Where Are These Skyscrapers? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hong Kong

Although there's another Bank of China Tower in Shanghai, the one in Hong Kong is definitely the more interesting of the two since it was the first skyscraper to top off at a height above 1,000ft outside the U.S., becoming the tallest outside the Western Hemisphere. Designed by I. M. Pei, the building was completed in 1990 helped spark the construction of a super-tall financial sector in Hong Kong's busy commercial district. Two years after the Bank of China Tower was completed, it was surpassed in height by Central Plaza; eleven years after that, that was surpassed by Two International Finance Centre...which was beaten by the International Commerce Centre in 2010, beating the Bank of China Tower's height by an extra 50%.

Answer: London, England

Built to be the tallest skyscraper in the UK, The Shard tops off at a height of nearly 310m, a total of 70m more than the previous record-holder in London, One Canada Square. Erected in a pyramid shape, this glass structure is capped with an observation deck on its 72nd floor known as The View from The Shard. Because of its height, it's repeatedly been used as a BASE jumping location for extreme sport enthusiasts though, to be fair, they're also trespassers.

Answer: Vietnam

The Bitexco Financial Tower, found in Ho Chi Minh City, completed construction in 2010 to become the tallest building in Vietnam at a height of 262m...but it was surpassed as the nation's highest skyscraper in a year-- the title went to the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower in the nation's capital as it finished at a height of 350m.

The Bitexco Financial Tower is best recognized by its helipad, designed to look like the bud of a lotus flower, the national flower of Vietnam. In 2018, Landmark 81 overtook Bitexco as the tallest structure in Ho Chi Minh, nearly doubling its height.

Answer: Malmö, Sweden

Built on the edge of the Oresund Strait, Malmö's Turning Torso doesn't actually turn, but it certainly appears to since it was built in nine distinct segments, each of which appears to turn to face a further clockwise direction as it rises up. Standing 190m tall, the Turning Torso was the first tower of its kind, built in 2005, but there have since been other 'turning' buildings made around the world in cities like Shanghai, Saint Petersburg, and Dubai.

Answer: Spain

Completed in 2004, the Torre Agbar is one of the many eclectic buildings in Barcelona, Spain. Also known as Torre Glòries, this structure became the third-tallest in the city upon completion, topping off at 144m in height. Similar to London's Gherkin in form, the outer shell of the tower is covered in LED lights, so it has a tendency to be involved in elaborate light shows night by night, illuminating the skyline of the Catalan capital.

Answer: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The duo known as the Petronas Twin Towers were, at one point, the tallest twin towers in the world and, standing in Kuala Lumpur, they're a symbol of Malaysian business and Southeast Asian modernity. Completed in 1996, these towers, known for their distinct architecture and double-decker skybridge, have been featured in a number of films and have been the sites of a number of unauthorized stunts by BASE jumpers and urban climbers.

Answer: Mecca

Controversial because of its origins and the necessary demolition needed to bring them to life, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers were completed in Mecca in 2011. Overlooking the Great Mosque of Mecca, the buildings are, for the most part, skyscraper hotels designed to serve those visiting in Islamic pilgrimage.

The tallest of the seven towers in the complex is the Makkah Royal Clock Tower which, upon completion, featured the largest clock facing in the world. The structure tops off at a point higher than Taipei 101, formerly the world's tallest skyscraper until the Burj Khalifa was finished.

Answer: Osaka

While it's not the tallest building in Osaka, the Umeda Sky Building is probably one of the city's most distinctive because of its shape. Constructed as two towers, the building links at the top with an atrium at its top. Originally, the design plan for the building was supposed to feature multiple towers; instead, there are two, both topping off at the fortieth floor.

At the time of its completion, the Umeda Sky building was the second-tallest building in Osaka. The Osaka Bay Tower, built in the same year, was once one of Japan's tallest buildings.

Answer: Bahrain

The Bahrain World Trade Center, at fifty floor high, is known for the wind turbines integrated into its architecture; it was the first skyscraper in the world to use this. The tallest structure in the country upon completion, it has since been stripped of its crown by other buildings in the city of Manama. Nonetheless, the turbines remain the focal point. Positioned on each of the three sky bridges cutting between the structures, the turbines are able to generate a tenth of the buildings' power usage over a year.

Answer: Chile

Upon completion, the Gran Torre Santiago was the tallest in South America and the second-tallest in the Southern Hemisphere behind Australia's Q1. At 300m in height, the building also extends outward as part of the Costanera Center. The Sky Costanera observation deck, found on some of the building's highest floors, gives visitors a view of much of southern and eastern Santiago; to the west is Cerro San Cristobal, which rises higher than the tower.