As of November 2026, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. It is in Dubai. It is 828 meters tall. It has more than 160 floors. A tall building has a strong frame, like a skeleton. Steel columns and beams hold up the weight.

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the tallest structure made by people for more than 3,000 years. It stood about 146 meters high when it was new. It is a tomb for a king named Khufu. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world from 1889 until 1930.

The Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world when it was finished in 1884. It is 555 feet tall. It is in Washington, D.C. Wind pushes on a tall building. The taller the building, the more wind matters. The Empire State Building went up very fast. Workers finished it in just over a year.

In 1857, a New York store put in the first safe passenger elevator. Now tall buildings could be used. The word skyscraper came into use in the 1880s. By then, the first tall steel-frame buildings had gone up in American cities.

Long ago, people built tall towers of heavy stone. They had thick, sturdy walls and few windows. Shanghai Tower in China twists as it rises. The twist helps the wind slide around it. The Eiffel Tower is a lattice. That is an open pattern of iron pieces. Wind can blow through it.

Words to know

• skyscraper: very tall building
• elevator: a lift
• lattice: open iron frame
• structure: something built