With many skyscrapers across the globe jostling for the title of the world’s tallest building, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat released a report ranking the world’s highest observation decks.
The list contains 75 prominent buildings, including yet-to-be-completed towers.
Kingdom Tower, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, finished first in the rankings. The thousand-meter-tall (3,280 feet) tower is scheduled to be completed in 2018, and the observation deck will be 2,093 feet high. The deck will be 194 feet higher than No. 2 finisher Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin, China.
Buildings in China round out the top five. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa was sixth, with a height of 1,824 feet. Chicago’s Willis Tower has the United States’ tallest observation deck, finishing 17th at 1,453 feet.
“Often adding an important source of revenue for the structures that have them, observation decks also change the way people view cities, and can potentially elevate their international reputation,” said the authors of the report.
The Eiffel Tower was the oldest structure on the list. Built in 1889, the observation deck at the Paris landmark is 905 feet off of the ground, which is tied for 51st highest in the world.
Related Stories
| Dec 12, 2011
AIA Chicago announces Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as 2011 Firm of the Year
SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment.
| Dec 2, 2011
What are you waiting for? BD+C's 2012 40 Under 40 nominations are due Friday, Jan. 20
Nominate a colleague, peer, or even yourself. Applications available here.
| Nov 22, 2011
Suffolk Construction selected as contractor for Boston luxury residential tower
Project team breaks ground on 488,000-sf building that will feature world-class amenities.
| Nov 15, 2011
Suffolk Construction breaks ground on the Victor housing development in Boston
Project team to manage construction of $92 million, 377,000 square-foot residential tower.
| Oct 20, 2011
Johnson Controls appoints Wojciechowski to lead real estate and facilities management business for Global Technology sector
Wojciechowski will be responsible for leading the continued growth of the technology vertical market, while building on the expertise the company has developed serving multinational technology companies.
| Oct 18, 2011
Michel Bruneau wins 2012 AISC T.R. Higgins Award
The AISC T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award is presented annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and recognizes an outstanding lecturer and author whose technical paper(s) are considered an outstanding contribution to the engineering literature on fabricated structural steel.
| Oct 12, 2011
Vertical Transportation Systems Reach New Heights
Elevators and escalators have been re-engineered to help building owners reduce energy consumption and move people more efficiently.
| Oct 6, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: NEXT Living EcoSuite showcased
Tridel teams up with Cisco and Control4 to unveil the future of green condo living in Canada.
| Oct 5, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Johnson Controls announces Panoptix, a new approach to building efficiency
Panoptix combines latest technology, new business model and industry-leading expertise to make building efficiency easier and more accessible to a broader market.
| Oct 5, 2011
GREENBUILD 2011: Sustainable construction should stress durability as well as energy efficiency
There is now a call for making enhanced resilience of a building’s structure to natural and man-made disasters the first consideration of a green building.
