Future Tallest Building in the World – The Tallest Planned Buildings

What is the future tallest building in the world? Several major skyscrapers under construction would fit the bill. However, many of the tallest planned buildings are not actually the same as the tallest buildings under construction. Planning and construction are distinct from one another, so let’s have a look at the tallest buildings under construction at the moment. Keep reading to learn more about them.

A Look at the Future Tallest Building in the World

Below we will have a look at the tallest buildings under construction. There are a few rules for this list. Sometimes a building will be “under construction” but it has already been topped out. When a building has been topped out, the roof has effectively been finished and construction will still continue within the structure itself. These buildings have not been considered for this list.

Instead, all the buildings on this list will be skyscrapers under construction, and by that, we mean buildings that don’t have a fully complete roof yet.

So, these buildings are all those that are actively being constructed as you read this (provided you’re not reading this three decades in the future). However, there will be one exception to this, and that exception is the very first building on the list because of reasons that will be explored in the list. Lastly, every building under construction on this list, aside from the first one, is in China. This is important to note for two big reasons. The first reason is that China is quite famously tight-lipped about a lot of the information that goes on within its borders.

The Burj Khalifa, located in downtown Dubai; Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This means that some of the buildings have no listed architect or architectural firm because that information is not publicly available. There is very little information available about these structures. The second reason that it’s important to note that these buildings are predominantly in China is that there was a ban on tall buildings in the country in 2019. Ever since then, no buildings have been allowed to be above 500 m. This means that most of these buildings are around the 480-499 m mark because people will always push these things as far as they can be pushed.

Without further ado, let’s have a look at the ten tallest buildings under construction that have not been topped out yet.

Jeddah Tower (1,008 m) in Jeddah

Jeddah Tower is a bit of a difficult one because it is “under construction” from a technical perspective, but only because it is still in an incomplete state. The building has actually been on hold since 2018 because of the 2017-2019 Saudi Arabia purge that left many high-ranking officials in the country behind metaphorical bars. Ever since then, this building has remained unfinished. However, the idea had been for this building to become the future tallest building in the world, but for now, it may be considered as little more than one of the tallest planned buildings in the world.

Jeddah Tower was meant to be the first ever building to break an incredible milestone in building height. It was supposed to be the world’s first-ever one-kilometer-tall building. The exact height had been kept under wraps because that’s how things are often done with such tall buildings, but the building would have been at least 1,008 m (or 3,307 ft) tall.

This would have allowed Jeddah Tower to surpass the building that is still the undisputed tallest building in the world: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Sadly, the construction has been on hold and there are currently no known plans to continue work on this absolutely colossal structure. It would have been far too tall, but it was meant to be the beginning of a special economic project in Jeddah called the Jeddah Economic City. This was supposed to boost tourism while also encouraging far more development in the area.

Jeddah Tower as of May 2021; Omarnizar05, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

For now, we will have to wait and see whether anything is going to come along and surpass it before Jeddah Tower can be completed, but at least there are currently no planned buildings that will be able to surpass it. There are some proposed structures, but many of them are more in the realm of speculative architecture, like the mile-high Sky Mile Tower in Tokyo. However, none of those buildings is likely to be built anytime soon (if ever).

Let’s hope Jeddah Tower resumes construction at some point though.

Greenland Jinmao International Financial Center (499.8 m) in Nanjing

The Greenland Jinmao International Financial Center is the tallest building under construction in the People’s Republic of China. It is projected to be finished by 2025, and it has been under construction since as early as 2019. Once it is completed, this supertall skyscraper will have 102 floors and it will be 499.8 m (or 1,640 ft) tall, so it will fall just under the 500 m ban that China enacted in 2019.

Suzhou Zhongnan Center (499.2 m) in Suzhou

The Suzhou Zhongnan Center is a building that will never reach the heights it once desired. The building was once set to be a lot taller than it’ll now be upon completion. It was meant to be 729 m (or 2,391 ft), and this would have made it the second tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

However, that was before the 500 m ban happened in China, and after that, the Suzhou Zhongnan Center stopped construction for several years and only resumed under a new proposed height of 499.2 m (or 1,638 ft) with 103 floors. Regulations can sometimes stop some great structures from being built.

HeXi Yuzui Tower A (498.8 m) in Nanjing

HeXi Yuzui Tower A is one of the tallest skyscrapers under construction but, much like many of the other skyscrapers on this list, it will sit at right below 500 m in height. The 85-floor building will end up being 498.8 m (or 1,636 ft) tall. However, it will also have an open-air observation deck at the top, and it will be one of the tallest observation decks in the world.

