Brace yourself and look down!

The World’s most harrowing buildings to look down from

by Valentina Ieva
4
4 Love 5024 Visits

If you like extreme views above the city, you have to visit - once in your life - some of the most harrowing places to look down from. I've put together a series of these buildings around the world. What is the highest place you've ever been to?

Burj Khalifa is 828 meters tall. The tower, designed by SOM - Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP, the world’s tallest building. If you’re brave enough, you can overlook Dubai from the most exciting observation deck in the world.

The Ledge at Skydeck Chicago - another project by the same architectural firm - transforms how visitors experience Chicago. At 1,353 feet up, The Ledge’s glass boxes extend out 4.3 feet from the skyscraper’s Skydeck on the 103rd floor, providing never-before-seen views of the city.

In China, soaring above the city skyline, the Shanghai World Financial Center stands as a symbol of commerce and culture that speaks to the city’s emergence as a global capital. Occupying the tower’s uppermost floors, the SWFC Sky Arena offers visitors aerial views of the historic Lujiazui and winding river below and the chance to literally walk almost 500 meters above the city via the 100th-floor Sky Walk.

The Gervasutti bivouac stands on a rocky outcrop at the altitude of 2835 meters, beneath the spectacular walls of Grandes and Petites Jorasses. The first hut was built entirely of wood by the Alpin club section "SUCAI" in 1948, and it was entitled "Giusto Gervasutti" , the famous mountain climber from Turin, in memory of his first ascent of the east face of the Grandes Jorasses.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk by M.R.J. Architects is a glass and steel walkway suspended over the Grand Canyon.

The Glacier Skywalk is a 1475-foot long (450-meters) interpretive walk carved and folded into the mountainous landscape of Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The cantilevered parabola, with a glass floor of tempered and heat-strengthened glass, reveals an unobstructed view below. 

 

The CN Tower (Toronto) rated by Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest concrete building and free-standing structure when built, is the 553-meters-high tower originally conceived as a telecommunications tower to provide UHF, VHF, FM, microwave and fixed mobile system broadcast facilities for regional communications.

In Auckland the Sky Tower was designed by Gordon Moller of Moller Architects and has received a New Zealand Institute of Architects National Award. At 328 meters, it is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and offers breathtaking views for up to 80 kilometres in every direction.

Last but not least, the RIBA London Award 2014 winner: The Shard / London Bridge Tower by RPBW - Renzo Piano Building Workshop, a 72 storey mixed use tower located beside London Bridge Station on the south bank of the river Thames. With its 306 meters. Now, brace yourself and look down!

Comments
    comment
    user
    Author
    • Valentina Ieva

      Valentina Ieva

      Architect

      Bari / Italy

      Laureata in Ingegneria edile-architettura, giornalista per professione, web writer per diletto. Amante di architettura, design, fotografia e libri di carta. Dipendente dai social, Instagram e InstaStories su tutti. Affamata di vita, viaggi e storie da scoprire. Qualunque forma d'arte mi affascina da sempre e non posso pensare una vita senza: emozioni forti, immaginazione, buona musica, cucina pugliese, sole e gatti. Per dirla con le parole di Battiato, non potrei vivere senza: ‘un soffio al)

    References
    Burj Khalifa 50

    Burj Khalifa

    Dubai / UAE / 2010

    Willis Tower Skydeck 12

    Willis Tower Skydeck

    Chicago / United States / 2021

    Shanghai World Financial Center 6

    Shanghai World Financial Center

    Shanghai / China / 2008

    Gervasutti bivouac 72

    Gervasutti bivouac

    Courmayeur / Italy / 2011

    Grand Canyon Skywalk 29

    Grand Canyon Skywalk

    Gran Canyon West / United States / 2007

    Glacier Skywalk 47

    Glacier Skywalk

    Athabasca / Canada / 2014

    CN Tower 3

    CN Tower

    Toronto / Canada / 1976

    Sky Tower 0

    Sky Tower

    Auckland / New Zealand / 1997

    The Shard / London Bridge Tower 297

    The Shard / London Bridge Tower

    London / United Kingdom / 2012