via lakhta center press center
According to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a building is structurally "topped-off" when it is under construction, and "the highest primary structural element is in place."

Muscling into the top five is this ice-like shard appropriately located in subarctic St Petersburg. Originally planned for the historic city center, the 462-meter tower was relocated to a less congested (and less controversial) area where it will rise as part of a new office and cultural district.
Completion: 2018
Courtesy of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates designed Beijing's new flagship skyscraper in the form of a 'zun' -- an ancient Chinese ceremonial vessel. Climbing 528 meters, its concave shape expands office space on prime high floors. It recalls the slender hourglass figure of Canton Tower, currently China's second-tallest structure.Completion: 2018
Courtesy of SOM
With shimmering skin, this office/hotel/apartment tower in a major Chinese port city folds and tapers its way to a staggering 530-meter height. It is one of six supertalls designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill currently under construction. They are architects of the reigning world champ Burj Khalifa.Completion: 2018
courtesy of atkins
Dubbed the Pearl of the North for its giant inset 'pearl' housing an executive club, this is the first of two supertalls (> 1,000 feet) anchoring a massive mixed-use master plan at the heart of this important provincial hub. It will top out at a none-too-shabby 568 meters.Completion: 2018
courtesy adrian smith + gordon gill architecture
China-based Greenland Group is developing five of the 100 tallest towers currently under construction, including the leader of the pack racing toward a 636-meter summit. Unless Jeddah Tower mounts a miraculous late surge, Wuhan Greenland will edge out Shanghai Tower for World #2 when it tops out next year.Completion: 2018

Editor’s Note: The Spaces is a digital publication that covers architecture, design and art.

CNN  — 

China is raising the stakes in the race for the ‘tallest’ man-made structures: six of the 10 tallest buildings predicted to top out in 2017 are in this booming corner of the world. And all are set to exceed the 400-meter mark – shoulders above 2016’s additions.

Courtesy of the Greenland Group
According to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a building is structurally "topped-off" when it is under construction, and "the highest primary structural element is in place." Wuhan Greenland Center (above), will become China's tallest building when it tops out next year

Predicting top-outs is an imperfect science, made difficult by factors including weather and financing. Don’t be surprised to see a few familiar faces among the jaw-dropping supertalls that are redefining our cities’ skylines.

Helping us out with our predictions is The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat – the global referee for official building heights. We cross-checked info from its database against developer websites and forums for skyscraper enthusiasts to get the most accurate read on construction progress.

Blackstation/courtesy gensler
Standing at 2,074 feet (632 meters) tall, the Shanghai Tower is the world's second tallest building.
via SL Green Realty Corp
A new tall tower has broken ground in New York City. Named the One Vanderbilt Avenue tower, the building is designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox architects, and construction officially started today. At 1,401 feet tall, upon completion it will be the second tallest building in New York after the One World Trade Center.

Height: 427m (1,401ft)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
A new megatall skyscraper will dominate the Dubai skyline. Currently unnamed -- 'The Tower', as it's being referred to by its developers for now -- will be built on the Dubai Creek Harbour, and will be 100m taller than Dubai's Burj Khalifa -- a skyscraper that is currently the tallest building in the world. Megatall buildings are defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as a builidng over 600 meters (1,968 feet) in height.
Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
The expected completion date for the structure is 2020.

Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
image courtes of emaar / via aurecon group
The building will hold ten observation decks in its oval-shaped peak. One deck will offer a 360-degree view of the city.

Height: 928m (3,044ft)
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
istockphoto
Currently world's tallest building, since it was completed in 2010, is the Burj Khalifa. It stands a massive 198 meters (650 feet) above its nearest competitor.

Height: 828m (2717ft)
Floors: 163
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Jeddah Economic Company/Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Another threat to the Burj Khalifa's tallest building title is the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. The tower is currently under construction and due to top out at 1,000 meters at a cost of $1.23 billion.

Height: 3,280ft
Architect: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
In Feburary, a proposal for a mile-high tower in Tokyo was revealed.
Height: 1,600m (5,250ft)
Architect: Kohn Pefersen Fox Associates and Leslie E Robertson Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox
The 1,600 meter tower is part of a future city concept named "Next Tokyo 2045," which envisions a floating mega-city in Tokyo Bay.

Height: 1,600m (5,250ft)
Architect: Kohn Pefersen Fox Associates and Leslie E Robertson Associates
DBOX
In December 2015, plans were unveiled for the 1 Undershaft -- a 300m tall building that could become the City of London's tallest building.
Height: 300m (984ft)
Floors: 73
Architect: Aroland Holdings
DBOX
1 Undershaft will sit across the river from London's tallest building, The Shard, which is 9.6 meters taller.

