Record-breaking buildings, towers and other sights

Paul Stasi January 12, 2009


LAUNCH SLIDESHOW


The Tower of Babel, whose top was meant to reach unto heaven, was destroyed by an angry God, who wished to punish human hubris and reserve the best views for himself.

As we humans have, inevitably, built our way back into the heavens, we have also continuously competed over the record for the world’s tallest building. That record is currently held by the Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan. Built in 2004, the Taipei 101 rises to 1,671 feet easily beating out the Ancient Babylonian Ziggurat scholars name as a possible source for the Biblical tower (which stood around 300 feet tall). But Taiwan has little time to gloat. The Burj Dubai Tower is scheduled for completion in 2009, and its height—a closely guarded secret—is rumored to be over 2,200 feet.

See our slideshow of World's 20 Biggest and Tallest.

Complicating matters is the definition of “tallest building” itself. Until 1998, the Sears Tower in Chicago (1,730 feet) was considered the tallest building in the world. Then along came Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, whose antennae, in a direct slap at Midwestern supremacy, extended 30 feet higher than that of the Sears Tower. (The Patronas Towers building without the antennae is, in fact, smaller than the Sears). Finally two organizations—Emporis, a real estate data company headquartered in Germany, and the imaginatively named Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat located in Illinois—stepped in to clarify matters.

The term "building" is now defined as a “continuously inhabited structure,” thus creating the new category of “tallest free-standing structure,” a title currently held by the CN Tower in Toronto. Architectural height is now measured in four separate categories: Height to Architectural Tip (including spires but excluding antennae); Height to Top of Roof (excluding spires); Height to Tip (including everything) and Highest Occupied Floor (a measure of the tallest building with continuously occupied floors). Currently the Petronas Towers has been superseded in all four categories.

Problem would seem to be solved, though the dispute rages on in cyberspace, where the CN Tower, for instance, still proudly refers to itself as the “tallest building in the world.” Of course Worrell’s Seafood Restaurant in Wilson, North Carolina, also claims to have the “World Tallest Replica of the World’s Tallest Lighthouse” in its parking lot, so clearly you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Nevertheless, here are 20 interesting record-holding places to visit throughout the world.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-13.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Largest Snow Castle

© www.snowcastle.net


The most unusual item on our list is the LumiLinna snow castle and it is just what its name suggests: a huge castle constructed entirely out of snow. Located in Kemi, Finland, the castle is rebuilt every year—after melting in April—over a period of two months. Temperatures in the castle’s 18 guest rooms average 23 degrees Fahrenheit, but the hotel provides sleeping bags that not only “guarantee the survival” of its guests, but also promise a comfortable night’s sleep.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-7.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest Church

© Izim M. Gulcuk/Shutterstock


Located in Ulm, Germany, the Ulm Cathedral is a Lutheran church that measures 530 feet and contains 768 steps leading visitors to spectacular panoramic views of both the surrounding countryside and, in the right weather, the Alps. The church is also one of Europe’s finest surviving examples of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-8.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest Walkway

© David Ball / Alamy



The Grand Canyon Skywalk stands at 4,000-feet-high, making it over twice as tall as the Taipei 101 Towers. Of course the skywalk has an unfair advantage: It doesn’t rise from the canyon floor, but merely extends 65 feet from the canyon’s edge. Since March of 2007, tourists free of vertigo have been able to gaze straight down through 4-inch thick glass to the canyon floor below.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-9.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest 90-Degree Twisted Building

© Pixonnet.com/Alamy


Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2005, the Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden, stands at 623 feet, easily beating out Frank Gehry’s Dancing House (in Prague) and the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-10.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest Hotel Not in Dubai

© Henry Westheim Photography / Alamy


Though eclipsed both by Dubai’s Rose Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Tower, the Baiyoke Tower II in Bangkok, Thailand, nevertheless boasts 88 floors and 673 guest rooms. The 997-foot Tower is located in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district known for its shopping and its 1.5 mile long artificial lake.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-13.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Largest Man-Made Islands

© Al-Nakheel/dpa/Corbis



Perhaps no structure on this list more embodies the original impulse behind the tall building—pure human hubris—than Dubai’s Palm Islands. Composed of three separate islands, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, the entire construction will add nearly 330 miles of beach front to the city of Dubai. Parts of Palm Jumeirah are currently open for development, with the remaining islands to be completed in the next 10-15 years. When finished, the three islands will contain over 100 luxury hotels while Palm Deira itself will be almost as large as Paris.


