Ever since humans started building buildings, the goal has always been to challenge ourselves to do more (and bigger!). For this reason, over the millennia, buildings have risen higher and higher towards the sky, stimulated by countless reasons including religion, democracy, nationalism, commerce and so on.
The ancient Egyptians, for example, built enormous pyramids to protect the mummified bodies of their pharaohs. Giant buildings like the World Trade Center, on the other hand, arose to bring international business to the United States. All over the world we can find examples of human structures that have earned, at least for some time, the label of the tallest building in the world.. Find out more about some of them!
1. Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid is the largest of the pyramids built at Giza and was created to protect the remains of Pharaoh Khufu. Standing 138 meters tall, the structure once stood at 146 meters before suffering the effects of erosion.
We know her as a sandy giant, but things weren’t always that way. The pyramid at its creation had a bright white color, surrounded by a layer of limestone. For several years it was the tallest building in the world, and the only one that came close was the Alexandria Lighthouse, 106 meters high.
2. Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg
Built in 1647, for more than 200 years the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg held the title of the tallest building in the world, at 141 meters high. Throughout its history, it has been damaged in numerous wars and even occupied by the Nazis during World War II.
The cathedral was described by Goethe as “a sublimely imposing and sprawling tree of God”.
3. Eiffel Tower
In 1889, Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel presented his truss design at the World’s Fair, originally calling the piece the “300 Meter Tower.” But its height wasn’t exactly fixed: Because its iron expands or contracts with temperature changes, the tower grows a few centimeters each summer and shrinks in the winter.
However, the project, which was supposed to be temporary, was so popular that it became a historical monument in Paris, officially called the Eiffel Tower. With its official height of 330 metres, the great French work held the title of the tallest structure in the world until 1929.
4. World trade center
The two towers of the World Trade Center, also called the Twin Towers, became the tallest buildings in the world in 1970, boasting a glorious height of 416 metres. The buildings were created to encourage international business in New York and symbolize U.S. leadership in global trade.
The towers maintained record heights until 1973 and currently no longer exist, having been destroyed during the terrorist attacks that hit the country on September 11, 2001.
5. Burj Khalifa
The current record holder for the tallest building in the world was created in 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Burj Khalifa, as it is called, is 828 meters high and cost a total of 1.5 billion dollars to build. The glittering tower has 200 floors, but only 160 are habitable.
The tallest parts of the building are part of the “vanity height,” meaning they are just floors filled with structural support, built to increase the height of the building.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
