Hi all. I got the idea for this thread after I saw a post someone made saying that in their opinion, Willis Tower (former Sears Tower) was the most dominating skyscraper "in existence". In your opinion what is (or what will be) the most dominating skyscraper? Again, here, we are talking about the dominance the skyscraper in question displays over it's city, not how iconic, tall, or otherwise appealing it is.

I have three skyscrapers in mind: Devon Headquarters (Oklahoma City), Chicago Spire (Chicago), and THE most dominating skyscraper to be in my opinion, Shanghai Tower (Shanghai).

Devon Tower:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6295554669_c0e907895c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/30680967@N03/6295554669/)
Oklahoma City Sunrise (http://www.flickr.com/photos/30680967@N03/6295554669/) by 54fytng (http://www.flickr.com/people/30680967@N03/), on Flickr

Before Devon, when one looked at the OKC skyline, one would see a bunch of tall buildings. Now, you see one tall building and a bunch of medium sized buildings. This entire change in perspective of a skyline is what makes Devon so dominating in my opinion.

Chicago Spire:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/459967128_7d3ed74790.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcf/459967128/)
Chicago Spire (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcf/459967128/) by *Gary* (http://www.flickr.com/people/gcf/), on Flickr

Okay, so although that isn't the best picture of the Chicago Spire as it was intended to be, it shows the Chicago skyline, which is something I wanted to show. The Spire would have taken up the middle slot of the skyline when viewed from one of the more popular positions to view it from. It would have eclipsed the Willis Tower by over 500 feet! It's positioning and height is what puts the Spire on my list.

Shanghai Tower:
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg64/z0rgggg/update%20supertalls/sg-a6g.jpg
Lastly is the Shanghai Tower. This one will be a bit harder to explain. Many will likely say that it won't look as dominating because of Jin Mao and SWFC, but in my opinion, that's what will make it even more dominating. Think of it this way. In 1998, when JMT was complete, Shanghai's residents had a skyscraper that was amoung the Top 5 in the world right in their city. In 2008, when SWFC was complete and was even taller than JMT, it showed SWFC's dominance, because for so long, there was a supertall right there and then there was an even taller supertall. Overshadowing JMT is what made SWFC so dominating. And overshadowing SWFC is what will make Shanghai Tower so dominating in my opinion. People will know that it's tall and massive, but the fact that it will be taller then SWFC, which itself is already dominating and has been for a few years now is what will make the Shanghai Tower as dominating as I think it will be.

I'm sorry if that last explanation was hard to follow. But share your opinions, post pictures, don't get too caught up in any debates. Enjoy :)

Taipei 101

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1095/778255149_080ea0dbdc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yhlee/778255149/)
Taipei 101 Skyscraper - After Raining (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yhlee/778255149/) by *Yueh-Hua 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yhlee/), on Flickr

taipei 101
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx276/afiqnadzir/taipei-101.jpg
turning torso
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx276/afiqnadzir/20060427_145705_TurningTorso.jpg
bitexco financial centre
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx276/afiqnadzir/5196886963_eb02cb4b9b_b.jpg
the shard london
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx276/afiqnadzir/6293126972_7ef517c89c_b.jpg

While I agree that Taipei 101 is a dominating skyscraper, I don't think it should be named as one of the most dominating skyscrapers, because all it is is a really tall skyscraper standing by itself. There's nothing really for it to dominate, because nothing else is even slightly comparable.

maybe the Key Tower in Cleveland?

or the CN tower if you want to consider it?

