Style: Modern Architecture
Height: 46.28 metres
Floor area: 219,400 metres
Construction period: December 2001 to July 2007
Architect: Paul Andreu
Structural style: Ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake
Type: Performing arts complex, opera house
Nickname: The Giant Egg

Style: Deconstructivism
Construction period: September 2007 to June 2008
Architect: Jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and CADG which was led by chief architect Li Xinggang.
Capacity: 80 to 90 thousand people
Size: The stadium extends 333m from north to south and 294m from east to west, with a height of 69.2m  
Type: Sports stadium, concert venue
Nickname: The Bird's Nest

Height: 589 feet
Floor area: 2,800 metres squared
Construction period: 2007 to 2012
Owner: Fernbrook Homes Cityzen Development Group
Architect: MAD Studio, Beijing, with Burka Varacalli Architects
Type: Residential condominium twin tower skyscraper complex 
Did you know: Fondly dubbed the Marilyn Monroe towers by local residents, the Absolute Towers parallel the twisting fluidity or natural lines found in life. 

Type: Aquarium
Opened: December 2013
Land area: 12,000 metres squared
Volume of largest tank: 4,000,000 litres (880,000 imperial gallons; 1,100,000 US gallons)
Total volume of tanks: 7,000,000 litres (1,500,000 imperial gallons; 1,800,000 US gallons)
Structural style: It resembles a whirlpool when seen from above. It often is, being close to the Copenhagen Airport
Architect: 3XN
Current claim: Largest aquarium in Northern Europe
Nickname: The Blue Planet, The Whirlpool

Style: Neofuturistic
Height: 829.8 metres
Floor area: 309,473 metres squared
Construction period: January 2004 to December 2009
Architect: Adrian Smith at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Structure: Mixed use
Previously called as: Burj Dubai, then renamed as "Burj Khalifa" in honour of the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. The Arabic word "burj" means "tower" in English

Style: Contemporary
Height: 43 metres
Floor area: 28,000 square metres
Construction period: January 2007 to 2011
Owner: Portus
Current tenant: Iceland Symphony Orchestra, The Icelandic Opera
Architect: Henning Larsen Architects, Batteríið, Ólafur Elíasson (facade design), Artec Consultants (acoustics design)
Type: Concert hall & conference center
Did you know: The building features a distinctive colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland.

Style: Neofuturistic
Height: 309.7 metres
Construction period: March 2009 to July 2012
Owner: State of Qatar, Sellar Property Group
Architect: Renzo Piano with Sellar Property Group
Type: Office space, hotel, viewing gallery, open-air observation deck
Current claim: Tallest building in the United Kingdom, the tallest building in the European Union, and the fifth-tallest building in Europe. It is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom after the concrete tower of the Emley Moor transmitting station.

Style: Sustainable
Height: 240 metres
Construction period: 2004 to 2008
Architect: Atkins
Type: Commercial
Current claim: It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. The wind turbines were developed, built and installed by the Danish company Norwin A/S.

Style: Sustainable
Height: 170 metres
Construction period: 2005 to 2008
Architect: Nikken Sekkei
Type: Educational facility (It houses three vocational schools)
Did you know: It is known for its double-glassed air flow system which significantly reduces heating and cooling loads by passing indoor/outdoor air (exhaust air/return air) between two panes of glass. The twisting glass and steel spiral is also meant to evoke, “the enthusiasm of students from three schools, twining and rising up to the sky then departing to the real world.”

Style: Structural Expressionism (also known as High-tech architecture)
Height: 604 metres
Construction period: November 2005 to August 2010
Architect: Information Based Architecture (partnership of Mark Hemel & Barbara Kuit); Arup for its structural engineering and architectural lighting
Type: Multi-purpose observational tower
Did you know: It was the tallest tower in the world from August 2009 to March 2011 until it was surpassed by Tokyo Skytree. It was also the tallest structure in China until the topping out of Shanghai Tower.

