- [Narrator] Skyscrapers
light up big city skies, hanging around above the world's
most metropolitan cities. Along with providing compact office and residential space, skyscrapers double as tourist attractions providing observation decks, malls, restaurants and hotels. But architects don't just look to make behemoth buildings tall, they must stand out when compared to other monster buildings
around the world. Coming up are the World's
Most Amazing Skyscrapers. (lively music) - Amazing. - [Narrator] Number 20, 56 Leonard Street. Known as Jenga Tower, 56 Leonard Street in New York City is a residential skyscraper featuring 145 spatially innovative homes. On the outside, it
looks incredibly unique, like individual houses
stacked into the sky, but on the inside, its
just as spectacular. Residents have access
to multiple amenities, including a dining
saloon, catering kitchen, steam and treatment room, theaters, a high-rise pool and a hot tub. Along with extraordinary views, it's no surprise these
apartments start at $3.5 million. But the most luxurious ones have sold from between $15 million
to $47 million dollars. Number 19, HSB Turning Torso. The HSB Turing Torso in Sweden is the tallest skyscraper from all the Nordic countries, standing at 623 feet or 190 meters tall. And its unique turning shape ensures it stands out amongst any skyline. The mostly residential
property with 147 apartments rang up a final tab of $162
million dollars to build. A steel structure supports
the spiraling tower. Each apartment unit is unique depending on its location in the building and its slanted windows create tons of natural light. Number 18, Petronas Towers. The world's tallest twin buildings stand at 1,483 feet or 452 meters and are located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The twin design allows the Petronas Towers to separate work from play. One tower houses Petronas, a Malaysian oil and gas company, along with numerous other company offices, while the other houses a shopping mall. There's also an observation
deck on the skybridge. The tower is constructed
with 55,000 glass panels. These panels are made of vision glass, a material that filters light and reduces noise inside the tower. And stainless steel
visors protect occupants inside from the tropical sun. So the Petronas Towers creates
a comfortable environment for employees and for visitors. Number 17, Shanghai
World Financial Center. Standing at 1,614 feet or 492 meters tall, the Shanghai World Financial Center isn't the tallest building in Shanghai, but it is one of the most spectacular. The giant bottle opener design pays tribute to Chinese mythology. Apparently, it helps
ancient, mysterious dragons to fly through to get to the water. Now, maybe that's not the real reason. But a sturdy, high-rise being able to withstand strong winds provides enough justification for the unique design on its own. It also means metal replicas sold in gift shops of the building are perfect as actual bottle openers. Number 16, Lakhta Center. Europe's tallest building literally rises above the clouds. The Lakhta Center in Russia is 1,515 feet or 462 meters tall and has an unusual shape that expands, tapers off and twists at each floor by 0.82 degrees, relative to the central axis. This amounts to 89 degrees
for the whole skyscraper. It was built with advanced
energy-saving features, like each of its 700 kilogram glass panes which are double glazed, meaning they're energy efficient. Economical infrared radiators replace traditional heaters inside the building and the structure also
funnels excess heat generated by its mechanical, electrical, and plumbing equipment
into the heating system. Inside you'll find offices,
a co-working center, a sports center, and a
variety of other amenities. Number 15, John Hancock Building. This skyscraper in Chicago was 1,500 feet or 457 meters tall, from the ground to the
top of its antennas. The building is best known for its observation deck, 360 Chicago. Located 1000 feet above
Chicago's Magnificent Mile, it offers amazing views of Chicago's skyline and Lake Michigan. The deck also features a museum
on the history of Chicago and the ride, Tilt, on
the observation deck literally tilts you over Michigan Avenue. Would you be brave enough to do this? Number 14, Taiwan Eco-Tower. The Tao Zhu Yin Yuan Tower in Taipei, also known as the Taiwan Eco-Tower, was completed in 2017. It's a collection of 40 luxury condos which currently looks like this, but the intended 23,000 trees and shrubs that will eventually be planted within it are supposed to absorb 130 tons of carbon dioxide a year. The double helix shaped building is crafted to look like a strand of DNA, and its shape and glass
