[With apologies to Jimi Hendrix] Wonderfulinfo has a very cool compilation of pictures of the world’s top skyscrapers. You’ll note that the biggest ones have ceased to be in North America and Europe - many are in Asia or the Middle East. (Toronto’s CN Tower does not count because it’s classified as a free standing structure, not a skyscraper. I believe the latter actually has floors.)

My fave is the one in Dubai that looks like a sailboat’s sail - but it really doesn’t belong in the list in terms of height, maybe just for interesting design. Now, some of the bigger ones are not even finished yet. For example, the one in Shanghai, China, is so big - 300 floors - that it’s completion date is 2020. It makes me shudder just thinking about riding in the elevator. (I get vertigo at excess heights.)

If you’re wondering about the structural integrity, Frank Lloyd Wright, one of my architectural heroes, envisioned a mile-high skyscraper - called the Illinois - in 1956 and sketched it out. He felt it was feasible. But the Illinois and several other skyscraper designs were never built. (There’s a heck of a lot of structural engineering that would have to go into such buildings to ensure that they were safe.)

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