Sporting a silvery design inspired by traditional Korean ceramics, porcelain and calligraphy, Kohn Pedersen Fox's Lotte World Tower rises half a kilometer over Seoul and is the world's fifth-tallest building. For those with a head for heights, the skyscraper boasts the world's highest glass-bottomed observation deck, reached by the world's fastest elevator.
The Lotte World Tower officially opened a few days ago and reaches a height of 555 m (1,820 ft). Inside, it has a floorspace of 505,300 sq m (5,439,000 sq ft), spread over 123 floors. The building includes lots of office space, plus a hotel, retail space and "officetels." Officetels are studio apartment-style accommodations in South Korea for those who work elsewhere in the building, and include hotel-style amenities like concierge and gym access.
The tower's glass-bottomed observation deck is located near the top of the building, at a height of 497.6 m (1,633 ft), and will offer amazing views of Seoul and the surrounding area. Just getting there should be pretty exciting too, with the elevator being rated the world's fastest.
According to Bloomberg, the elevator can transport people from the bottom to the top of the skyscraper within a minute, which is an impressive feat in itself and must be pushing the limits for how fast elevators can go without risking people losing their lunch. Bloomberg also reports that the tower includes the world's tallest swimming pool.
The project is seeking LEED Gold accreditation and some of the sustainable tech installed includes solar panels, wind turbines, and water harvesting systems.
The completion of the Lotte World Tower changes the Top 10 tallest buildings rankings again. The United States has just one skyscraper in the list – albeit a really impressive one – while China has the most, with a total of five supertall and megatall skyscrapers. The remaining towers are split between Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Taiwan.