floor allows for sunlight to reach plants primarily
inside the complex. And for residents living inside, the apartments feature a
ton of natural lighting, living room, dining room, family room, multiple bedrooms
with walk-in wardrobes, an indoor swimming pool in a naturally lit fitness center. Number 13, Marina Bay Sands. This is the world's largest luxury hotel, containing 2,561 rooms. It draws lots of attention to itself with its unique three tower design and amazing panorama deck sitting on top of the towers. Standing at 656 feet or 200 meters tall, the $8 billion dollar hotel in Singapore is most famous for its infinity pool located on top of its 57 stories. The giant rooftop pool holds over 1.4 million gallons of water a day. It stands as the world's
longest elevated swimming pool with its length checking in at 490 feet or 150 meters. So put that in perspective, it's longer than three Olympic size swimming pools put together. And how do they keep all that water from powering out into
the city from so high up? 500 jets underneath the pool regulate all the water so it doesn't flood the City of Singapore. Number 12, Tencent HQ in China. Tencent is one of the most innovative tech companies in China and that innovation
carries over in the design of their $599 million dollar headquarters located in Shenzen, China. The 806 foot or 245 meter building features three sky bridges connecting the 12,000 employees that work there. The three bridges are called links, representing different
portions of the building. The 1st link is the Cultural Link, which is the reception area that serves as an introduction to the company. The 2nd link is the Fitness Link, which features a recreation center. The 3rd link is the Knowledge Link, where employees take classes. Number 11, Liebian International Building This building is quite controversial because of its 108 meter
or 355 foot waterfall that sticks out as a prominent feature on the side of one of the towers. It's been called wasteful
and also a nuisance, as citizens mistook it
for a giant water leak when it was first built, leading to many false
emergency calls being made. An underground tank fills the waterfall with rainwater and runoff, but the costs of keeping it operational means the owners of the building rarely turn on the waterfall. It costs a $160 per hour to run! As a result, many consider the Liebian International Building a giant waste of money. In fact, it only turned on the waterfall 6 times within the first 2 years of the waterfall's completion. Number 10, Ryugyong Hotel. This building is amazing, not only because of its unique, neo-futuristic, pyramid-shaped design, but also because it's basically pointless. At 1,080 foot or 330 meters tall, it's currently listed by
Guinness World Records as the tallest unoccupied
building in the world. It's no surprise really since its located in North Korea, a country not renowned for its
efficient use of resources. Construction began over 30 years ago, but it hasn't yet been opened. It will be a mixed-use development, with apartments, office spaces and a hotel. If turned into a single hotel, as initially planned, it may contain as many
as 7,665 guest rooms. Number nine, Oasia Hotel Downtown. The Oasia Hotel in Downtown
Singapore stands out, thanks to its set of 54 different plants that grow on the building. The plants bloom at
different times of the year, making it a real mosaic of colors. The 314 room hotel furthers its reputation for being green with three pools all surrounded by foliage and a breezy green Sky Terrace. Number eight, Bitexco Financial Tower. The 861 foot or 262 meter tall Bitexco Financial Tower in
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam features a Stark Tower-like helipad as its most prominent element. The designers placed the helipad as a tribute to the lotus flower, a national symbol of Vietnam. The helipad ventures off from the rest of the building like the bud of a lotus
flower seeking the sun. Number seven, Shanghai Tower. This is the world second tallest building, at 632 meters or 2,073 feet, with an estimated construction
cost of $2.4 billion. It also has the world's
second fastest elevators which travel at a top
speed of 20.5 meters, or 67 feet per second, which come in useful
