World's Tallest

The Ascent, by Korb + Associates Architects, has officially been recognized as the new world's tallest timber tower. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the residential high-rise reaches an impressive maximum height of 86.6 meters.

The world's tallest residential skyscraper, which overlooks New York City's Central Park, has reached its maximum height of 1,550 ft.

As tall timber construction continues to grow in popularity, world's tallest records are being regularly broken. Perkins+Will recently unveiled a new and impressively sustainable hybrid timber building it has planned for Vancouver, Canada, that it says would be the tallest to date if built.

The influential Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has officially declared Norway's Mjøstårnet as the new world's tallest timber building. The mixed-use building reaches a total height of 85.4 m (280 ft).

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center, by Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture, is poised to become one of the world's tallest buildings, perhaps even the second-tallest. It will rise to an impressive height of around 700 m (roughly 2,300 ft).

Right on schedule, the world’s tallest statue has officially opened in India. Standing almost 600 ft (182 m) tall, the new Statue of Unity depicts Indian freedom fighter Vallabhbhai Patel, and was dedicated by India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at a ceremony on October 31.

After more than three years of construction the world's largest statue is on track for an October 2018 opening. The massive Statue of Unity in India is set to tower an extraordinary 600 feet (183 m), almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty.

China boasts more than its fair share of engineering feats, including the world's second-tallest skyscraper and the highest bridge. We can soon add highest skybridge to the list too, courtesy of Moshe Safdie's Raffles City Chongqing project, which is under construction in southwest China.

Currently under construction in Norway, Mjøstårnet will rise to a height of 81 m (265 ft) once complete, making it the new world's tallest wooden building. Kind of. Maybe. That depends on rule changes which may or may not come into force.

Even in the cutting edge world of skyscraper design, SOM's Burj Khalifa stands apart and it remains the world's tallest building by a long way. To get the inside story on its design and construction, we spoke with the Burj Khalifa's structural engineer, William F. Baker.

This sandcastle isn't the kind that you make on the beach with a bucket and spade, but an ambitious project that has been declared the world's tallest sandcastle by Guinness World Records. Rising to 16.68 m (54.72 ft), it surpasses the previous record holder by almost 2 meters.

With a goal of becoming the world's tallest building and so few hard facts available, you could be forgiven for feeling a little skeptical about Santiago Calatrava's Dubai Creek Tower. There's a long way to go yet, but the project is off to a fine start and its foundations were recently completed.