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
| Sep 17, 2013
First look: BIG+MVVA proposal for Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park
BIG’s proposal for Brooklyn Bridge Park, a project that has revitalized the New York City waterfront, consists of a 6,000 ft2 (560 m2) triangular cross-laminated timber structure, serving both as pavilion and platform. Sloping upwards 17.5 feet (5.3 m) in height from the foot of the large gathering lawn, the platform provides magnificent views of the surrounding harbor, the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
| Sep 11, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 3 coverage
Day 3 coverage of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo, taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 10, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 2 coverage
The BD+C editorial team brings you this real-time coverage of day 2 of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 3, 2013
'School in a box' project will place school in San Diego public library
Thinking outside the box, LPA Inc. is designing a school inside a box. With an emphasis on three E’s—Engage, Educate, and Empower—e3 Civic High is now being constructed on the sixth and seventh floors of a public library in downtown San Diego. Library patrons will be able to see into the school via glass elevators, but will not have physical access to the school.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Sports Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest sports facility design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
6 visionary strategies for local government projects
Civic projects in Boston, Las Vegas, Austin, and suburban Atlanta show that a ‘big vision’ can also be a spur to neighborhood revitalization. Here are six visionary strategies for local government projects.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.