Burj Dubai, a tower under construction in the skyscraper-crazy United Arab Emirates, has now eclipsed the former world's tallest building in height and number of storeys. For those of you keeping track, the world's tallest completed building is still the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, at 1,666 feet. Nobody knows exactly how tall the Burj Dubai will be when it's completed, but for now it's 1,680 feet, with 141 structurally-sound stories, another world record.
Currently the world's tallest tower and freestanding structure is the Canadian National Tower in Toronto, whose spire reaches 1,815 feet. The Burj's developers promise that when their skyscraper is completed, it will eclipse all current tall-building records, including the reach of its spire. The building's final planned height is still secret (so that other developers don't design buildings just a few yards taller while the Burj is under construction), but developers promise a minimum of 2,275 feet. All we can really say in this situation is, cough, Icarus.