Tour Montparnasse, Paris
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/2472909152_7ccb67b980.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chagiajose/2472909152/)
Tour Montparnasse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chagiajose/2472909152/) by Cha già José (http://www.flickr.com/people/chagiajose/) on Flickr



Torre Velasca, Milano
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2650/3913466725_f76788ef91.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paoluz/3913466725/)
Torre Velasca (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paoluz/3913466725/) by Paoluzz (http://www.flickr.com/people/paoluz/) on Flickr



Abraj al bait, Mecca
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/6072662183_395f953547.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66638850@N07/6072662183/)
149 Abraj Al Bait ZamZam Tower Mecca Saudi Arabia (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66638850@N07/6072662183/) by klinkaeo rungsun (http://www.flickr.com/people/66638850@N07/) on Flickr




Huaxi Hanging Village
http://img3.allvoices.com/thumbs/image/609/480/87272055-view-the.jpg
allvoices.com (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10576334/content/87272055-a-view-of-the-new-skyscraper-tower-of-huaxi-village-is-seen-on-a-hazy-day-in-huaxi-village)


And, of course:
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/3933924286_10006df65f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cruisair/3933924286/)
Burj Dubai | Burj Khalifa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cruisair/3933924286/) by CruisAir (http://www.flickr.com/people/cruisair/) on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5538552678_d64a57656d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46579888@N02/5538552678/)
Ryugyong Hotel - Pyongyang, North Korea (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46579888@N02/5538552678/) by markpanama (http://www.flickr.com/people/46579888@N02/), on Flickr

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/oOo_DLA_oOo/9075327.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb318/David_Laing/P5061344.jpg

"Dominating" are the hotel in North Korea and the "Eight Sister" actually built in Varsovia.

The one in Malmo and the rest of them are imposing but not dominating for me.

I see my opinion is already here, LOL. Yes the Willis Tower really is in my opinion the most dominating skyscraper in existence. Though I'll add a no. 2 and no. 3 to make it a top 3 :cheer:

1, The Willis Tower

http://www.tourismnewsinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Sears-Tower-Skyscrapers-at-Night.jpg

The design of the Willis Tower is the synonymum of massiveness. No other building appears as massive as this titanic tower.

2, The Twin Towers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Twin_Towers_from_Empire_State_Building.jpg

They were massive, but the biggest factor of them being the 2nd most dominating buildings in the world was that there were two of them. Two massive skyscrapers dominating the skyline

3, Abraj al-Bait

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/6072662183_395f953547.jpg

Giant Abby has a fairly massive and imposing design but the reason why it is the 3rd most dominating building for me is because all other buildings in Mecca are looking like being at most 150 meters tall, which is a quarter of Abby (with spire). In this case the sheer size of Abby is what is so dominating about it.

3, Abraj al-Bait

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/6072662183_395f953547.jpg

Giant Abby has a fairly massive and imposing design but the reason why it is the 3rd most dominating building for me is because all other buildings in Mecca are looking like being at most 150 meters tall, which is a quarter of Abby (with spire). In this case the sheer size of Abby is what is so dominating about it.

kisch :ohno:

^^ That's true. Abby is a kitsch. I think it's a very ugly building but it's very dominating :puke:

I say the Twin Towers were the most dominating buildings ever. They were just so massive, especially with their huge facades with no setbacks. Very dominating, imo. :cheers: Nice thread, btw

Costanera Center Santiago

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6297894772_4ba45c4204_b.jpg
ppeanno

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/5702/6283901383d986dfbfdeb.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/6286983742_d21b715fc3_b.jpg

http://www.aviewoncities.com/img/nyc/kveus5513s.jpg
http://www.aviewoncities.com/img/nyc/kveus5513s.jpg

linda torre una envidia para todo el cono sur, pero te tengo que decir que el arco que aparece en esta foto es muy feo

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6297894772_4ba45c4204_b.jpg

Maybe you could also say that Commerzbank Tower dominates Frankfurt skyline, as if all other skyscrapers were only built to hail it:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Skyline_Frankfurt_am_Main.jpg/800px-Skyline_Frankfurt_am_Main.jpg
source: wikipedia

petronas twin towers

http://<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27136230@N05/6299070572/" title="PETRONAS Twin Towers by Fotologist, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6036/6299070572_9b31b3fe3a_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="PETRONAS Twin Towers"></a>
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6036/6299070572_9b31b3fe3a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27136230@N05/6299070572/)
PETRONAS Twin Towers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27136230@N05/6299070572/) by Fotologist (http://www.flickr.com/people/27136230@N05/), on Flickr

