Many people wanted to live in these cities. Big companies wanted big office spaces, and to accommodate people better in the city, these skyscrapers had to be built. Some honourable mentions here, New York’s Empire State Building. It remained the world’s tallest building from 1931 to 1971. It held the record for 40 years. And in the modern context, it held the record for the longest time.
It was beaten in 1971 by another building in New York. the World Trade Centre at 417m. 9% taller than Empire State Building’s 381m. In 1998, the competition spread out of America, and shifted towards Asia. When the Petronas Towers were built in Kuala Lumpur at the height of 452m. They held the status of the world’s tallest building till 2004, after which, it was beaten by Taipei 101. And in 2009, with the biggest margin, Burj Khalifa beat all of them. From 510m, to 829m.
Initially, when Burj Khalifa was being planned, its initial proposed height was around 550m. During planning, they kept on increasing the height, until it was as tall as we know. The reason was that in the downtown area of Dubai this building would be the centerpiece attraction.
