Tallest building in the British Empire

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the nations of the British Empire possessed a large measure of cultural unity and naturally looked to each other for comparison and competition. This was evident in the displays at Queen Victoria's silver and diamond jubilees and in the creation of the British Empire Games in 1930 (later the Commonwealth Games). A similar phenomenon occurred in the world of architecture and civics. Local boosters in cities and regions across the Empire covered the title of "greatest", "biggest", "largest" or "best" in the Empire. The title of tallest building in the British Empire was a prototypical example. During the twentieth century the title was held primarily by Canadian buildings. Since the 1990s, however Asian buildings have held the title.

The Commonwealth slowly evolved out of the British Empire over decades, but 1931 Statute of Westminster is often used a dividing point.

Height restrictions have much to do with this list. Until the 1960s, London, the capital of the Empire, had especially strict height Maximums to preserve the views of historic structures. Until the late 1920 Montreal limited all buildings to a maximum of 10 stories, and it still limits buildings to less that the sea-level elevation of Mont Royal. Since 1989 Vancouver restricted buildings from blocking the North Shore Mountains, creating a practical upper limit of around 137 meters, until 1997 when seven sites were pre-selected for taller buildings as exceptions to the rule. Singapore limits all buildings to below 280 metersbecause of the proximity of Singapore Changi Airport.

The International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong is not included because it was built after Hong Kong left the Commonwealth.

Tallest building in the Commonwealth

Tallest building in the Empire