The biggest buildings in the world, ranked

What is the world's largest building?

We chose three metrics -- footprint (by square feet), usable volume (by liquid gallons) and largest floor area (by square feet) -- and are counting down the 45 largest in the world. 

Let's start with the 15th biggest building, based on usable volume.

Located at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California, this massive structure was built in the 1930s as a naval hangar. Its volume: 264.2 million gallons.

In 2014, Planetary Ventures, a subsidiary of Google, agreed to pay $1.16 billion over 60 years to lease it.

271.8 million gallons

Located in Richland, Washington, this building is the largest refrigerated warehouse in the world. 

301.2 million gallons

Opened in February 1976, the first five halls of the Birmingham, West Midlands-based exhibition space host events such as the Crufts Dog Show.

Halls 6 through 20 are in a separate building. 

303.8 million gallons

The largest exhibition ground in the world, the Hannover Fairground in Niedersachsen, was originally used to house aircrafts in the 1940s before turning into a permanent fairground.

Halls 1, 2, and 10 through 27 are in separate buildings. 

360.6 million gallons

Housed on Blakeley Island in Mobile, Alabama, this facility can build up to six naval ships per year. The Australian company currently has contracts with the US Navy. 

396.3 million gallons

Opened in 2007, this Savannah, Georgia, warehouse handles merchandise for southeastern Target stores. 

409.5 million gallons

Grocery store brand Tesco built this Irish facility in 2007 at a cost of more than $86 million.

737.0 million gallons

Built within the former Millennium Dome, this colossal London entertainment venue has hosted the Olympic torch relay and the High School Musical 2 premiere. 

966.9 million gallons

Originally known as the Vertical Assembly Building, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Florida, was built to assemble and store vehicles such as the Saturn V and Space Shuttle.

977.4 million gallons

On its Everett, Washington campus, Boeing invested more than $1 billion to open an assembly site for the wings of its largest commercial jetliner, 777X.

1.2 billion gallons

Located at the river Ems in Papenburg, Niedersachsen, this shipbuilding yard is home to one of the world's largest luxury cruise ship manufacturers.

1.4 billion gallons

Originally used as a hangar for the German airship Aerium in 1938, the Brandenburg facility is now known as the Tropical Island Resort, the world's largest indoor theme park.

1.5 billion gallons

Located in Toulouse-Blagnac, France, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant is the assembly hall for the Airbus A380, the largest airplane in the world.

2.1 billion gallons

It should come as no surprise that this mosque appears on our list twice. I has a maximum capacity of 4 million people and remains open at all times.

3.5 billion gallons

On the Boeing campus in Everett, Washington, this enormous factory -- the same building with the fourth-largest footprint -- manufactures the Boeing airplanes. Based on volume, it's the largest building in the world.

1.7 million square feet

The Target Import Warehouse is also the tenth-largest building by volume.

1.9 million square feet

This NASA manufacturing complex in New Orleans has been used to construct equipment in World War II and the Korean War. 

2.15 million square feet

Opened in July 2016, this Tesla factory in Storey County, Nevada makes the company's lithium-ion batteries. 

2.15 million square feet

Located in Chengdu, China, this building features an IMAX theater, skating rink, pirate ship and a water park, among other attractions.

2.26 million square feet

Open since 1965, this Chrysler factory in Belvidere, Illinois assembles the Jeep Cherokee.

2.37 million square feet

The Indonesia Convention Exhibition is the biggest such center in the country. The venue has hosted Michael Bublé, Katy Perry and others since opening in 2015. 

2.37 million square feet

Acquired in January 2017, this manufacturing facility is the primary production plant for the automotive technology company. 

2.6 million square feet

Built in 1973, the Milan, Illinois distribution center ships around 80,000 units per day, according to John Deere. 

2.8 million square feet

In 2015, Nike opened its largest distribution center, in Memphis, Tennessee. The facility houses the company's three major product lines: footwear, apparel and equipment. 

3.8 million square feet

The largest mosque on Earth, located in Saudi Arabia, surrounds the Kaaba, a holy structure at the center of the mosque.

4.0 million square feet

Announced in September 2016, the Michelin Distribution Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, will be an automated tire warehouse for the Michelin, BFGoodrich and Uniroyal brands. It was in its second building phase of the project as of January 2018.

4.3 million square feet

Built in 1967, this Everett, Washington Boeing factory was originally built to construct 747 airplanes. It now manufactures 767, 777 and 787 airplanes as well.

4.6 million square feet

Located in Fremont, California, the Tesla Factory is the primary site for the company's car manufacturing. It was built in 2010.

5.4 million square feet

The largest mall in the world by total footprint is in the United Arab Emirates. Built in 2008, the massive center includes 1,200 shops.

5.6 million square feet

Located in Aalsmeer, Netherlands, this is the largest flower auction in the world. Nearly 20 million flowers are traded daily at the largest building in the world by footprint.

6.95 million square feet

Located on the Las Vegas Strip, this luxury hotel is also the tallest building in Nevada. 

7 million square feet

The Kemang Village, a shopping and residential complex in Jakarta, Indonesia, spans 38 acres.

7 million square feet

Also in Jakarta, Indonesia, this mixed-use complex includes a mall, an office and apartment towers.

7.1 million square feet

Established in 1986, this trade center in Istanbul, Turkey, attracts 75,000 to 80,000 people daily.

7.1 million square feet

Then there's the Central Park Jakarta Complex in Indonesia, a mixed-use facility named after Central Park in New York.

7.5 million square feet

Completed in 2003, this 48-story building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has its own amusement park inside. 

8.1 million square feet

Opened in July 2011, this Surabaya, Indonesia, building has four residential towers and a mall. Construction on the Ciputra World 2 Surabaya started in 2017.

9.6 million square feet

Located in Macau, China, this casino resort opened its doors in April 2012.

10.5 million square feet

Also on the Cotai Strip in Macau, this 39-story casino is modeled after its sister resort, the Venetian Las Vegas. 

10.6 million square feet

Added in 2008 for the Summer Olympics, this terminal at a Chinese airport is the second largest in the world. 

10.7 million square feet

The largest building in the world, based on footprint, is the colorful Aalsmeer Flower Auction. 

11 million square feet

Opened in 1990, this Bangkok, Thailand, shopping center was expanded in 2006. 

16.9 million square feet

Located next to the Great Mosque of Mecca — the second-largest building, based on usable volume — this complex is the world's most expensive, with a cost of $15 billion. 

18.4 million square feet

Completed in 2008, this is the world's largest airport terminal. The terminal reportedly cost $4.5 billion. 

18.9 million square feet

Also the twelfth-largest building based on footprint, this massive multipurpose structure was completed in 2013.