http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-12.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest Dam

© David Trilling/Corbis

Construction began on the Nurek Dam (984 feet) in 1961 while the central Asian nation of Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union, and was completed an efficient 19 years later. The dam provides 98 percent of Tajikistan’s electrical needs and was one of the first to be constructed with an asphalt central core of cement forming an impermeable barrier along the Vakhsh River.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/record-breaking-countries-2009-slide-11.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=25000

The World's Tallest and Biggest

By Paul StasiDubai's Palm Islands
Photo: Corbis

The World's Largest Man-Made Islands

Perhaps no structure on this list more embodies the original impulse behind the tall building — pure human hubris — than Dubai’s Palm Islands. Composed of three separate islands, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, the entire construction will add nearly 330 miles of beach front to the city of Dubai. Parts of Palm Jumeirah are currently open for development, with the remaining islands to be completed in the next 10-15 years. When finished, the three islands will contain over 100 luxury hotels while Palm Deira itself will be almost as large as Paris.

The World's Tallest Dam

Construction began on the Nurek Dam (984 feet) in 1961 while the central Asian nation of Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union, and was completed an efficient 19 years later. The dam provides 98 percent of Tajikistan’s electrical needs and was one of the first to be constructed with an asphalt central core of cement forming an impermeable barrier along the Vakhsh River.



The World's Tallest Hotel Not in Dubai

Though eclipsed both by Dubai’s Rose Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Tower, the Baiyoke Tower II in Bangkok, Thailand, nevertheless boasts 88 floors and 673 guest rooms. The 997-foot Tower is located in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district known for its shopping and its 1.5 mile long artificial lake.



The World's Tallest Monument

Commonly known as the “Gateway to the West” the St. Louis Arch, designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, marks the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The arch is surrounded by a 91-acre national park along the Mississippi River and stands 630-feet-tall. Visitors can take a four-minute tram ride up one of the “legs” of the arch to the observation deck at its center for spectacular views of St. Louis.



The World's Tallest Hotel Never Actually Completed

Destined for greatness, the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, stands at 1,083 feet, was supposed to boast 105 floors and 3.9 million-square-feet of floor space, and was meant to have seven revolving restaurants. Not surprisingly this towering pyramid’s construction was put on hold in 1992 when North Korea confronted more pressing matters. What remains is the pyramid itself, but it lacks windows and fixtures and has been deemed unsafe for human occupancy.



The World's Tallest Casino (sort of)

Unsurprisingly located in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino boasts a 1,149-foot-tall observation tower and restaurant, making it the tallest free-standing tower in the United States. While you can be shot straight up 160 feet in the air, or ride a mechanical arm over the Tower’s edge, there are no actual games in the tower itself.



The World's Tallest Bar

On the 87th floor of Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower–literally “Golden Prosperity Building”–is the appropriately titled Cloud Nine. In February 2001, cocktail-sipping patrons observed Han Qizhi, a 31-year-old shoe salesman, climb the 1,214 foot tower barehanded.



The World's Largest House

Indisputably, the Sultan of Brunei’s Istana Nurul Iman is the world’s largest residence. Really more of a palace, this structure boasts an impressive 2,152,782-square-feet of space, comprised of 1,788 rooms (including 257 bathrooms), and is home to the Sultan's car collection, including 165 Rolls Royces. (It easily dwarfs Buckingham Palace's 828,818 square feet). Unfortunately for non-royals, the Sultan’s palace is only open three days a year for the Islamic festival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, marking the end of Ramadan. However, in 2009, Indian multi-billionaire Mukesh Ambani is scheduled to complete construction on the world's largest house.



The World's Largest Ancient City

Built in the mid-15th century, Machu Picchu is located 7,875 feet above sea level in the Urubamba Valley in Peru. A gorgeous collection of 150 structures, including temples and residences, the city was abandoned approximately 100 years after its founding and not re-discovered until the early 1900s. Machu Picchu was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.



The World's Tallest Memorial

Erected in 1940 by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, the Benedictine Abbey of the Valley of the Fallen boasts the largest Memorial Cross in the world. Located 28 miles northwest of Madrid, the 492-foot structure towers above a basilica and crypt carved out of a granite ridge, and boasts spectacular views of both the surrounding valley and the outskirts of Madrid.

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