Style: Deconstructivism
Height: 160 metres with 18-degree lean
Construction period: September 2007 to 2011
Owner: Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company
Architect: RMJM
Type: Commercial offices and hotel
Also known as: The Leaning Tower of Dubai
Current claim: "Farthest manmade leaning building" according to the Guinness Book of World Records
Did you know: The building has a diagrid specially designed to absorb and channel the forces created by wind and seismic loading, as well as the gradient of Capital Gate.

Style: Modern with forms inspired by Korean ceramics, porcelain, and calligraphy
Height: 555.7 metres 
Construction period: February 2011 to December 2016
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox
Type: Mixed use, hotel, residential
Current claim: Tallest building in South Korea, and is the 5th tallest building in the world.

Style: Contemporary, Modern, Postmodern, Sustainable
Height: 1,776 feet (minus the tip)
Construction period: April 2006 to 2013
Architect: Daniel Libeskind (2002); David Childs
Type: Office, Observation, Communication
Also known as: Freedom Tower
Current claim: It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth-tallest in the world
Did you know: Its height represents the year USA gained its independence. It stands above the location of the World Trade Center Twin Towers which fell down during the famous September 11 attack

Style: Deconstructivism
Floor area: 71,000 metres squared
Construction period: January 2005 to 2010
Architect: Zaha Hadid
Type: Chinese opera house
Current claim: The biggest performing centre in southern China and is one of the three biggest theatres in the nation alongside Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts and Shanghai's Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Type: The tower serves as headquarters for China Media Group(CMG) that was formerly at the China Central Television Building
Also called as: CCTV Headquarters
Style: Deconstructivism
Height: 234 metres
Floor area: 389,079 metres squared
Construction period: June 2004 to May 2012
Architect: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) headed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren; East China Architectural Design & Research Institute
Owner: China Media Group

Type: Mixed-use residential skyscraper
Style: Modern and Contemporary
Height: 261.8 metres
Construction period: 2007 to 2009
Architect: Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects (Design); James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Assoc. (Architect of Record)
Owner: Aqua Realty Holdings LLC

Type: Commercial offices
Style: Postmodern
Height: 509.2 metres
Floor area: 412,500 square metres
Construction period: 1999 to 2004
Architect: C.Y. Lee & Partners
Owner: Taipei Financial Center Corporation
Current claim: In 2011, the building was awarded the LEED platinum certification, the highest award according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, and became the tallest and largest green building in the world.
Did you know: The building was officially classified as the world's tallest in 2004, and remained such until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

Type: Offices, Shopping mall
Style: Sculpted
Height: 414 metres
Construction period: 2005 to 2011
Architect: Skidmore, Owings, Merrill and Ramshir and Callison
Owner: Al Hamra Real Estate Co.
Current claim: The tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the world
Did you know: The building utilizes wrapped glass facades on the east, north, and west both for aesthetics and to reduce the amount of reflective surface area on the south facade, which also features brushed Jura limestone. Flared walls reaching from the southwest and southeast corners of the core span the entire height of the tower, and there is a column-free 24-meter-tall lobby

Type: Library
Style: Deconstructivism
Floor area: 33,700 square metres
Construction period: 2002 to 2004
Architect:  Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus of LMN Architects/Office for Metropolitan Architecture
Owner: Seattle Public Library
Current claim: In 2007, the building was voted #108 on the American Institute of Architects' list of Americans' 150 favorite structures in the US
Did you know: Holds about 1.45 million books and other materials, features underground public parking for 143 vehicles, and includes over 400 computers open to the public.

Also called as: Tverrfjellhytta pavillion
Architect: Snøhetta and Knut Bjørgum
Landscape Architect: Knut Bjørgum
Built in: 2011
Concept: The building design is based on the contrast between a rigid outer shell and a soft and delicate inner heart. The architects of Snøhetta study sought to test the outer structural steel and glass box, with organic curves that mimic wood interior erosion of rock or ice, caused by natural forces, such as wind or water, and they offer in this place a unique viewpoint to sit and observe nature around them. With this design a comfortable and durable for visitors to enjoy the area and learn to know space is created.
Materials: Steel, wood, and glass