8 Cool Skyscrapers You’ve Never Heard Of

The Oriental Pearl Tower in the Pudong area of Shanghai is one of the most iconic buildings ever constructed, the two spherical balls linked by steel columns make for a very recognizable look. It is one of the largest TV stations in the world, and stands at 468 meters tall. The upper viewing gallery has many attractions such as a revolving restaurant  that spins around the city.

The Abraj al-Bayt clock tower is the fourth tallest building in the world, at 601 meters, and is the tallest clock tower. It is adjacent to the holy site of Islam (Kaaba), and accommodates the more than 2million Muslims who make the pilgrimage to Mecca every year. The building costed $16M to build and is the most expensive building in the world. The green clock face and half moon spire make it very recognizable.

This lesser known skyscraper in New York is mostly known for being the skinniest skyscraper in the world. It is 472 meters tall but only 18 meters wide. Steinway tower is also one of the most luxurious and expensive residencies in the world, the penthouse is no exception, racking in at about $70M. It is an impressive feat of engineering that keeps this skinny masterpiece standing.

This iconic building is the residence of Indias richest person, Mukesh Ambani, his wife, his son and his wife, and their children (6 residents), this makes it the largest, tallest, and most expensive single-family home in the world. The cost of the mansion is circa $4B. The magnificent modern architecture makes it very hard to forget.

This building is quite a bit shorter than the others on the list, but is still extremely impressive. The design is based on a twisted marble sculpture and the uppermost floor is at a 90 degree angle to the lower one. The almost natural look of this building make it one of the best examples of Scandinavian architecture.

The most unique feature of this building is the lotus shaped helipad on the side of the building, representing the national flower of Vietnam . There is a wraparound sky deck on the 49th floor of the tower, which measures at 262 meters in the air. The beautiful curves of this building and the placement by the Saigon river make it an amazing sight.

The Merdeka 118 is 678 meters tall, making it the 2nd tallest building in the world. Merdeka means Independence Day in Malay, and the main feature of the building is its multi-faceted diamond-shaped facade and unique spire design. Its form was inspired by the outstretched hand gesture made by malaysias first prime minister when declaring independence in 1957. In general it has a quite patriotic theme

The iconic Mode Gokuen Cocoon tower is modeled after, you guessed it: a cocoon. It is also the second tallest educational building in the world. The building was also an open competition with more than 150 entrees from in and outside of Japan, this design by Tange associates was chosen for the building. The curvature of this modern building makes for a beautiful backdrop and university building.

All of these buildings are beautiful modern buildings that most people haven’t heard of and it shows how much architectural talent lies in east Asia. Many of these buildings I had never heard of before making this blog, and I had a lot of fun learning about them, and I hope you did too (: