![]() |
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
CTBUH is the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World's Tallest Building.” The organization announced that its old rule of measuring height from the sidewalk outside the main entrance does not sufficiently recognize multiuse tall buildings that often have several different entrances at different levels. The new criteria calls for measuring building height from the level of the lowest significant, open-air pedestrian entrance.
“Beginning in 2007, with the knowledge that Burj Dubai would be significantly taller than any structure ever built, the CTBUH Height Committee met to review the criteria by which we recognize and rank the height of buildings,” said Peter Weismantle, chair of the CTBUH Height Committee and director of supertall building technology at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago. “As one might guess, with the committee being made up of architects, engineers, contractors, developers, building owners, and academics, a variety of opinions and views were expressed. The resulting revisions two years later reflect a general consensus of the committee in recognizing the most recent trends in tall building development around the world.”
In response to the changing designs and forms of tall buildings, the Height Committee also elected to discard its previous “Height to Roof” category. “The roof category just doesn't make sense anymore,” said CTBUH executive director Antony Wood. “In the era of the flat-topped modernist tower, a clearly defined roof could usually be identified, but in today's tall building world—which is increasingly adopting elaborate forms, spires, parapets, and other features at the top of the building—it is becoming difficult to determine a 'roof' at all, even less so to measure to it.”
The new rules haven't dramatically altered the ranking of the world's tallest buildings, although the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai (1,381 feet high) dropped to seventh tallest, having been bumped by the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago (1,389 feet high), which is now the world's sixth-tallest building.
Related Stories
Performing Arts Centers | Jul 27, 2015
Vox Populi: Netherlands municipality turns to public vote to select design for new theater
UNStudio’s Theatre on the Parade received nearly three-fifths of votes cast in contest between two finalists.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 19, 2015
SET Architects wins design competition for Holocaust Memorial
The design for the memorial in Bologna, Italy, is dominated by two large metal monolithic structures that represent the oppressive wooden bunks in concentration camps in Germany during World War II.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 17, 2015
Rojkind Arquitectos serves up concert hall on the rocks in Mexico
The same way Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim has put Bilbao on the map, architect Michel Rojkind hopes his design will be “an urban detonator capable of inciting modernity in the area.”
Cultural Facilities | Jul 16, 2015
Louisville group plans to build world's largest disco ball
The sphere would more than double the size of the current record holder.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 14, 2015
Massive exhibition space in Inner Mongolia replicates steppe landscape
To mimic the Central Asian steppe landscape of the Chinese province Inner Mongolia, Kuanlu Architects proposed the construction of an exhibition plaza that can be walked on.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 13, 2015
German architect proposes construction of mountain near Berlin
The architect wants to create the world’s largest man-made mountain, at 3,280 feet.
Cultural Facilities | Jul 9, 2015
Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial plan gets OK from D.C. planning commission
Despite the thumbs up, disputes over costs may keep the $142 million work from ever being built.
Smart Buildings | Jul 9, 2015
St. Petersburg Pier’s dramatic makeover gets green light from city officials
The Pier Park will be a platform for a multitude of smaller and more flexible programs and experiences for tourists and the local community.
Museums | Jun 28, 2015
Manhattan's New Museum debuts first museum-led incubator space
Part studio, part shared workplace, part lab, and part professional development program, NEW INC connects design with technology, the arts with the market, students with seasoned practitioners, and the museum with the world.
Museums | Jun 23, 2015
Moreau Kusunoki's 'art in the city' scheme wins Guggenheim Helsinki design competition
The firm’s design concept makes use of the museum’s site, turning it into a bustling, well-connected waterfront hub.