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The Sears Tower — once the tallest building in the world — broke boundaries in height, design and construction when it was completed in 1973.

The Sears Tower, Chicago

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Take a high rise hike around the globe&rsquo;s most iconic skyscrapers. Scaling the tallest towers across the world, architects Charlie Luxton and Matt Berman leave the bustling streets to see these extravagant buildings from great heights and unique perspectives. Guided by the world&rsquo;s bravest window washers, Vertical City rediscovers some of the boldest and most ambitious examples of architecture.

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Many cities have a symbolic piece of architecture to project their image. But what when a city loses its trademark industry and its trademark icon?

Turning Torso, Malmo

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7 World Trade Center, the first building to be constructed on Ground Zero, has taken skyscraper safety innovation to new levels.

7 World Trade Center, New York

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The skyscraper is a symbol of power, and an energy-guzzling monster. Norman Foster created a contradiction: the world’s first ecological tower.

Commerzbank, Frankfurt

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Vertical City goes down under to the tallest residential building in the world: the 300 meter Eureka Tower.

Eureka Tower, Melbourne

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The strongest building on Earth, Torre Mayor, is constructed to withstand earthquakes that would obliterate the average skyscraper.

Torre Mayor, Mexico City

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Surfer's Paradise is the resort of choice for the rich and famous, and the massive Q1 Tower dominates the landscape. What's been Q1's effect?

Q1, Queensland

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Architect Cesar Pelli co-created the Petronas Towers, making them stand apart from any other high-rise in the area.

Cira Centre, Philadelphia

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Cologne was the tallest building in the world for 4 years, but where did the money for these religious super spires come from? 

Cologne Cathedreal, Cologne

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In 1991, One Canada Square, the UK's tallest skyscraper, changed the London skyline. 

Canada Square, London

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Setting the standard for a new generation of skyscrapers, this Japanese tower on Chinese land also symbolizes a new era in diplomatic relations.

Shanghai World Finance Center

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375 Park Avenue in New York was built in 1958 by the king of Modernist design, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and changed skyscraper design forever.

375 Park Avenue, New York

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In the 1940s, Josef Stalin commissioned a series of seven towers to inspire Russian citizens to celebrate the strength and glory of the Soviet Union.

Triumph Palace, Moscow

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Naberezhnaya Tower represents a new era for Moscow, one in which it can finally compete with the other major financial centers of the world.

Naberezhnaya Tower, Moscow

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Created by renowned architect I.M. Pei, the Bank of China stands like a diamond amongst a forest of towers, putting Asia on the skyscraper map.

Bank of China

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Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history.

John Hancock Tower, Boston

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In the 1980s, the Malaysian government decided on an unprecedented and ambitious build: the elaborately curved Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Pertronas, Kuala Lumpur

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The tallest tower outside New York City. Its designers revolutionized the way skyscrapers were built and created a true engineering masterpiece.

John Hancock Center, Chicago

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One Hong Kong skyscraper towers above the rest. Star of Batman movies and a gleaming pillar of capitalism–this is Two International Finance Center.

International Finance Center, Hong Kong

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1180 Peachtree is a striking icon on the Atlanta skyline, helping to breathe life back into the street culture of this once lifeless city.

1180 Peachtree, Atlanta

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As the tallest residential skyscraper in the U.K., Manchester’s distinctive Beetham Tower is turning heads and causing controversy.

Beetham Tower, U.K.

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Taiwan, China’s renegade province, wanted to make the world sit up and notice it, so it built the planet’s tallest skyscraper at the time: Taipei 101.

Vertical City: Rediscovering Great Heights Around the World

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