 2009, five years after construction began.
The building's main structure is reinforced concrete. Some of the structural steel came from the former East German parliament, the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin.
The structure was completed in 2010 as part of the Downtown Dubai development. It is intended to serve as the focal point of large-scale mixed-use development.
The decision to build the building stems from the government's desire to diversify its economy away from oil and obtain an international reputation for Dubai.
The building was initially known as Burj Dubai.
Still, it was renamed in honor of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of the United Arab Emirates;
Abu Dhabi and the UAE government provided Dubai money to cover its debts.
The structure set multiple height records, including being named the world's tallest building.
6.NORTH AMERICA - ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER
One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
One WTC is the highest skyscraper in the United States, the Western Hemisphere's tallest building, and the world's sixth tallest building.
The supertall tower shares the same name as the old World Trade Center's North Tower,
which was demolished in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
On the original 6 World Trade Center location, the new tower stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex.
The building is bordered on the west by West Street, the north by Vesey Street, the south by Fulton Street, and the east by Washington Street.
David Childs, whose company Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) also designed the Burj Khalifa and the Willis Tower, is the building's architect.
On April 27, 2006, work on underground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began.
When One World Trade Center topped the Empire State Building in height on April 30, 2012, it became the city's highest structure. On August 30, 2012, the steel structure of the tower was completed.
The final component of the skyscraper's spire was placed on May 10, 2013,
bringing the building's overall height to 1,776 feet, including the spire (541 m).
Its height in feet refers to the year the US Declaration of Independence was signed.
The One World Observatory opened on May 29, 2015, and the building opened on November 3, 2014.
Till date, it still stands as the tallest building in North America.
5.EUROPE - LAKHTA CENTER
The Lakhta Center is an 87-story skyscraper in Saint Petersburg, Russia's northwest district of Lakhta. I
t is the tallest building in Russia, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the fifteenth-tallest building in the world,
at 462 meters (1,516 feet)
tall. It is also Russia's and Europe's second-tallest structure, behind Moscow's Ostankino Tower and the world's second-tallest twisted building and northernmost skyscraper.
The construction of the Lakhta Center began on October 30, 2012, and the facility was completed on January 29, 2018.
On October 5, 2017, it surpassed the Vostok Tower of the Federation Towers in Moscow as Russia's and Europe's highest structure.
The center is envisioned as a large-scale mixed-use development with a mix of public and private spaces.
The project was started by British architectural firm RMJM and then continued by Gorproject (2011–2017) with Turkish company Rönesans Holding as the principal contractor.
The Lakhta Center will house the Russian oil giant Gazprom's new headquarters.
The permit for construction of the first stage of Lakhta Center, which included the skyscraper and stylobate, was obtained on August 17, 2012.[20]
A public hearing on the layout and surveying of the site was held in the administration of the Primorsky district of Saint Petersburg on August 31.
In August 2021, Gazprom, formerly headquartered in Moscow, completed its re-registration process in Saint Petersburg.
The new address of the company is at the Lakhta Center Multifunctional Complex.
4.OCEANIA - Q1
Queensland Number One (Q1 Tower) is a 322.5-meter (1,058-foot)
Supertall skyscraper in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.
From 2005 to 2011, the Gold Coast's residential tower was the world's tallest residential structure.
It is the world's eleventh tallest residential tower, the tallest building in Australia,
the second tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere,
and the third tallest free-standing structure behind Jakarta's Autograph Tower and Auckland's Sky Tower, as of 2021.
The Q1 first opened its doors in November of 2005.
The landmark building was recognized as one of Queensland's icons during the state's 150th-birthday celebrations
Q1 Tower was designed by SDG & The Buchan Group. Its form was inspired by the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch and the Sydney Opera House.
The name was chosen to honor members of Australia's 1920s Olympic sculling team – Q1.
According to the design, a sequence of ribbons wrap concentrically around the tower's exterior and hover above the entry plaza area,
offering cover and shade, according to the design, which was based on wind, movement, and stress research.
The gradual twisting of the aluminum-clad ribbons as they flow around the building expresses the tension in the movement and unconstrained form.
