Landmarks › Towers & Skyscrapers
Iconic towers and skyscrapers shape city skylines around the world. This catalog gathers verified GPS coordinates for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (still the world's tallest building in 2026 at 828 m), Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur (second-tallest at 679 m, opened 2024), Shanghai Tower, The Clock Towers (Abraj Al-Bait) facing the Grand Mosque, Lotte World Tower in Seoul, Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in New York, Taipei 101, Tokyo Skytree, Petronas Twin Towers, The Shard in London, Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg (tallest in Europe), the new Mohammed VI Tower in Salé (tallest in Morocco, inaugurated April 2026), . Each pin targets the structure's central footprint.
The Atomium in Brussels was built for the 1958 World Fair and represents an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Its nine 18-meter spheres connected by tubes form a stainless-steel landmark visible across the city.
The Burj Al Arab (برج العرب) in Dubai, completed in 1999, is shaped like the sail of an Arabian dhow on its own artificial island. Often described as a 7-star hotel, it has become a global symbol of luxury.
The Burj Khalifa (برج خليفة) in Dubai is the world's tallest building at 828 meters with 163 floors. Completed in 2010, it dominates the United Arab Emirates skyline and houses residences, offices, hotels, and the world's highest observation deck.
CITIC Tower (中国尊, China Zun) in the Central Business District of Beijing is a 528-meter, 109-story supertall skyscraper completed in 2018. It is the tallest building in Beijing and was the tallest building completed worldwide in 2018. Designed by KPF and TFP Farrells, its silhouette tapers in the middle and flares at the top, evoking the ancient Chinese ceremonial wine vessel called a zun, hence the nickname China Zun.
The Chrysler Building at the corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, designed by William Van Alen for automotive executive Walter Chrysler and completed in 1930, is one of the masterpieces of Art Deco architecture. At 319 meters (77 floors) it briefly held the title of world's tallest building from May 1930 until the Empire State Building overtook it eleven months later. Its iconic stainless-steel crown of seven concentric arches with triangular windows remains one of the most distinctive silhouettes on the New York skyline.
The CN Tower in Toronto is a 553-meter concrete communications and observation tower completed in 1976. It held the title of world's tallest free-standing structure for 31 years and remains a defining feature of the Toronto skyline.
The Empire State Building, completed in 1931 in midtown Manhattan, was the world's tallest skyscraper for 40 years. At 381 meters (443 m to its tip), it remains one of the most recognizable buildings on Earth.
Federation Tower (Башня Федерация) in the Moscow International Business Center (Moscow City) is a twin-tower complex completed in 2017. The taller East Tower (Vostok) reaches 374 meters with 97 floors and was the tallest building in Europe from its completion until 2019, when the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg surpassed it. The shorter West Tower (Zapad) stands 242 meters tall.
The Flatiron Building, completed in 1902 at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan, is one of the earliest skyscrapers and a triangular Beaux-Arts icon of New York.
30 St Mary Axe, widely known as The Gherkin (formerly the Swiss Re Building), is a 180-meter, 41-floor commercial skyscraper in the City of London designed by Foster + Partners and Arup. Completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004 on the site of the former Baltic Exchange (destroyed in the 1992 IRA bombing), its diagonal-grid steel structure and rounded glass form helped redefine the City's skyline at the dawn of the 21st century.
The Grande Arche de la Défense in Puteaux, west of Paris, is a 110-meter cubic monument designed by Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen and completed in 1989 by French architect Paul Andreu in time for the bicentennial of the French Revolution. A late-20th-century reinterpretation of the Arc de Triomphe, it terminates the historical Axe historique that runs from the Louvre through the Tuileries, the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées and the original Arc de Triomphe.
The Iconic Tower (البرج الأيقوني) is the centrepiece skyscraper of the Central Business District in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, about 45 km east of central Cairo. Built by Chinese contractor CSCEC (China State Construction Engineering Corporation) for the Egyptian government, with concrete pouring beginning in February 2019 and the concrete superstructure completed in June 2021, it stands roughly 393.8 m tall (385 m to the roof) over 77 floors and is the tallest completed building in Africa, anchoring the new CBD of twenty additional towers around it.
The Lakhta Center (Лахта Центр) on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland in Saint Petersburg is the headquarters of the Russian energy company Gazprom and the tallest building in Europe at 462 meters with 87 floors. Designed in the form of a twisted spiral by Tony Kettle of RMJM, the tower topped out on 29 January 2018 and replaced Moscow's Federation Tower as Europe's tallest skyscraper.
