16. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan

 

Height: 508 meters
Cost to build: US$1.8 billion
Completion date: 2004
Fast fact: The building is designed to resemble a growing bamboo stalk, a symbol of everlasting strength in Chinese culture.

 It is the first skyscraper to soar past the half-kilometer mark and it sat at the pinnacle of the skyscraper world from 2004 to 2009. Taipei 101 can also claim the “world’s fastest passenger elevator” title. At an ear-popping 1,010 meters per minute, it takes merely 37 seconds to catapult passengers from the fifth floor to the highest point in Taiwan. Ritualistically, Taipei 101 is supported by the lucky number eight in many aspects of its design, including the number of sections and super columns. It also incorporates the form of a Chinese pagoda and evokes the shape of sprouting bamboo flowers.