1 WTC to be tallest U.S. skyscraper

One World Trade Center in New York City (shown under construction in May) will be considered the tallest building in the United States when it is completed, beating out Chicago's Willis Tower, and likely the third-tallest in the world, according to an announcement Tuesday, November 12, by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. One World Trade Center measures 1,776 feet compared to the Willis Tower's 1,451 feet. Click through the gallery to see the world's tallest completed buildings.

Completed in 2010 in Dubai, Burj Khalifa's architectural height is 2,717 feet (828 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,918 feet (584.5 meters). A building's architectural height may include spires, but not antennas, flag poles or signage, according to the Council on Tall Buildings criteria.

Completed in 2012 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel's architectural height is 1,972 feet (601 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,833 feet (558.7 meters).

Completed in 2004, Taipei 101 has an architectural height of 1,667 feet (508 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,437 feet (438 meters).

Completed in 2008, Shanghai World Financial Center has an architectural height of 1,614 feet (492 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,555 feet (474 meters).

Completed in 2010, International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong has an architectural height of 1,588 feet (484 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,538 feet (468.8 meters).

Completed in 1998, the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur each have an architectural height of 1,483 feet (451.9 meters) and are each occupied to a height of 1,230 feet (375 meters). The two towers are tied for the sixth tallest skyscrapers in the world.

Completed in 2010, the Zifeng Tower in Nanjing has an architectural height of 1,476 feet (450 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,039 feet (316.6 meters).

Completed in 1974, Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly called Sears Tower) has an architectural height of 1,451 feet (442.1 meters) and is occupied by 1,354 feet (412.7 meters).

Completed in 2011, the KK100 in Shenzhen has an architectural height of 1,449 feet (441.8 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,401 feet (427.1 meters).

Completed in 2010, this tower in Guangzhou, China rises to an architectural height of 1439 feet (438.6 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1362 feet (415.1 meters).

Completed in 2009, this Trump tower rises to an architectural height of 1,389 feet (423.2 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,116 feet (340.1 meters).

Completed in 1999, this tower in Shanghai rises to an architectural height of 1,380 feet (420.5 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,143 feet (348.4 meters).

Completed in 2012, the Princess Tower in Dubai rises to an architectural height of 1,356 feet (413.4 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,171 feet (356.9 meters).

Completed in 2011, Al Hamra Tower (left) in Kuwait City is shown here under construction in 2009. It rises to an architectural height of 1,354 feet (412.6 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,218 feet (371.4 meters).

Completed in 2003, this building rises to an architectural height of 1,352 feet (412 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,271 feet (387.6 meters).

Completed in 2012, this Dubai skyscraper rises to an architectural height of 1,289 feet (392.8 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,029 feet (313.5 meters).

Completed in 1996, this tower in Guangzhou rises to an architectural height of 1,280 feet (390.2 meters) and is occupied to a height of 974 feet (296.9 meters).

Completed in 1996, this tower in Shenzhen rises to an architectural height of 1,260 feet (384 meters) and is occupied to a height of 978 feet (298 meters).

Completed in 1931, New York's iconic landmark rises to an architectural height of 1,250 feet (381 meters) and is occupied to a height of 1,224 feet (373.1 meters). The Empire State Building reigned as the world's tallest skyscraper for nearly 40 years.

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• One World Trade Center ruled to be taller than Willis Tower


• Council on Tall Buildings says 1WTC measures 1,776 feet


• When 1WTC is completed, it's expected to be world's third-tallest building

(CNN) -- New York City has needled out Chicago for the title of America's tallest building.

One World Trade Center in New York will be the United States' tallest building when completed, beating out Chicago's Willis Tower, according to an announcement Tuesday by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

The main issue was whether a 408-foot needle atop the One World Trade Center would be counted in the total height of the tower.

The council's height committee met on November 8 in Chicago to rule on the height of the new skyscraper. On Tuesday, the council announced that the needle, which was completed in May, was in fact a "spire" -- a "vertical element that completes the architectural expression of the building and is intended as permanent."

New tallest building in the U.S.

One World Trade Center's height to its architectural top is 1,776 feet (541.3 meters), according to the ruling. The Willis Tower's architectural height is 1,451 feet (442.1 meters).

Confused? It's a bit technical.

25 great skyscrapers: icons of construction

The council, an independent organization that certifies the official height of skyscrapers and acknowledges record-setting buildings, counts spires and structural elements in its height calculations. But it doesn't count antennas, signage or flagpoles, which are considered "functional-technical equipment subject to change."

"It's about the authorship of the architect in some ways, and the permanence of the piece to reinforce the role of design," said council spokesman Daniel Safarik.

As the building was originally designed, the needle atop the tower was to be enclosed in a radome, an architectural structure made of fiberglass and steel. But the proposed radome -- short for radar dome -- would not be able to be serviced or maintained, so the cladding plan was nixed.

Coming soon: World's first 'invisible' tower

Project chief architect David Childs and the rest of the One World Trade Center team convinced the council's height committee that the spire was, itself, architectural. The designers noted that the top of the new building's steel parapet is located at 1,368 feet, the height of the original World Trade Center Tower 1. The spire reaches from that parapet to the new building's height of 1,776 feet.

"I feel completely satisfied that this building achieved what it set out to do," Childs said. "We used the council's rules and designed around them. It's an important statement for all of us to make."

"With respect to the events of 9/11 and what this building commemorates with 1776 and democracy and freedom ... we were very happy to find that the building fit our criteria to be 1,776 feet tall," said Timothy Johnson, the council's chairman.

Because One World Trade Center isn't yet finished and hasn't received its certificate of occupancy, it cannot be ranked as a "completed building," but "its height is no longer in dispute," the council said in a Tuesday press release.

Upon completion, which is expected in early 2014, the New York skyscraper is expected to rank as the world's third-tallest building, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

CNN's Leigh Remizowski contributed to this report

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