Taipei 101, in the Hsinyi dist., Taipei, Taiwan; also known as the Taipei Financial Center. With 101 stories and reaching 1,671 ft (509 m) high, Taipei 101 became the world's tallest building when it was topped out in 2003, surpassing the Petronas Towers; construction, which began in 1999, was completed in 2004. Designed by C. Y. Lee & Partners, the multiuse steel-and-glass skyscraper echoes a traditional Chinese pagoda with its soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (a number that is a homophone for prosperous growth in Chinese), and narrow pinnacle tower and spire. A 18-ft (5.5-m), 882-ton (800-metric-ton), ball-shaped damper located near the top counteracts swaying during earthquakes and typhoons.

Petronas Towers, twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that are the world's tallest twin towers. Standing 1,483 ft (452 m) high, they were designed by the Argentinean-American architect Cesar Pelli. Completed in 1997, they surpassed Chicago's Sears Tower as the record-holding tallest structure; they themselves were surpassed by Taipei 101 in 2003. The twin towers house Petronas, Malaysia's government-owned oil company, as well as associated Malaysian firms and multinational companies. Part of a large burst of construction that marked the country's 1990s economic boom, the buildings stand at the northern end of a projected high-tech business zone, the Malaysia Multimedia Supercorridor. Built of steel-reinforced concrete columns clad in stainless steel and glass, with a design based on geometric patterns originating in ancient Islam, the 88-story buildings are connected at levels 41 and 42 by a double-decker pedestrian skybridge, and each tower is surmounted by a 242-ft-high (74-m) pinnacle. At the lower level, the Petronas Towers also include a concert hall that is home to the Malaysian Philharmonic and a business reference library.

Same as above.

Sears Tower, Chicago, the world's third tallest building. Until the opening of the 1,483-ft (452-m) Petronas Towers (1997) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was the world's tallest building. Constructed from 1970 to 1974 for Sears, Roebuck & Co., it rises 110 stories to a height of 1,450 ft (442 m); the 253 ft (77 m) television antenna topping it makes it the world's third largest freestanding structure at 1,703 ft (519 m). Designed by the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the Sears Tower is supported structurally by square tubes of welded steel with floors suspended within the tubes, a technological innovation that was developed specifically for the mammoth skyscraper by architectural engineer Fazlur Kahn. The Sears Tower has an exterior of black aluminum and bronze-toned glass cut by black bands.

Empire State Building, in central Manhattan, New York City, on Fifth Ave. between 33d St. and 34th St. It was designed by the firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon and built in 1930–31. For many years its 102 stories (1,250 ft/381 m high) made it the tallest building in the world. The construction of the World Trade Center ended its reign as the world's and the city's highest skyscraper, but it regained the latter distinction through misfortune when the Trade Center was destroyed (2001) by a terrorist attack. An office building, the Empire State Building accommodates some 25,000 tenants. On a very clear day the view from its highest observation tower embraces an area with a circumference of nearly 200 mi (320 km).