Lotte World Tower
On 4 April 2017, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) officially acknowledged the newly-completed Lotte World Tower as the fifth tallest building in the world.
Located in Seoul, South Korea, the sleek, tapered supertall tower measures 554.5 m (1,819 ft), pushing Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers (at 452 m) out of the Top 10 list for the first time since they were completed in 1998.
Built with the 10-storey Lotte World Mall at its base, which opened in 2014, the tower is a slender cone with gently-curved convex sides. The architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates used pale-coloured glass for the exterior, drawing inspiration from Korean ceramics, porcelain and calligraphy.
Originally granted permission to start construction in November 2010, work actually began in March 2011.
The 123-storey tower contains a variety of functions, including retail, offices, luxury hotel, concert hall with 2,000 seating capacity, aquarium, and cinema. It also boasts the world’s highest glass-bottomed observation deck, which visitors can walk across at 500 m (1,640 ft) above ground.
The roof structure is 120 m-high and is constructed using 12 m-high steel counterparts, each weighing 20 tons. It is resistant to earthquakes of up to 9 on the Richter scale, and wind speeds of up to 80 m/s.
Other notable features include the world’s highest swimming pool in a building, on the 85th floor, and the world’s fastest elevator, capable of taking people to the top in just 60 seconds.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.