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Fifth tallest tower in the world opens in Seoul with the world’s highest glass-bottomed observation deck

High-rise Construction

Fifth tallest tower in the world opens in Seoul with the world’s highest glass-bottomed observation deck

Lotte World Tower’s glass-bottomed observation deck allows visitors to stand 1,640 feet above ground and look straight down.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | April 4, 2017

Pixabay Public Domain

Not long after the world’s fourth tallest tower in the world became official, Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea has officially opened to become the world’s fifth tallest tower. 

The tower, which comprises office space, residential units, and a seven-star hotel, rises 123 stories to a height of 1,819 feet. In addition to being the fifth tallest building in the world, Lotte World Tower also boasts a few other significant titles related to its height.

At a height of 1,640 feet, Lotte World Tower’s glass-bottomed observation deck is the highest in the world. Located on the 118th floor, the observation deck allows visitors to look straight down at a busy intersection located a half a kilometer below their feet. 

Another height related accolade comes via the swimming pool on the 85th floor, which is recognized as the world’s highest swimming pool. Finally, the building’s elevator, which can take people from the ground floor to the top of the building in just one minute, carries the title of world’s fastest elevator.

Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea, surpassing Northeast Asia Trade Tower by over 800 feet.

The building, developed by Lotte Engineering and Construction, cost about $3.6 billion to build and was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Leslie E. Robertson Associates was the structural engineer for the project.

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