World Skyscraper Day 2024: History And The Three Tallest Buildings

A city's infrastructure shapes its identity, inspiring and uplifting the moods and imaginations of its people. 

It's truly amazing to see the towering creations of great architects and artists, whose visions and dreams have transformed urban landscapes.

History

September 3 has been designated as World Skyscraper Day to honour these remarkable structures, architects, and engineering prowess. The tall structures are a testament to human creativity and its advancement in technology.

This day has been chosen to observe World Skyscraper Day to commemorate the birthday of an American architect also known as the Father of Skyscrapers, Louis H. Sullivan.

Louis is regarded as one of the leading American architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Three of his famous buildings are the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, the Carson, Pirie & Scott Building in Chicago, and the Guaranty Building in Buffalo.

Three Tallest Buildings

Burj Khalifa: Towering 828m high, and 830m to tip, the astounding Burj Khalifa holds the world’s tallest building title since its inauguration in 2010. The exterior of the skyscraper has been covered with 26,000 hand-cut glass panels and it take three months to clean the whole building. One fun fact about this world’s tallest free-standing structure is that the concrete used for this construction weighs about 100,000 elephant weight.

Describing the architect of Burj Khalifa, Visit Dubai states “The towering structure is based on an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower and is essentially three sections arranged around a central core. Viewed from above, it is consistent with the onion-dome design frequently found across a variety of Islamic architecture."

Merdeka 118: The second-tallest building and structure in the world, the Merdeka 118 previously known as Menara Warisan Merdeka, KL 118 and PNB 118 is a 118-storey skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It stands tall at 678.9m.

Shanghai Tower: Situated at Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai, in China, the Shanghai Tower is the world's third-tallest building. The 128-storey building is 632m in height. According to reports the Shanghai Tower is the largest LEED Platinum certified building in the world since 2015.