With many skyscrapers across the globe jostling for the title of the world’s tallest building, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat released a report ranking the world’s highest observation decks.
The list contains 75 prominent buildings, including yet-to-be-completed towers.
Kingdom Tower, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, finished first in the rankings. The thousand-meter-tall (3,280 feet) tower is scheduled to be completed in 2018, and the observation deck will be 2,093 feet high. The deck will be 194 feet higher than No. 2 finisher Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin, China.
Buildings in China round out the top five. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa was sixth, with a height of 1,824 feet. Chicago’s Willis Tower has the United States’ tallest observation deck, finishing 17th at 1,453 feet.
“Often adding an important source of revenue for the structures that have them, observation decks also change the way people view cities, and can potentially elevate their international reputation,” said the authors of the report.
The Eiffel Tower was the oldest structure on the list. Built in 1889, the observation deck at the Paris landmark is 905 feet off of the ground, which is tied for 51st highest in the world.
Related Stories
| Oct 3, 2014
Herzog & de Meuron unveil design for Manhattan hotel-condo tower [slideshow]
Herzog & de Meuron will partner with interior designer John Pawson to design a 28-story tower for Manhattan's Bowery district. The majority of the building will house a 370-room hotel, with 11 luxury residences on its top.
| Sep 30, 2014
With its 'stacked volumes' scheme, 3XN wins bid to design high-rise in Sydney
By dividing the 200-meter building into five separate volumes and placing atria throughout each volume, the spaces become smaller, more intimate social environments, according to the Danish architects.
| Sep 23, 2014
Cloud-shaped skyscraper complex wins Shenzhen Bay Super City design competition
Forget the cubist, clinical, glass and concrete jungle of today's financial districts. Shenzhen's new plan features a complex of cloud-shaped skyscrapers connected to one another with sloping bridges.
| Sep 22, 2014
Swanke-designed Eurasia Tower opens in Moscow
The 72-story tower—the first mixed-use, steel tower in Russia—is located within the new, 30 million-sf, 148-acre Moscow International Business Center.
| Sep 17, 2014
Arquitectonica's hairpin-shaped tower breaks ground in Miami
Rising above Biscayne Bay, the 305-meter tower will include three viewing decks, a restaurant, nightclub, and exhibition space.
| Sep 16, 2014
Ranked: Top hotel sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Tutor Perini, Gensler, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from hospitality sector projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 15, 2014
Argentina reveals plans for Latin America’s tallest structure
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announces the winning design by MRA+A Álvarez | Bernabó | Sabatini for the capital's new miexed use tower.
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.