Kesara
3/27/2026
Infographedia
5 Record-Breaking Buildings That Dominate Earth's Skyline
From Dubai's iconic spire to Malaysia's new crown jewel, these architectural giants reshape city skylines across 4 continents
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View DNA (5 data points)
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"unit": "m",
"label": "AE",
"value": 828,
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"city": "Dubai",
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"building": "Burj Khalifa",
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},
{
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"city": "Kuala Lumpur",
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"city": "Shanghai",
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"country": "China",
"building": "Shanghai Tower",
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{
"unit": "m",
"label": "SA",
"value": 601,
"metadata": {
"city": "Mecca",
"rank": "4",
"country": "Saudi Arabia",
"building": "Makkah Royal Clock Tower",
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{
"unit": "m",
"label": "CN",
"value": 599,
"metadata": {
"city": "Shenzhen",
"rank": "5",
"country": "China",
"building": "Ping An Finance Center",
"countryCode": "CN"
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"hook": "Malaysia just claimed #2 spot.",
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"source": {
"url": "https://www.wired.com/2010/05/global-map-of-tallest-buildings/",
"name": "WIRED",
"accessedAt": "2026-03-27"
},
"caption": "The world's tallest buildings cluster in Asia and the Middle East",
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"annotations": [
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"x": 0.7,
"y": 0.4,
"label": "Dubai",
"detail": "Burj Khalifa - 828m"
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"label": "Kuala Lumpur",
"detail": "Merdeka 118 - 679m"
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"title": "5 Record-Breaking Buildings That Dominate Earth's Skyline",
"sources": [
{
"url": "https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buildings",
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"accessedAt": "2025-01-12"
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],
"subtitle": "From Dubai's iconic spire to Malaysia's new crown jewel, these architectural giants reshape city skylines across 4 continents",
"footnotes": "Merdeka 118 in Malaysia completed in 2023, becoming the world's second tallest building and breaking China's dominance in the top rankings."
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