Eight of the world’s 10 tallest skyscrapers are built in Asia, the tallest being Taiwan’s 1,667-foot-tall Taipei 101. However, the tallest skyscraper under development now is the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Burj Dubai, expected to rise 2,313 feet above the sands by 2009.
Future skyscraper development is less concentrated. Moscow, Istanbul and Seoul all have towers on the drawing board that will exceed the 1,667-foot mark that Taipei 101 broke in 2004. Ironically, the U.S. — where skyscrapers were born — only boasts 2 of the top 10 tallest towers: Chicago’s 1,450-foot Sears Tower (built 1974) and the 1,250-foot-tall Empire State Building (built 1931).
So where will this new Southeast Asian tower fall in the rankings? The Ho Chi Minh Financial Center will exceed Dubai’s 21st Century Tower by only a few feet. The Century tower — which was built in 2003 — is 883 feet high. It was the world’s 53rd tallest skyscraper last year, according to an international database of the world’s tallest buildings.
