Why building a mile-high skyscraper is almost impossible

"How tall could we really build? After a century of competition, skyscrapers are reaching new extremes: Saudi Arabia's upcoming 1-kilometer-tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah is set to triple the Empire State Building's height. In this episode of "The Limit," we climbed inside the hidden parts of the world's tallest towers and talked to the people who built them to ask: What would it take to build a mile-high tower? Who would pay for it? And why do we keep reaching higher?"

"After a century of competition, skyscrapers are reaching new extremes: Saudi Arabia's upcoming 1-kilometer-tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah is set to triple the Empire State Building's height. In this episode of "The Limit," we climbed inside the hidden parts of the world's tallest towers and talked to the people who built them to ask: What would it take to build a mile-high tower?"

Skyscrapers are reaching new extremes, with Saudi Arabia's upcoming 1-kilometer Kingdom Tower in Jeddah set to triple the Empire State Building's height. Builders and engineers examine hidden mechanical, structural, and foundation systems inside the world's tallest towers to evaluate the real-world limits of vertical construction. Building a mile-high tower would require radical advances in materials, foundation engineering, aerodynamics, vertical-transport systems, and construction logistics, plus immense capital and coordinated funding. Practical feasibility depends on resolved engineering challenges, acceptable costs, regulatory frameworks, and clear motivations such as urban density, prestige, and technological ambition.

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