The 2 I thought of immediately were Met Life (not dominating in the skyline but such an imposing structure), and Tour Montparnasse. I see both are already posted ;D
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8FwKHO8SRGI/S7I-p_Q9qaI/AAAAAAAAAfI/8q1f_5FeYfk/s1600/sacre3.JPG

Minneapolis' IDS tower in the 70's
http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/3163/mpls1972before.jpg

http://blog.aia.org/mt-static/plugins/Ajaxify/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/imagemanager/images/favorite_architecture_images/107ids_lrg.jpg

http://www.tellusfrance.com/images/destinations/Lyon_tower.jpg

Lyon too has a lonesome pencil.

Always and forever.

http://oi41.************/1z1v7ux.jpg

(Taken by me, June 1998.)

^^ Wow, that's an incredible photo :master:

Does the Tokyo Sky Tree counts too?

Tokyo Sky Tree:

http://i44.************/waps48.jpg
http://i41.************/rkom5c.jpg

Quite a few good examples: SkyTree in Tokyo, Taipei 101, and Abraj al-Bait in Mecca seem to be the most dominating.

Sky Tower in Wrocław city, Poland
It's supposed to be 231 meters in height once finished.

http://static3.investmap.pl/g/169/41/30633.forum.jpg

Tokyo Sky Tree:


While still very dominating it is not as dominant than in your 2 pictures when you factor in the entire skyline:

http://tokyo-sky-tree.up.seesaa.net/image/20111204_13.JPG

http://tokyo-sky-tree.up.seesaa.net/image/20111204_14.JPG
http://tokyo-sky-tree.seesaa.net/

A skyscraper as muscular and broad shouldered as its city, looming over the skyline like a brooding overseer...

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2284/1905984589_d6e200adee_z.jpg?zz=1
rainbrew on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rainbrew/1905984589/)

This is especially apparent from western views, where I see a tall, slender figure in the tower's shape, with the setback forming shoulders and the main shaft of the building a black cloak wrapped around the personified tower.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6068/6127980922_2f4fbcc4fb_b.jpg
wswarrior75 on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffingram/6127980922/)

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6206/6122209373_3b035e2788_b.jpg
Nitram242 on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25165196@N08/6122209373/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3053/2609864816_91144416ee_b.jpg
Fadeddays on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fadeddays/2609864816/)

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/222/472864392_39ae6ff917_b.jpg
Rickpawl on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickwashere/472864392/)

^^ The Willis tower will forever remain unrivaled. It's design is pure perfection. It is an unearthly perfect building proving that perfection is indeed achievable :master:

Btw, the western "shoulder" view is my favourite too :banana2:

CN Tower, The Shard, Taipei 101, Tokyo Skytree etc are the most dominating as nothing even remotely comes close to their heights.

BUT the most impressive of dominating towers for me are

Shanghai Financial Tower
International Finance Center
Empire State Building (Midtown) and One Financial Tower (Downtown)
Petronas Towers
Burj Khalifa

In the southern part of Mexico City would be WTC Mexico

http://www.iccaworld.com/cnt/files/image/2010%20Members%20Update/MexicoWTC.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd297/gabrielbabb/Sinttulo-24.png

While still very dominating it is not as dominant than in your 2 pictures when you factor in the entire skyline:



True, it was hard too find pics of it where it's finished AND with the skyline in the background.:)

CN Tower, The Shard, Taipei 101, Tokyo Skytree etc are the most dominating as nothing even remotely comes close to their heights.

