Top 10 tallest structures by the end of 2010

With the number of people living on earth growing exponential (6 billion in the last 100 years), there’s no room for cities to expand on the ground, especially in the big overcrowded areas, and that’s why architects are planning many ways of expanding through the air. No, we’re not talking about flying cities, just about structures that are getting higher and higher everyday.

So, here’s a top of the world’s highest structures that already exist nowadays or are going to be built by the end of this decade. Hope you enjoy it.

Special mention

Yeah, I know, this building is a little out of the time range, as it is scheduled to be completed way after 2010, but it worths being mentioned, being by far the tallest structure, with an estimated height of 1001 m (3,284 ft). And the name? Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, part of the Madinat al Hareer (City of Silk), massive complex that is going to be built in Kuweit over the next 25 years, containing the tower, a new airport, a natural reservation and many business and entertainment centers.

Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, part of the Madinat al Hareer complex

With 1001 m, the Burj will be almost twice as high as today’s record holder, Taipei 101. A graphic sketch of the final project is shown in this picture, and I can’t wait to see what are the enginners going to achieve in their tasks of building a tower higher than 1 km.

Number 1

The Burj Dubai is projected to be the world’s highest land structure built on land by the end of this decade. With its construction started in 2004, the building is expected to be finished in 2009, when it will rise to a estimated height of 818 m (2,684 ft) (although some sources announce numbers up to 1011 m).

Burj Dubai - tallest land structure by 2010

Built in the “New Downtown” of Dubai, the structure was designed by the famous ”Skidmode, Owings and Merril” company, also in charge of the Sears Tower in Chicago and Freedom Tower in New York. Having more than 160 floors, the tower will house 30.000 accommodations (situated between floors 37 an 108, these apartments were sold in just 8 minutes from the moment the prices were posted) and a vast number of hotels, shopping centers and entertainment areas. A massive park will surround the tower, and the estimated investment in Burj Dubai will be over 8 billion dollars.

Number 2

The Tower of Russia will be a part of the Moscow City project that is going to be built in central Moscow over the next years, and will combine all the activities that can be done in a major city. Raised over 1 square kilometer, this “city inside the city” will contain several interesting buildings, with the Tower od Russia as the jewelry, with it’s projected 648 m (2,129 ft) height.

Tower of Russia wil be built in Moscow

Construction began this year, and the 1.5 billion $ building is supposed to be finished by late 2010.

Number 3

The Incheon Tower, would be the centerpiece of a 1,500-acre, $11 billion residential, office and hotel complex that is going to be built in Incheon, South Korea, only 20 miles away from Seoul.

Incheon Tower in Seoul

When it’s going to be completed in 2010, the Icheon Tower is planned to rise to 640 m (2100 ft) above the sea level, placing it on the podium as our number 3 tallest structure in the world.

Number 4

Curently the world’s tallest structure built on land, but planned to drop off the podium by the end of 2010, is the KVLY-TV, a television mast that rises at 628 m (2063 ft). Used by Gargo station KVLY Channel 11, it serves a very large area (30,000 square miles) in North Dakota, USA.

The KVLY-TV mast

The tower was assembled by a 11 members crew in 33 days back in 1963, which is pretty amazing for a structure that big. Only the antenna in the top weighs 9000 pounds and can be accessed via an elevator or by stairs (just imagine how it would be to climb up an iron ladder 600 metres high…)

Number 5

Chicago Spire, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, will become America’s tallest building by the end of 2010, raising higher than the Sears Tower and and the new Freedom Tower in New York, at 609 m (2000 feet).

Chicago Spire will be the tallest building in Northern America

The shape of this structure is the one really impressing, looking like a spiral that screws itself into the sky. The Chicago Spire will be built on the piece of land (280 square miles) from the junction of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. The current plans call for the bottom 20 floors to be occupied by a hotel, while the rest of the building is filled with 1200 luxury condominiums. Construction began this month and the colossus is scheduled to be completed by late 2010.

Number 6

The Port Tower is a building planned for Karachi, the financial capital of Pakistan. With collaboration from local and foreign investors, and the Karachi Port Trust, the Port Tower will be 593 m (1947 ft) high. The height of the tower has special significance as it represents the year when Pakistan won its national independence: 1947.

The Port Tower design is not final yet

The tower will be part of the Krachi Waterfront complex which will be constructed on artificial islands in the shape of symbols of the flag of Pakistan: a crescent and a star, and will house among others a hotel, a shopping center, and an expositions center. Construction didn’t yet started but could be finished by the end of 2010 so I included Port Tower in the top, as number 6.

Number 7

Jakarta Tower is a structure that is under construction in Kemaroyan, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, standing 558 m (1,831 ft) tall, up to the antenna. Expected to be finished by 2010-2011, the tower will have many purposes, functioning as a hotel , observation deck , tv/phone tower , discovery/science center and shopping mall.

The Jakarta Tower

Number 8

Number 8 is another classic, the famous CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, situated next to lake Ontario. Standing 553 m (1,815 ft) tall, it has been the world’s tallest free standing structure since its completion in 1976. Considered by most the icon of the city and even of Canada, the CN Tower is used for communications but also as a tourist site, attracting more than two million international visitors annually.

The CN Tower is the symbol of Toronto

Number 9

After the tragic events o September 11, 2001, when the twin World Trade Center towers collapsed, New York promised they will return with something even greater. The Freedom Tower will be they key building of the new World Trade Center complex that is going to be built in Lower Manhattan, next to Ground Zero and the Memorial that is also being built there.

The Freedom Tower, part of the new World Trade Center Complex

Construction started in spring 2006 and it is expected to be ready by 2009-2010, standing up to 541 m (1,776 ft) on the top of the antenna. That would not be enough to claim the tallest structure title by 2010, as you can see it lies at the bottom of the Top 10, but it is somewhat taller than the older building, and I guess that was the point after all.

The Freedom Tower, standing in the middle of Lower Manhattan

Number 10

It is funny how technology evolves these days, as you can see that in just 3 years, currently the world’s tallest skyscraper (509 m (1670 ft)) and 3rd structure overall, the Taipei 101, will lie on the last position of our top.

As you know, Taipei 101 is a 101-floors tower situated in Taipei, Taiwan, finished in 2004 and worth 1.6 billion $ as an initial investment. Dominating the city’s sights, being the tallest structure there, the Taipei 101 incorporates many architectural aspects of Chinese heritage, as the Ancient Chinese coin myth or the dragon heads added to the corners.

Taipei 101, highest skycraper up to date

Technologically, the building is very advanced, as it has to fight the harsh Taiwanese climate and the great number of earthquakes taking place there annually. The world’s fastest pressurized elevators and a 900-ton mass damper installed on the 87th floor are just a couple of the engineering marvels built inside Taipei 101.