What is the tallest freestanding structure in the world?

Burj Khalifa is the tallest freestanding structure in the world. The skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, reaches 828 metres to its architectural top.

Construction began in 2004, and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010. It was developed by Emaar Properties and designed by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with Adrian Smith as the lead architect.

The tower’s Y-shaped floor plan helps reduce wind forces and supports its reinforced-concrete structure. Its design was inspired partly by the form of the desert flower Hymenocallis, while its exterior uses reflective glazing and aluminum.

Burj Khalifa was known during construction as Burj Dubai. It was renamed in honor of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then president of the United Arab Emirates. Tokyo Skytree is taller as a broadcasting tower but is not a freestanding building in the same category.