BUT the most impressive of dominating towers for me are

Shanghai Financial Tower
International Finance Center
Empire State Building (Midtown) and One Financial Tower (Downtown)
Petronas Towers
Burj Khalifa

I think you mean One World Financial Center, and it's just 176 m high. Or do you mean the highest tower, that is Three World Financial Center. Or do you mean One World Trade Center?:nuts:

^^ I'd say he meant 1WTC cause 1WFC and 3WFC are not at all dominating :dunno:

Yeah, I meant 1WTC. I kinda mixed up IFC and 1WTC together :nuts:

Tallest structure in the southern hemisphere - the Auckland Sky Tower, totally dominates the City of Sails. :banana:

http://www.amazingnz.com/Auckland.jpg

While I agree that Taipei 101 is a dominating skyscraper, I don't think it should be named as one of the most dominating skyscrapers, because all it is is a really tall skyscraper standing by itself. There's nothing really for it to dominate, because nothing else is even slightly comparable.

Isn't this the most obvious requisite for "domination"?

In the southern part of Mexico City would be WTC Mexico



:cool:

The ESB is very dominating for sure, and big in person..

But buildings like the Sears tower, SWFC, the WTC etc. are overwhelmingly massive in person to say the least.

I've never seen the Burj Khalifa, I couldn't imagine what that would look like in person.

Also, sears tower is all black, which makes in 10 times cooler

for Southeast Asia, it must be the Petronas Towers in KL, Malaysia... :)

http://64.19.142.11/i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g371/Afiq_Nadzir/kls.jpg_hyuncompressed

http://64.19.142.13/farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6456578035_1a8608467b_b.jpg

The towercomplex of the Renaissance Center in Detroit
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Headquarters_of_GM_in_Detroit.jpg/800px-Headquarters_of_GM_in_Detroit.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ad/DowntownDetroit.jpg/800px-DowntownDetroit.jpg

The Taipei 101 offcourse.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3231178635_aebc5da795_o.png

http://www.listarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/taipei-1013.jpg

^^ love it, very colorful!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KOMTAR

Komtar in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. A 230m tall tower in the middle of a now UNESCO World Heritage city. The heritage buildings are 2-5 storeys tall.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Georgetown.jpg

http://www.rcplanet.com.my/images/Komtar02.jpg

http://umno-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/komtar.jpg

Sears Tower!!! :D
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1051/843265741_e70e7efdf7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefuton/843265741/)
Sears Tower, at night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefuton/843265741/) by thefuton (http://www.flickr.com/people/thefuton/), on Flickr


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2105/2366548755_e9da05d115.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-dawg/2366548755/)
Sears tower at night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-dawg/2366548755/) by erik_bruecken (http://www.flickr.com/people/e-dawg/), on Flickr

Sears Tower in the Skyline
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4046/4373051240_6a5b598155.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hectorcortes/4373051240/)
Chicago at Night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hectorcortes/4373051240/) by Hector Cortes (http://www.flickr.com/people/hectorcortes/), on Flickr

^^hm it's not that dominating ;)

^^hm it's not that dominating ;)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6068/6127980922_2f4fbcc4fb_b.jpg

Yes it is. It's just it's surrounded by a sea of very tall buildings as well.. some supertalls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KOMTAR

Komtar in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. A 230m tall tower in the middle of a now UNESCO World Heritage city. The heritage buildings are 2-5 storeys tall.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Georgetown.jpg

http://www.rcplanet.com.my/images/Komtar02.jpg

http://umno-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/komtar.jpg

argh I hate that thing. Its a UNESCO World Heritage Site now!

^^hm it's not that dominating ;)

I could kind of see why you would think it's not dominating considering the fact it's in a denst, large, high skyline, with mostly skyscrapers and some supertalls and Taipei 101, for example, is next to a bunch of high rises which makes it look dominating. But the Sears Tower is black, tall, and bulky which makes it dominating. Especially if you look at it alone. :)

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/245/518703355_4b32db1f53.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pathawks/518703355/)
Willis Tower (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pathawks/518703355/) by Pat Hawks (http://www.flickr.com/people/pathawks/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6439966913_6da2e59069.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabbit75/6439966913/)
Chicago Willis tower (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabbit75/6439966913/) by Songquan Deng (http://www.flickr.com/people/rabbit75/), on Flickr

The Burj Khalif surely having been built in the middle of little more than a desert.