Lotte World Tower (롯데월드타워) in Seoul's Songpa District opened on 3 April 2017 and is the tallest building in South Korea and the OECD at 555 meters and 123 floors. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, its tapering silhouette references traditional Korean ceramics and calligraphy brushes. The Seoul Sky observation deck spans floors 117 to 123 and includes a glass-floored Sky Deck on the 118th floor at 478 meters.
Marina Bay Sands is a Singapore integrated resort fronting Marina Bay, designed by architect Moshe Safdie and opened in 2010 as the world's most expensive standalone casino property (around S$8 billion). Three 55-storey hotel towers (1,850 rooms) are connected at the top by the 340-metre Sands SkyPark, a 1.2-hectare rooftop cantilever (the world's largest public cantilevered platform, overhanging the north tower by 66.5 m) housing a 150-metre infinity-edge swimming pool, observation deck and gardens. The complex also includes a casino, the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, the ArtScience Museum and a 2,183-seat theatre.
Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur is a 678.9-meter, 118-story megatall skyscraper completed in November 2023 and officially opened on 10 January 2024. It is the second-tallest building and structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa, the tallest in Southeast Asia, and the tallest in Malaysia. Its silhouette of overlapping triangular glass facets evokes the iconic raised arm of Tunku Abdul Rahman declaring Malaysian independence in 1957 at the nearby Stadium Merdeka.
Mohammed VI Tower (برج محمد السادس) in Salé, on the bank of the Bouregreg River opposite Rabat, is the tallest building in Morocco at 250 meters and 55 floors. Inaugurated in April 2026 after a decade of construction at a cost of around 422 million US dollars, the rocket-shaped LEED Gold-certified tower was developed by O Tower for the BMCE Bank group founded by Othman Benjelloun. It houses a Waldorf Astoria hotel, offices, luxury apartments, restaurants, and a public observation deck overlooking the Rabat-Salé skyline.
One World Trade Center, also called the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. At 541 meters (1,776 feet, a deliberate reference to the year of American independence), it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
The Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠) in Shanghai's Pudong district is a 468-meter TV tower completed in 1994 with eleven distinctive spheres. It defined the Shanghai skyline before being eclipsed by the surrounding skyscrapers.
The Petronas Towers (Menara Petronas) in Kuala Lumpur are 452-meter twin skyscrapers, the tallest twin towers in the world. Connected by a sky bridge on the 41st and 42nd floors, they were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004.
Ping An Finance Center (平安金融中心) in the Futian district of Shenzhen is a 599-meter, 115-story supertall skyscraper completed in 2017 as the headquarters of the Ping An Insurance group. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, its stainless-steel facade features eight tapering steel columns and four corner sails. The Free Sky observation deck on the 116th floor at 562.5 meters is the highest in any single building in the world.
Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) in the Lujiazui financial district of Pudong is a 632-meter, 128-story megatall skyscraper completed in 2015 and designed by Gensler. Its twisting form, double-skin curtain wall and asymmetrical tapered profile reduce wind loads by 24 percent. It is the tallest building in China and was the second-tallest in the world from 2015 until Merdeka 118 surpassed it in 2024 (now third-tallest after Burj Khalifa and Merdeka 118).
The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, is a 184-meter observation tower with a flying-saucer-shaped top. Its observation deck offers panoramic views of Mount Rainier, the Olympic Range, and Puget Sound.
Taipei 101 (台北101) was the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010 at 508 meters. The pagoda-inspired skyscraper is engineered to withstand typhoons and earthquakes thanks to a 660-tonne tuned mass damper visible to visitors.
The Shard (formally London Bridge Tower) at 32 London Bridge Street is a 309.6-meter, 95-floor pyramidal supertall skyscraper designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. It is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and was the tallest in the European Union until Brexit. The View from The Shard observation deck on floors 68 to 72 offers 360-degree views over central London at 244 meters above the river.
Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー), completed in 2012, is the world's tallest tower at 634 meters. Designed to broadcast digital television across the Kantō region, it offers two observation decks with panoramic views of Tokyo and, on clear days, Mount Fuji.
Tokyo Tower (東京タワー), modelled after the Eiffel Tower but painted international orange, was completed in 1958 and stands 333 meters tall. It served as Tokyo's primary television transmitter and is now a major tourist attraction.
Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in the Loop of Chicago, designed by architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), opened in 1973 and was the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years until the Petronas Towers overtook it in 1998. The 442-metre, 110-story skyscraper was renamed in 2009 when London-based insurance broker Willis Group acquired the naming rights as part of a building lease. Its 103rd-floor Skydeck draws more than 1.7 million visitors a year and includes The Ledge, retractable all-glass balconies installed in 2009 that extend about 1.2 m from the facade for a glass-floored view of South Wacker Drive far below.