Under the glazed ribbon structure, an open-air galleria-style shopping sector and a curved store façade to the street margins result.
The project was developed by The Sunland Group and built by Sunland Constructions.
The building was the Silver Award winner of the 2005 Emporis Skyscraper Award, coming in second to Turning Torso in Sweden.
3.SOUTH AMERICA - GRAN TORRE SANTIAGO
The Costanera Center Torre 2, also known as Gran Torre Santiago (Great Santiago Tower) or Torre Gran Costanera,
is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile, and the second tallest in Latin America (after Mexico's TOp Torre 1).
It is the fourth-tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere in terms of the highest architectural feature (after New Zealand's Sky Tower, Australia's Q1 Tower, and Australia 108)
and the third-tallest in terms of the highest inhabited floor
(after Australia's Australia 108 and Eureka Tower).
César Pelli of Argentina, Alemparte Barreda & Asociados of Chile, and Watt International of Canada collaborated on the project.
Gran Torre Santiago is part of the Costanera Center complex, which also includes Latin America's largest shopping mall,
two hotels, and two more office towers.
Gran Torre Santiago is 300 meters (980 feet) tall,
with 64 stories plus six bottom levels, a floor pitch of 4.1 meters (13 feet),
and a total area of 107.125 m2. On 47,000 square meters of land,
the tower offers over 700,000 square meters of usable building space.
Every day, 240,000 people are expected to travel to and from the site, according to the planners.
The tower was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in Argentina, Alemparte Barreda & Asociados in Chile, and Watt International in Canada.
René Lagos y Asociados Ing. Civiles Ltda, a Chilean firm, is in charge of structural engineering. Salfa Corporation was in charge of its construction.
2.AFRICA - CARLTON CENTRE
The Carlton Centre is a 50-story skyscraper and shopping mall in Johannesburg, South Africa's central business district.
It is Africa's second-highest structure, behind The Leonardo,
and the world's tallest office building, standing at 223 meters (732 feet).
The foundations of the complex's two buildings are 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter and reach 15 meters (49 feet) down to bedrock,
35 meters (115 feet) below street level. Over 46% of the floor area is below ground level,
and the building accommodates both offices and stores.
A below-ground shopping center with nearly 180 stores connects the Carlton Centre to the Carlton Hotel.
The Carlton Centre was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, a firm based in the United States.
In the late 1960s, Anglo American Properties began construction by demolishing the historic Carlton Hotel and shutting roadways to create a city superblock.
Carlton's excavations started in January 1967 and took two years to finish.
Garlick's an OK Bazaars, the two shopping levels' original department store anchors.
Despite the fact that the center was occupied in 1971, it was not completed until 1974.
The structure, which cost over R88 million to construct, was completed in 1973.
The tower's architecture is strikingly similar to that of Buffalo, New York's One Seneca Tower, which was completed in 1973.
Fact:
The Carlton Panorama, located on the 50th and topmost floor of the Carlton Centre, is also known as the "Top of Africa."
The Carlton Centre was once the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. The 5-star and 30-story Carlton Hotel occupied most of the complex's floor space.
1.ANTARCTICA - LONG-DURATION BALLOON (LDB) PAYLOAD PREPARATION BUILDINGS
In particular, there are not any skyscrapers in Antarctica. Unlike other continents, the tallest building in Antarctica is The Long Duration Balloon (LDB) Payload Preparation Buildings.
The structures are part of a US research center at McMurdo Station,
which is built on volcanic rock at the southern extremity of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Shore, Antarctica.
They are 15 meters (49 feet) tall and do not have any elevators. They were built in 2005.
The Long Duration Balloon (LDB) Payload Preparation Buildings are the least visited buildings on our list, which is understandable given the environment.
The climate is also one of the reasons why the buildings must be mobile
– prior structures were covered in snow during the winter and had to be dug out and made usable again after many weeks.
Because they are moveable structures on skis that have been constructed on a snow platform known as a berm,
the Long Duration Balloon (LDB) Payload Preparation Buildings provide a solution to that challenge.
CONCLUSION
Let us know how many of the seven tallest buildings in each continent you have visited in the comments section below. Thanks for watching; see you in the next video.