20 of the world's most iconic skyscrapers

Buildings that are great, not because they're tall, but because of what they represent. 1. Empire State Building, New York, United States Height: 437 meters Cost to build: US$41 million Completion date: May 1, 1931 2. China Central Television Headquarters, Beijing, China Height: 234 meters Cost to build: US$600 million Completion date: January 2008 3. Commerzbank Headquarters, Frankfurt, Germany Height: 300.1 meters Cost to build: US$414 million Completion date: 1997 4. Elephant Tower, Bangkok, Thailand Height: 102 meters Cost to build: NA Completion date: 1997 5. Bitexco Financial Tower, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Height: 262 meters Cost to build: US$96 million Completion date: October 31, 2010 6. Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, United States Height: 260 meters Cost to build: US$32 million Completion date: 1972 7. Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong Height: 305 meters Cost to build: NA Completion date: May 1990 8. Kingdom Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Height: 302 meters Cost to build: US$458 million Completion date: 2002 9. Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Height: 452 meters Cost to build: US$1.6 billion Completion date: June 1996 10. Tokyo Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, Tokyo, Japan Height: 204 meters Cost to build: NA Completion date: October 2008 11. Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, China Height: 492 meters Cost to build: US$1.2 billion Completion date: August 2008 12. Hotel & Casino Grand Lisboa, Macau Height: 261 meters Cost to build: US$385 million Completion date: 2008 13. Bahrain World Trade Center, Manama, Bahrain Height: 240 meters Cost to build: US$150 million Completion date: 2008 14. Two International Finance Center, Hong Kong Height: 415 meters Cost to build: US$2.5 billion Completion date: August 2008 15. Burj al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Height: 321 meters Cost to build: US$650 million Completion date: December 1999 16. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan Height: 508 meters Cost to build: US$1.8 billion Completion date: 2004 17. Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain Height: 142 meters Cost to build: US$130 million Completion date: 2004 18. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Height: 828 meters Cost to build: US$1.5 billion Completion date: January 2009 19. 30 St. Mary Axe, London, England Height: 180 meters Cost to build: US$212 million Completion date: 2003 20. Turning Torso, Malmo, Sweden Height: 190 meters Cost to build: US$80 million Completion date: 2005