Tallest Super Structures of the World

With the number of people living on earth growing exponential (6 billion in
the last 100 years), there’s no room for cities to expand on the ground,
especially in the big overcrowded areas, and that’s why architects are planning
many ways of expanding through the air. No, we’re not talking about flying
cities, just about structures that are getting higher and higher everyday.

So, here’s a top of the world’s highest structures that already exist nowadays
or are going to be built by the end of this decade.Burj Mubarak

This building is a little out of the time range, as it is scheduled to be
completed way after 2010, but it worths being mentioned, being by far the
tallest structure, with an estimated height of 1001 m (3,284 ft). And the name?
Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, part of the Madinat al Hareer (City of Silk), massive
complex that is going to be built in Kuweit over the next 25 years, containing
the tower, a new airport, a natural reservation and many business and
entertainment centers.

With 1001 m, the Burj will be almost twice as high as today’s record holder,
Taipei 101. A graphic sketch of the final project is shown in this picture.
Burj Dubai

The Burj Dubai is projected to be the world’s highest land structure built on
land by the end of this decade. With its construction started in 2004, the
building is expected to be finished in 2009, when it will rise to a estimated
height of 818 m (2,684 ft) (although some sources announce numbers up to 1011
m).

Built in the “New Downtown” of Dubai, the structure was designed by the famous
”Skidmode, Owings and Merril” company, also in charge of the Sears Tower in
Chicago and Freedom Tower in New York. Having more than 160 floors, the tower
will house 30.000 accommodations (situated between floors 37 an 108, these
apartments were sold in just 8 minutes from the moment the prices were posted)
and a vast number of hotels, shopping centers and entertainment areas. A massive
park will surround the tower, and the estimated investment in Burj Dubai will be
over 8 billion dollars.
Tower of Russia

The Tower of Russia will be a part of the Moscow City project that is going to
be built in central Moscow over the next years, and will combine all the
activities that can be done in a major city. Raised over 1 square kilometer,
this “city inside the city” will contain several interesting buildings, with the
Tower od Russia as the jewelry, with it’s projected 648 m (2,129 ft) height.
Construction began this year, and the 1.5 billion $ building is supposed to be
finished by late 2010.
Incheon Tower

The Incheon Tower, would be the centerpiece of a 1,500-acre, $11 billion
residential, office and hotel complex that is going to be built in Incheon,
South Korea, only 20 miles away from Seoul.
When it’s going to be completed in 2010, the Icheon Tower is planned to rise to
640 m (2100 ft) above the sea level, placing it on the podium as our number 3
tallest structure in the world.

KVLY-TV

Curently the world’s tallest structure built on land, but planned to drop off
the podium by the end of 2010, is the KVLY-TV, a television mast that rises at
628 m (2063 ft). Used by Gargo station KVLY Channel 11, it serves a very large
area (30,000 square miles) in North Dakota, USA.
The tower was assembled by a 11 members crew in 33 days back in 1963, which is
pretty amazing for a structure that big. Only the antenna in the top weighs 9000
pounds and can be accessed via an elevator or by stairs (just imagine how it
would be to climb up an iron ladder 600 metres high…)
Chicago Spire

Chicago Spire, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, will become America’s
tallest building by the end of 2010, raising higher than the Sears Tower and and
the new Freedom Tower in New York, at 609 m (2000 feet).

The shape of this structure is the one really impressing, looking like a spiral
that screws itself into the sky. The Chicago Spire will be built on the piece of
land (280 square miles) from the junction of Lake Michigan and the Chicago
River. The current plans call for the bottom 20 floors to be occupied by a
hotel, while the rest of the building is filled with 1200 luxury condominiums.
Construction began this month and the colossus is scheduled to be completed by
late 2010.

Port Tower

The Port Tower is a building planned for Karachi, the financial capital of
Pakistan. With collaboration from local and foreign investors, and the Karachi
Port Trust, the Port Tower will be 593 m (1947 ft) high. The height of the tower
has special significance as it represents the year when Pakistan won its
national independence: 1947.
he Port Tower design is not final yet. The tower will be part of the Krachi
Waterfront complex which will be constructed on artificial islands in the shape
of symbols of the flag of Pakistan: a crescent and a star, and will house among
others a hotel, a shopping center, and an expositions center. Construction
didn’t yet started but could be finished by the end of 2010

Jakarta Tower
Jakarta Tower is a structure that is under construction in Kemaroyan, Central
Jakarta, Indonesia, standing 558 m (1,831 ft) tall, up to the antenna. Expected
to be finished by 2010-2011, the tower will have many purposes, functioning as a
hotel , observation deck , tv/phone tower , discovery/science center and
shopping mall.

CN Tower in Toronto

The famous CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, situated
next to lake Ontario. Standing 553 m (1,815 ft) tall, it has been the world’s
tallest free standing structure since its completion in 1976. Considered by most
the icon of the city and even of Canada, the CN Tower is used for communications
but also as a tourist site, attracting more than two million international
visitors annually.
Freedom Tower

After the tragic events o September 11, 2001, when the twin World Trade Center
towers collapsed, New York promised they will return with something even
greater. The Freedom Tower will be they key building of the new World Trade
Center complex that is going to be built in Lower Manhattan, next to Ground Zero
and the Memorial that is also being built there.
The Freedom Tower, part of the new World Trade Center Complex
Construction started in spring 2006 and it is expected to be ready by 2009-2010,
standing up to 541 m (1,776 ft) on the top of the antenna. That would not be
enough to claim the tallest structure title by 2010, as you can see it lies at
the bottom of the Top 10, but it is somewhat taller than the older building, and
I guess that was the point after all.

Taipei 101, highest skycraper up to date
It is funny how technology evolves these days, as you can see that in just 3
years, currently the world’s tallest skyscraper (509 m (1670 ft)) and 3rd
structure overall, the Taipei 101, will lie on the last position of our top.

As you know, Taipei 101 is a 101-floors tower situated in Taipei, Taiwan,
finished in 2004 and worth 1.6 billion $ as an initial investment. Dominating
the city’s sights, being the tallest structure there, the Taipei 101
incorporates many architectural aspects of Chinese heritage, as the Ancient
Chinese coin myth or the dragon heads added to the corners.

Technologically, the building is very advanced, as it has to fight the harsh
Taiwanese climate and the great number of earthquakes taking place there
annually. The world’s fastest pressurized elevators and a 900-ton mass damper
installed on the 87th floor are just a couple of the engineering marvels built
inside Taipei 101.