World's Tallest Building: Who Holds The Title?

The Petronas-Sears Controversy

Officially, the World's Tallest Buildings are the Petronas Towers in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1483 feet / 452m) -- but put Petronas side by side with the former title holder, Sears Tower, and look again. The casual observer would say Sears Tower is tops, and by quite a wide margin!

The highest occupiable floor of Sears is more then 200 feet higher than the top floor in Petronas and its antennas go even higher. So why are the Petronas Towers considered the World's Tallest Buildings?

Because, in the tradition and lore of tall building, spires count, antennas don't.

Spires are architectural features and they have been traditionally counted in a building's height, a precedent that dates to the Chrysler Building. Antennas are not normally considered architectural features.

So...based on the long and storied tradition of tall buildings, the winner by decision is the Petronas Towers.