Height: 300m (984ft)
Floors: 73
Architect: Aroland Holdings
Courtesy CIM Group
432 Park Avenue, the tallest all-residential tower in the western hemisphere, opened its doors in December 2015, recently became the hundredth supertall building in the world.

Height: 425.5m (1396ft)
Floors: 85
Architect: Rafael Vinoly, SLCE Architects, LLP
Gensler

Completed in 2015, Asia's tallest building surpasses the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai's Pudong district. Estimated to cost $2.4 billion, its completion marked the end of a project in the financial district stretching back to 1993.

Height: 632m (2073ft)
Floors: 128
Architect: Jun Xia, Gensler
FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Situated close to the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Mecca, the tower complex is one part of the $15 billion King Abdulaziz Endowment Project, seeking to modernize Mecca and accommodate the ever-growing number of pilgrims.

Height: 601m (1972ft)
Floors: 120
Architect: Dar Al-Handasah Architects
STAN HONDA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Known as the "Freedom Tower," One World Trade Center stands on part of the site previously occupied by the Twin Towers. It's the highest building in the western hemisphere, and cost $3.9 billion according to Forbes.

Height: 541.3m (1776 ft)
Floors: 94
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Taiwan Tourism
The first skyscraper to break the half-kilometer mark, the world's tallest building between March 2004 and March 2010 is also one of the greenest -- certified LEED platinum in 2011. Designed to withstand the elements, including typhoons, earthquakes and 216 km/h winds, Taipei 101 utilizes a 660-tonne mass damper ball suspended from the 92nd floor, which sways to offset the movement of the building.

Height: 508m (1667ft)
Floors: 101
Architect: C.Y. Lee & Partners
ChinaFotoPress/Getty Image
Construction of Shanghai's third supertall building took 11 years, but the skyscraper dubbed "The Bottle Opener" was met with critical praise and high-end residents when it completed in 2008, including the Park Hyatt Shanghai and offices for Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley, and BNP Paribas.

Height: 492m (1614.17ft)
Floors: 101
Architect: Kohn Pederson Fox
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong's tallest building has 108 floors -- but walking around it, you'd get a different story. The city's tetraphobia -- the fear of the number four -- means floors with the number have been skipped, and the International Commerce Center is marketed as a 118-story skyscraper.

Height: 484m (1588ft)
Floors: 108
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox
Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The joint eighth highest completed skyscraper is still the tallest twin towers in the world. Finished in 1996 and inaugurated in 1999, it's been the site of numerous hair-raising stunts. Felix Baumgartner set a then-BASE jump world record in 1999 by jumping off a window cleaning crane, and in 2009 Frenchman Alain Robert, known as "Spiderman," freeclimbed to the top of Tower Two without safety equipment -- and did so in under two hours.

Height: 451.9m (1483ft)
Floors: 88
Architect: Cesar Pelli
Sun Chen
The architects behind the Burj Khalifa are also responsible for the world's tenth tallest building. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Zifeng Tower in Nanjing completed in January 2010 and sits just above the Willis Tower (previously the Sears Tower) in the rankings, eclipsing the SOM-designed Chicago icon by a mere 7.9 meters (26 ft).

Height: 450m (1476ft)
Floors: 66
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Teddy Cross
Completed in March 2016, the Lotte World Tower is Seoul's first supertall skyscraper, and is currently the sixth tallest building in the world.

Height: 556 meters (1824 feet)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Wong Tung & Partners
A hotel and office hybrid, this straightforward supertall building by Wong Tung & Partners in Hunan Province's booming capital city is expected to be completed by 2017.

Height: 452 metres (1,482 ft)
Architect: Wong Tung & Partners
E8xE8
The Suzhou IFS is two meters shy of the Changsha tower.
Height: 450 meters (1476 feet)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
The World One skyscraper in Mumbai will be as tall as the Willis Tower, the second tallest building in North America, and will be one of the world's tallest residential structures.

Height: 442 meters (1450 feet)
Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
DLN Architects
This design mimics and simplifies the neo-Gothic spires of an earlier skyscraper boom, à la the Woolworth and Empire State Buildings.
Height: 383 meters (1,257 ft)
Architect: Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox is back with this 90-story residential building. Zigzagging cuts in the curtain-wall break up the monotony of yet another boxy tower.

Height: 372 metres (1,220 ft)
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox

See five of the tallest buildings rising in 2017 in the gallery above. For more on this story, head to The Spaces.