europe / originals

images of tall office buildings in 1927

this collection includes buildings of least 40 meters tall that were completed before 1945. Buildings that are shorter than 40 meters but possess skyscraperesque features are included in this list, though they are not ranked

giraffes
during this period, a significant number of 'giraffe' buildings were constructed. A giraffe is defined as a low-rise building with a tower integrated into its design. To qualify for inclusion in this collection, the tower section must have habitable floors occupying more than fifty percent of its total height

color codes
later reconstructed later demolished

1. Royal Liver Building
Liverpool • GB • 104 m • 1911

Chowells via Wikimedia Commons

2. Ullsteinhaus
Berlin • DE • 83 m • 1927

Dirk Ingo Franke via Wikimedia Commons

3. Siemensturm
Berlin • DE • 71 m • 1918

Gunnar Klack via Wikimeda Commons

4. Hansahochhaus
Cologne • DE • 65 m • 1925

Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia Commons

5. Södra Kungstornet
Stockholm • SE • 61 m • 1924

Holger.Ellgaard via Wikimedia Commons

6. Behrensbau
Berlin • DE • 60 m • 1917

A.Savin via Wikimedia Commons

7. Borsigturm
Berlin • DE • 60 m • 1924

7. Norra Kungstornet
Stockholm • SE • 60 m • 1924

Ad Meskens via Wikimedia Commons

9. De Inktpot
Utrecht • NL • 58 m • 1921

10. Wilhelm-Marx-Haus
Düsseldorf • DE • 56 m • 1924

11. Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telefoniczna
Warsaw • PL • 52 m • 1910

Emptywords at Wikimedia Commons

12. 68 King William Street
London • GB • 51 m • 1922

13. Ballinhaus
Hamburg • DE • 51 m • 1924

Wikimedia Commons

14. Philips Lichttoren
Eindhoven • NL • 48 m • 1921

Rosemoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

15. Ernemann-Turm
Dresden • DE • 48 m • 1923

Adornix via Wikimeda Commons

16. Sjömansinstitutet
Stockholm • SE • 47 m • 1914

I99pema via Wikimedia Commons

17. Bau 15
Jena • DE • 47 m • 1915

18. Tower Building
Liverpool • GB • 46 m • 1908

Derek Harper via Wikimedia Commons

19. Edificio Metrópolis
Madrid • ES • 45 m • 1911

Diego Delso via Wikimedia Commons

20. Adelaide House
London • GB • 43 m • 1925

21. Kraftwerk Klingenberg
Berlin • DE • 43 m • 1926

Angela Monika Arnold via Wikimedia Commons

22. City Chambers
Edinburgh • GB • 42 m • 1760

23. Witte Huis
Rotterdam • NL • 42 m • 1898

24. Stummhaus
Düsseldorf • DE • 42 m • 1925

Wikimedia Commons

25. Edificio del Banco Pastor en La Coruña
La Coruña • ES • 41 m • 1925

26. Narva-Turm
Berlin • DE • 40 m • 1909

27. Cammann-Hochhaus
Chemnitz • DE • 40 m • 1925

Andreas Praefcke via Wikimeda Commons

28. Knorr-Bremse Gebäude
Berlin • DE • 40 m • 1927

Gebouw Astoria
Amsterdam • NL • 37 m • 1905

Jvhertum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Lietuvos geležinkeliai
Vilnius • LT • 36 m • 1903

De Utrecht
Amsterdam • NL • 35 m • 1906

The Yellow Building
Sofia • BG • 35 m • 1914

Casa Lancia
Milan • IT • 30 m • 1907 - 1937

Industriehaus
Düsseldorf • DE • 30 m • 1923

Oriel Chambers
Liverpool • GB • 21 m • 1864