In addition, the design was inspired by the nearby Yangtze River.

Fuyuan Zhongshan 108 IFC (498 m) in Zhongshan

Fuyuan Zhongshan 108 IFC is yet another tower that is a couple of meters under the highest allowable height. The skyscraper will be 498 m (or 1,634 ft) tall, and it will have 108 floors full of hotel and office accommodation space.

China International Silk Road Center (498 m) in Xi’an

The China International Silk Road Center is, yet again, another of the buildings that are only just below the highest allowable height in the country. This one will sit at 498 m (or 1,634 ft) and it will have 101 floors upon completion. Interestingly, the name of the building underwent a change.

It was once called the Greenland Center but has since been changed to the far lengthier China International Silk Road Center.

Tianfu Center (488.9 m) in Chengdu

The Tianfu Center doesn’t do what many of the other buildings on this list do. It will be 488.9 m (or 1,604 ft) tall. So, it’s just over 11 m shorter than the maximum height that skyscrapers are allowed to be. It’s playing by the rules far more than the others. Once it is completed, it will be occupied by office and exhibition space.

North Bund Tower (480 m) in Shanghai

The North Bund Tower in Shanghai sadly cannot compare to the tallest building in that city, because Shanghai Tower, at its menacing height of 632 m (or 2,073 ft), renders this building into a relatively tiny thing in comparison. The North Bund Tower will ultimately stand at 480 m (or 1,574.8 ft).

It won’t be the tallest in the city, but it will be rather large, and a comfortable 20 m under the legal maximum.

Wuhan CTF Finance Center (475 m) in Wuhan

The Wuhan CTF Finance Center is another of the buildings on this list that has a sad story caused by the reduction in height. Originally, this structure was supposed to be the tallest building in all of China, and it was supposed to be even taller than Shanghai Tower.

Then it had its height reduced, and it will now only manage to reach the far less glamorous height of 475 m (or 1,558 ft).

Fosun Bund Center T1 (470 m) in Wuhan

The Fosun Bund Center T1 is one of the tallest buildings under construction, but it’s the shortest one on this list at 470 m (or 1,542 ft). Upon completion, this Wuhan-based skyscraper will house hotel and office space.

We have come to the end of our list of the tallest buildings under construction. Sadly, most of the tallest skyscrapers under construction are all forced to be below 500 m. This is because they all have to conform to the law as it has been established by the Chinese authorities. This means that the title of the future tallest building in the world is resting on the shoulders of Jeddah Tower, a building that ceased construction in 2018. Hopefully, construction resumes in order for us to have the new tallest building in the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Tallest Building in the World?

The tallest building in the world that is not under construction is the Burj Khalifa. It is, by far, the tallest building in the world and it has not been beaten since it was finished in 2009. It stands at a whopping height of 829.8 m (or 2,722 ft), and there are no skyscrapers under construction that are capable of surpassing it. Perhaps there will be a building able to beat it one day, but for now, the Burj Khalifa remains the absolute pinnacle of building height in our world.

What Is the Tallest Proposed Building in the World?

The tallest proposed building is not necessarily the tallest planned building in the world, but it would ultimately become the future tallest building in the world if it were to be fully planned out and then built. However, that may be unlikely because the tallest proposed building is known, in English, as the Sky Mile Tower. This building will be in Tokyo, but it’s currently little more than an idea. It would be 1,700 m (or 5,577 ft) tall if it were ever built, and that would make it over a mile high. Although that would be an astronomically gargantuan height, we will have to wait and see if something like that does eventually emerge.

What Is the Tallest Building in the World Under Construction?

This is a complicated question because Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia would have become the future tallest building in the world, but it has been on hold since January 2018. There are currently no plans for it to continue construction. So, is it the tallest building under construction or does that no longer count as construction? If not, then the Greenland Jinmao International Financial Center in Nanjing is the tallest building under construction, but that is less impressive as it is less than half the height of the proposed one-kilometer-high building that would have been the Jeddah Tower.

Justin van Huyssteen( Writer, Academic, Educator )

Justin van Huyssteen is a writer, academic, and educator from Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a master’s degree in Theory of Literature. His primary focus in this field is the analysis of artistic objects through a number of theoretical lenses. His predominant theoretical areas of interest include narratology and critical theory in general, with a particular focus on animal studies. Other than academia, he is a novelist, game reviewer, and freelance writer. Justin’s preferred architectural movements include the more modern and postmodern types of architecture, such as Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Brutalist, and Futurist varieties like sustainable architecture. Justin is working for artfilemagazine as an author and content writer since 2022. He is responsible for all blog posts about architecture.

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