New World's Tallest Building

Construction has just been completed on a 101-story, 1,676-foot-tall office building in Taipei, Taiwan, making it the tallest building in the world. The Taipei 101, as it is called, overtook Malaysia's Petronas Towers by nearly 200 feet. Since Taipei often suffers from typhoons and earthquakes, it was a challenge for the engineers to make an extremely tall building that could withstand those kinds of natural pressures. The building is expected to officially open in late 2004. How long will Taipei 101 be the tallest? There are already other skyscrapers in the works that expect to beat Taipei 101's height record, including the Shanghai World Financial Center which is expected to be completed in 2007.