Abraj Al Bait

http://kapl-hajj.org/photos/clock9.jpg

http://kapl-hajj.org/photos/clock6.jpg

^^hm it's not that dominating ;)



Yes it is. It's just it's surrounded by a sea of very tall buildings as well.. some supertalls

I could kind of see why you would think it's not dominating considering the fact it's in a denst, large, high skyline, with mostly skyscrapers and some supertalls and Taipei 101, for example, is next to a bunch of high rises which makes it look dominating. But the Sears Tower is black, tall, and bulky which makes it dominating. Especially if you look at it alone. :)



I think his comment was sarcastic;)

http://www.alkethiri.com/up/uploads/12826511530.jpg


http://www.changesinlongitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Pyongyang-with-other-hotel-more-800x656.jpg

http://www.evilsunday.com/wp-content/uploads/new/2010/10/Cologne-Cathedral-.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Petronas_Panorama_II.jpg/466px-Petronas_Panorama_II.jpg

Rembrandttoren, Amsterdam

http://www.switchimage.org/phlog/Images%20_va_091001/Phlog_Rembrandttoren_3569.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4598986049_c0c0b88ace.jpg
erwin van meer

http://207.44.228.232/images/B01/1175.jpg

http://bp1.blogger.com/_16KIRKxV-E0/R71IbtPATxI/AAAAAAAAADQ/EOhLNYWvUfA/s400/rembrandttoren01.jpg

I don't think the Rembrandttoren is dominating.

Sunshine 60 Tokyo
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e232/CharmedOne9805/a3_japan.jpg
Torre Colpatria Bogota
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e232/CharmedOne9805/colombia101.jpg
MesseTurm Frankfurt
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e232/CharmedOne9805/Messeturm_Messegelnde_Frankfurt-2.jpg
One Court Square New York City/Queens
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e232/CharmedOne9805/14329967.jpg
Bank Of America Plaza Atlanta
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e232/CharmedOne9805/bank-of-america-plaza-atlanta-georgia.jpg

Torre Caney

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2453/520cq1.jpg

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4184/caney.jpg

Torre Icono

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af128/asuncionverde/asudivina.jpg

http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss325/Nirvi_aneurysma/Dibujo2-72.jpg

^^I hope there will be a structure around. It's such a small core.:)

Costanera Center, Chile.
http://i42.************/dz82mo.jpg

Torre Icono

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af128/asuncionverde/asudivina.jpgThat's a nice looking town with all those pink trees. Where is it?

That's a nice looking town with all those pink trees. Where is it?

Paraguay, Asunción

Waooo..Impressive buildings, good photographies!

First building I thought of was the Williams Tower in uptown Houston, TX. A near 1,000 footer surrounded by mid-rises and malls. At night, a searchlight rotating at the building's crown heightens the feeling of dominance.


http://i.factmonster.com/images/transco.jpg

That is the tallest tower outside a central business district, right?

^^Very tall and impressive, but the surroundings are very uninspiring. It looks like the tower was on its way to the citycenter, but it got lost on an industrial park

Tallest structure in the southern hemisphere - the Auckland Sky Tower, totally dominates the City of Sails. :banana:

Tallest free standing structure. There is a 400m mast in Australia. I saw it and didn't even realise it was that tall until I looked it up afterwards!
It sure is dominating, haven't seen it yet though.

On an International scale where one building seems to dominate that most people would recognise I pick Taipei 101. That Albraj Al Bait will give it a run but looks like multiple buildings ? Same goes for many well known world skyscrapers.............but can anyone name the second tallest or even any other building in Taipei ?

It must be the Turning Torso for me, completely out of place.