The 10 Coolest Skyscrapers Around the World

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Sure, New York and Chicago are notorious for littering the sky with their scrapers. But if you’ve recently flipped through a National Geographic, you know places such as Malaysia and Dubai are strongly flaunting their skyscraper-building abilities. Get high on the tallest, obscurest and most scrapey of them all with OTP’s 10 Coolest Skyscrapers Around the World.

Tuk Chang (“Elephant Building”) could well be part of a Thai Godzilla remake, but this 32-story monolith of solid concrete elephant is all function. Shaped like Thailand’s national animal, this little guy is roughly 335 feet tall (102 meters) and was built in 1997. Comprised of both commercial offices and luxury residential apartments, we call shotgun on living in the eye and/or tusk of the elephant (people currently live proudly in the ass part).

 

Named after a mythical Greek Island, this spanking new property dwarfs the Versailles Palace and is home to India’s richest (the world’s fifth richest) man, Mukesh Ambani. The building’s 65 stories are divided into 27 levels, shared only by the Ambani family. And we’re not talkin’ extended family—after a rather public parting with his brother several years ago, India’s most lauded show-off shares the 27 floors with his wife, their three kids and one cranky ole’ granny. We’re guessing they needed extra headspace for their bloated egos.

The Burj Khalifa burst into the skyscraper scene in a big way, swallowing all the coolest superlatives: tallest building in the world (2,716.5 ft / 828m); tallest freestanding structure in the world; fastest (and tallest) elevators in the world (26.3 mph / 42.3 kmh); with the most stories. Wait there’s more— it also holds the world’s highest swimming pool (76th level), highest restaurant, Atmosphere (122nd level), highest outdoor observation deck (124th level; suck it Empire State Building), and the highest mosque (158th level). Oh and little ol’ Giorgio Armani did the interior design of this monster. Nose-bleed city!

Until Burj Khalifa brought its wrath on the big buildings scene, the 1,670.6 ft (509.2 m) Taipei 101 was the reigning scion of skyscrapers. In addition to the 101 stories visible above ground, this digs five stories deep as well. Designed to resemble a Chinese pagoda, with eight canted sections, Taipei 101 keeps it modern with an 800-ton pendulum meant to reduce up to 40% of potential swaying. The $1.7 billion invested in this project ensures that Taipei 101 can withstand the worst earthquakes and typhoons. We wonder what Mother Nature thinks about all this foolishness.

At a measly 288 ft (88 meters), just about any apartment building can block out Lloyd’s with its shadow. What he lacks in size, he makes up for with creativity. Lloyd’s inside-out construction is quite a spectacle. The outer façade is a steel-frame, glass-curtain combo bursting with water pipes, elevators, staircases and electrical work with cranes still hanging on the roof for effect. Lloyd also holds a bit of history in his underbelly—the Lutine Bell is housed on the ground floor, which in the olden days was used to convey the fate of a ship late to its English harbor. If the Lutine was rung once the ship was groovy, but twice meant it was a goner.

This building is Captain Cool for several reasons—not the least of which is that it’s fucking horizontal. The Vanke Center is a hard-working, sleeping skyscraper. Some Captain Planet approved features are: greywater recycling, rainwater harvesting, green roofs, dynamically controlled operable louvres and a host of other cool shit we’ll leave for building nerds to look up.

We see London, we see France, we see a Chinese building shaped like underpants. Without any movable joints, this building is one of the world’s largest single structural systems and these drawers protect the delicate bits and pieces of China’s Television Headquarters. In a country notorious for censorship, it’s about time they aired some dirty laundry.

This bank, designed by Elephant Building architect Sumet Jumsai and modeled after a toy robot, is straight off a Star Wars set. Only 20 stories tall, it’s dwarfed by other Bangkok skyscrapers, but its 1980s-era futurist design brings out the Jetson in all of us. The meeting and dining rooms of the executive suites resemble a pair of beady eyes, and lightning rods on the roof give the robot the antennae necessary to complete the look. For the best views, check this one out at night.

The Gherkin claims to look like a pickle but if you squint really hard (not that hard actually), you’ll see something a bit less salty. Erected to replace the bombed Baltic Exchange building, the 590.6 ft (180m) woody makes a nice focal point of London’s financial district. Maybe a few green windows would help convey the pickle idea but for now, congrats London, you’ve got a big man member thrusting through your skyline.

Ladies, grab your barf bags. Originally planned as the “City of Air,” the Umeda Sky isn’t for the faint of heart. This pair of 40-story towers are connected at 567.6 ft (173m), above bridges and an escalator that seemingly float in the airspace below. Train for vertigo, and be sure to check out the Floating Garden Observatory on the 139th floor. If you can hold back the queasies, you’ll get the best damn view of Osaka city and neighboring Awaji Island.

While the New York skyline remains the most popular cluster of skyscrapers, large, interesting structures are scattered all around the world. Hop around international metropolitan areas to give yourself an eyeful. We’ll leave it up to you to figure out what to do during those long elevator rides to the top.

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