Amazing Facts About the World’s Largest Buildings
We already covered the world’s tallest buildings, but what about the largest? This list is a bit more difficult to define, since the definition of “largest” comes in many forms. In our list, we’ve included some of the largest different types of buildings from a museum to an airline factory. These monster-sized facilities each serve a very specific purpose, many of them operating like small cities would. Here are some crazy facts about some of the largest buildings in the world.
5. THE LOUVRE MUSEUM 
World’s Largest Museum
location: Paris, France
size: 2.2 million square feet
year built: 1793 and 1983
materials: glass, stone and steel
estimated cost: $16 million
Housing over 380,000 historical objects and 35,000 works of art, the Louvre Museum is one of the most famous in the world. It is also the world’s most visited museum, with over 15,000 visitors per day walking through its doors. The original structure, the Louvre Palace, was the first structure built at this location and was formally a fortress for Philip II in the 12th century. It wasn’t until the French Revolution that the building expanded and became a public museum. The building was reopened in 1793 under Louis XVI, and was designed to be a place to “preserve the national memory”. The museum was renovated in 1983 and reopened with many modern additions such as cafes and walkways in 1989.
4. PALACE OF THE PARLIAMENT
World’s Largest Parliament Building
location: Bucharest, Romania
size: 3.55 million sq ft
year built: 1983
materials: marble, steel and bronze
estimated cost: 3 billion euros
Also known as the “People’s House”, the building was constructed to help change the opinion of the Socialist Republic of Romania at the time – however it was never completed. Construction began in 1983 but by the time of the Romanian Revolution in 1989 no one wanted to complete the massive structure. The building contains over 1,000,000 metrics of marble and 3.5 tons of crystal. It is also the heaviest building on earth, made up of 700,000 metric tons of steel and bronze. The underground parking garage can hold 20,000 cars. When the carpets were installed, some of the machines were moved into the building to weave them into place.
3. AALSMEER FLOWER AUCTION 
World’s Largest Footprint
location: Aalsmeer, Holland
size: 10.6 million sq ft
year built: 1972
materials: steel, concrete and glass
estimated cost: unknown
Probably the sweetest smelling on our list, the Aalsmeer Flower Auction building sees over 20 million flowers pass through its doors, daily, with 12 billion making their debut here annually. Prized flowers from Europe, Ecuador, Ethiopia and Colombia are traded here everyday. Nearly 2800 wholesale buyers flock to the auction room each day, to purchase flowers for nearly every global market. The flowers enter the facility by 10pm and are completely moved out by the next day to make room for the next shipment. Buyers bid electronically as flowers move by on automatic belts. Then the flowers are sorted, paid for and delivered to the purchaser all by the same afternoon.
2. BOEING EVERETT FACTORY
World’s Largest Industrial Building by Volume
location: Everett, Washington
size: 4.3 million sq ft (472 million cubic feet)
year built: 1967
materials: cement, steel
estimated cost: $23 million
The largest building in the world by volume needs the space, it serves as the factory where the Boeing 747, 767, 777 and 787 are assembled. The plant employees about 30,000 people, and functions much like a small city with cafes a day care and a water treatment facility. Just to give you a judge of the sheer size of this factory, you could fit Disneyland plus Versailles and the accompanying gardens inside. It uses one million light bulbs to keep the building lit and the perimeter of the building is around 2.2 miles. Curious to learn more, and near Everette, Washington? The massive facility offers tours seven days a week.
1. NEW CENTURY GLOBAL CENTER 
World’s Largest Floor Area
location: Chengdu, China
size: 18.4 million sq ft
year built: 2013
materials: steel and concrete
estimated cost: estimated $8 billion
Developed by billionaire Deng Hong’s Entertainment and Travel Group, about 4 million square feet are devoted to shopping alone in the largest building in the world. The structure also houses offices, conference rooms, two hotels, a skating rink, an replica Mediterranean village with an indoor beach and a complete university complex. The structure is so large, in fact, that it needs its own artificial sun (for that indoor beach of course) and could hold 20 Sydney opera houses within its walls. Like many of China’s fast growing cities, this hub of nearly 14 million is expanding, and there are plans to add a subway system and airport for 2020. When the New Century Global Center was released, they nearly doubled the size of the previous record holder for largest mall. Pretty impressive!
And there they are, some of the largest buildings in the world. Could you imagine running the facilities management teams for these buildings? Let us know on one of our social media pages if you’ve visited any of these locations, we would love to hear all about it!