as the building boasts the worlds highest observation deck at 562 meters or 1,843 feet. The building surrounds itself with two transparent glass facades which is extremely energy efficient. The two glass facades create a space that warms cool air in the winter and cools warm air in the summer. Its tiered construction, designed for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones divided between office, retail and leisure use. Unfortunately, due to a lack of permits, only 33% of tenants had moved in by the end of 2017. Number six, Arbaj Al Bait Clock Tower. The Makkah Royal Clock Tower is a significant feature of
the Arbaj Al Bait Complex. The giant clock face adorns the top floors of the nearly 2000 foot
tall or 601 meter tower and is a part of a six building complex. Whilst most skyscrapers
are tall and slender, this building is both wide and tall, which is part of the reason it's the most expensive building in the world, equaling around $15 billion. Its the world's third largest building and oversees the Grand Mosque, which accommodates up to 2 million Muslims a year during Hajj. The placement of the clock is no accident. Time is a significant
element to the Islamic faith, with four of the five
pillars regulated by time. Number five, Gran Torre Santiago. This building in Chile stands at 984 feet or 300 meters tall, making it the tallest
building in South America. Given the fact it sits on fault lines, and therefore experiences some of the strongest
earthquakes on the planet, this tower required some serious engineering talent to pull off, something which has proved crucial as its survived earthquakes as high as 8.8 magnitude in 2010
with no structural damage. The key to this building's survival is its highly advanced outrigger system. The outrigger system uses
series of stiff beams, known as outriggers, to
connect the shear walls to the exterior columns. So when the core of the
building attempts to sway, the walls and columns resist, keeping the building stable. Number four, Taipei 101. Taipei 101 in Taiwan held the crown of world's tallest building for six years. And though it may not hold the title of tallest building anymore, Taipei 101 maintains its status as the tallest green
building in the world. The Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design, or LEED, granted Taipei 101
Certified Platinum Status, the tallest building in the world to be granted that status. The 8 levels of Taipei 101 catch water and reuse it in the
building's water system. The energy system uses
30 percent less energy than a normal building. And the beehive structure in
the center of the building reduces Taipei 101's movement during an earthquake or
typhoon by 40 percent. Number three, The Shard. Locating itself between
the historical monuments of Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral, The Shard in London stands at 1,004 feet or 306 meters high. The building gets its name from a quote by the project's Chief
Architect, Renzo Piano. Renzo described this building as a "shard of glass through the heart of historic London." And the name is well-earned. 11,000 pieces of glass make up the outer surface of the building, creating an effect that the building is blending into the sky. Number two, One World Trade Center This building in New York serves as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001, replacing the original
World Trade Center Towers. The landmark stands at 541
meters or 1,776 feet tall, symbolizing the year the Declaration of
Independence was signed. The tower's observation
deck extends to 1,368 feet, the exact length of the
original World Trade Centers. Also, in remembrance
of the victims of 9/11, designers built the new tower stronger with high-strength concrete,
dense fireproofing, and additional staircases
for first responders. A memorial sits on the ground level outside the building as does the one tree that survived the falling of the previous two towers. Number one, Burj Khalifa. This is the world's tallest building, standing at 2,722 feet or 830 meters high. It also breaks 14 other records, like having the most floors at 163. Now to put that into perspective, let's think about just
how massive that is. It's 9 times higher than
the Statue Of Liberty, 6 times higher than the
Great Pyramid of Giza, and over 2 and a half times the height of the Eiffel Tower. It needed 110,000 tons of concrete, 55,000 tons of steel rebar and workers logged a
combined 22 million hours over 6 years to complete it. And at the peak of construction, 12,000 workers slogged away building this monstrosity every day. Inside, it contains
residential apartments, observatories, and
several corporate suits. In total, it cost $1.5 billion dollars, which isn't too bad if you think about it. That's one-tenth the price of
the Arbaj Al Bait Clock Tower. So, which building did you think was the most amazing? Let me know in the comments down below. Thanks for watching. (lively music)
