100 +

I like the fact that the floor counts of today's skyscrapers are increasing all the time. No longer are developers shying away from that legendary 100. Now, they climb to 100 and they keep going. New York City was and has so far been the only city to boast three buildings that contained 100 floors or more. As we all know they were unjustly deprived of two. This means that in the entire world there are four buildings that have at least 100 floors. Two members of this very exclusive club reside in Chicago, however I bring good news. This elite club is going to be accepting some new members in the next few years.

In the past, 100 floors served as Pillars of Hercules to the designers of skyscrapers the world over. They would approach 100 and then see inscribed upon it the phrase Non Plus Ultra, "nothing further beyond."

In the history of the skyscraper, only six have reached 100 floors or higher, and of them the newest was built in 2004. Why the apprehension towards building 100 floors? Elevators are no longer any problem, we've done it before, so we're going to do it again. Those who are constructing these behemoths no longer approach the legendary 100 floors and see Non Plus Ultra. No, now they see a whole new world of possibilities.

So, according to our friends at SkyscraperPage.com, as of now there are eight monsters with 100 floors or more under construction. The honour roll is as follows:

1. Burj Dubai, Dubai, 162-4?
2. Chicago Spire, Chicago, 150
3. International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong, 118
4. Freedom Tower, New York City, 108
5. Princess Tower, Dubai, 107
6. Guangzhou International Finance Center, Guangzhou, 103
7. Marina 101, Dubai, 101
8. Shanghai World Financial Centre, 100

Terrific news, splendid news. I think it's safe to say that at the end of the decade, Dubai will become the tallest and most visually spectacular city on earth. They are rewriting the books and I for one commend them on their valiant efforts.

Post Script: I am aware of a particular structure called Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. While it does contain 105 floors, it's more of a white elephant than a skyscraper.