Each year, Guinness World Records updates its panoply of superlatives with a celebration known as Guinness World Records Day. That day was Thursday, and now that the day has been honored and the latest records released, it’s time to ogle at the architectural marvels that reigned supreme.
Here is an abbreviated look at some of the world’s most spectacular buildings, via Architizer:
Tallest Residential Building:
The Princess Tower
Peaking through the clouds at 1,358 feet, the Princess Tower in Dubai has claimed the honor of being the world’s tallest residential skyscraper since it was completed in 2012.
Heaviest Building:
The Romanian Palace of Parliament in Bucharest
With so many new developments focusing on height and light materials, the Romanian Palace of Parliament in Bucharest has little competition in terms of weight. The behemoth of a building weighs in with roughly 700,000 tons of steel and bronze, 1 million cubic meters of marble, 3,500 tons of crystal glass, and 900,000 cubic meters of wood.
Tallest Unoccupied Building:
The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea
The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea is one of the most unusual skyscrapers on planet Earth in that it has never been occupied. Construction was begun on the 105-story building in 1987, but was stalled after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2008, construction resumed, and last year the exterior was completed. But nevertheless, the building has never officially opened or housed a single tenant.
Tallest Building:
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai
It comes as no surprise that the 2,716-foot Burj Khalifa in Dubai is still the world’s tallest man-made structure. [Architizer] – Christopher Cameron