The Malaysian Petronas Towers are no longer the tallest buildings in the world...as of 2004. Ok, so I'm not on top of these things, but I don't usually keep up with new architecture in Taiwan which is the home of the new champ--Taipei 101. Standing 1670 feet above the streets of Taipei (duh), it's 187 feet taller than the dual Petronas towers. It has a giant steel ball suspended in the upper floors to help control the sway (yikes!). I've only seen one building in this class--the World Trade Centers--and I was dizzy at the bottom looking up. Standing at the top and swaying back and forth would be quite an experience.
Alas, fame is fleeting. Before long, TaiPei 101 will be surpassed by the Freedom Tower on the WTC site and Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emerits. The Burj Dubai is especially interesting as it resembles the giant Archologies that Science Fiction has written about for years. One could live and work in the tower, shop and eat in tower, be entertained in the tower. How long will it be before some people live their whole life in such a building without needing to leave except maybe to vacation?
World's Tallest Towers 2006 - Forbes.com
