Future-skyscraper lists are usually full of renderings for buildings that never break ground. So this update uses a stricter filter: projects the Skyscraper Center currently classifies as under construction.
The result is still spectacular. Jeddah Tower sits at the top with a planned architectural height of 1,000 meters.
Six towers to watch in 2026
How the completed top 10 could change
Potential new world #1
At 1,000 m, Jeddah Tower’s planned height exceeds Burj Khalifa’s 828 m.
Potential #2
Burj Azizi’s planned 725 m would exceed the 679 m height of the current second-tallest completed tower.
Two towers around the current top-five zone
Tianjin 117 and Burj Binghatti would enter a height band currently occupied by the world’s very tallest completed skyscrapers.
A new cluster
Three of the six projects listed here are in Dubai, reinforcing the city’s continuing role in supertall development.
Under construction is not the same as guaranteed
Tall-building projects can pause, redesign, change height, change completion date or stop entirely. The Skyscraper Center’s status is more meaningful than a concept rendering, but the final ranking exists only after a building meets completion criteria.
Height is rarely just about floor area
A tower can brand a district or city
Skyscrapers work as urban symbols long before every square meter is occupied.
Vertical density can concentrate uses
Office, hotel, residential and retail functions can share one footprint.
Rankings matter to developers
The title of tallest can be part engineering target, part marketing strategy.
Every extra meter gets harder
Wind, elevators, structure, foundations, evacuation and construction logistics all become more demanding.
The next world-record tower is no longer only a rendering
Jeddah Tower and Burj Azizi now lead the current under-construction height table.
The more interesting question is which projects actually cross the finish line — because skyscraper history is full of towers that were tallest only on paper.