The world's tallest buildings - in pictures

Many of us (particularly in the UAE) already know the current record holder, but its reign may soon be over

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The sky is literally the limit when it comes creating tall buildings, and the race to construct ever higher edifices is ongoing.

But how far up can we actually go?

A little more yet, it seems, as some projects currently under construction are predicted to topple the existing world record holders (known as 'megatall' structures) when they're finished.

The first known skyscraper was completed in Chicago, US, in 1885.

The Home Insurance Building was square, made of brown brick, and considered a daring construction for its day, at all of ten floors, or 42 metres, in height.

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By today’s standards, it’s hard to believe that there were those who did not believe it could hold its weight and would topple before completion.

This building sparked a movement within the US (and across the rest of the world), inspiring architects to devise ways to take their projects higher and higher.

As the race to create the tallest structure took hold in the 20th century, innovative designs allowed buildings to soar higher, utilising materials like steel and concrete. And electricity was also now available to power people upwards in lifts.

Currently, the world's tallest building (since 2008) is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 828m in height and with 163 floors, and it is celebrating life this month with an LED show called Soar.