Standing tall

Despite there being a growing global financial crisis, this hasn’t stopped building developers reaching for the skies with their idealistic structures – quite literally. Indeed, last year saw the most number of supertall skyscrapers built in any one year – 11 of them sky-high at 300 metres or taller.

The most significant of these, ironically, is the One World Trade Centre in Lower Manhattan, but also worthy of note – if only for their far-out designs – are the other impressive edifices on this here page.

These towers are deemed important, if not for their height, then for their significant location or innovative form, some boasting new aerodynamic features that even the Jetsons wouldn’t even have dreamed of.  Antonino Tati

Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower

(aka: Abu Dhabi World Trade Centre)

Architect: Foster + Partners. Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Function(s): Residential. Completed: 2014. Height: 1,251ft (381m). Aesthetic note: Tallest building in Abu Dhabi.

Eton Place Dalian (Super Tower 1)

Architect: NBBJ. Location: Dalian, China. Function(s): Office, Hotel. Completed: 2015. Height: 1,257ft (383m). Aesthetic note: Tallest in its five-tower development.

Capital Market Authority

Architect: HOK. Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Function(s): Office. Completed: 2015. Height: 1,263ft (385m). Aesthetic note: Boasts a solar control façade system.

Shanghai Tower

Architect: Gensler. Location: Shanghai, China. Function(s): Hotel, Office. Completed: 2015. Height: 2,073ft (632m). Aesthetic note: Fully rung by enclosed atriums.

One World Trade Centre

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Location: New York, NY, USA. Function(s): Office, Commercial. Completed: 2014. Height: 1,776ft (541m). Aesthetic note: Tallest building in the world’s western hemisphere.

Source: CTBUH, The Skyscraper Center.