Building Skyscrapers to Heights
Economic factors drove the construction of buildings that went up instead of out; as precious downtown space became more expensive the only way for buildings to expand was skyward. Explore the trends, architects and innovation behind world's tallest buildings.
Author: Jim Stallard
Jim Stallard is a New York-based science and humor writer who has been published in SCIENCE Online, MCSWEENEY'S, MODERN HUMORIST, SWEET FANCY MOSES, and MIGHT magazine.
The skyscraper, icon of modernity and engineering prowess, came to dominate all major urban landscapes in the 20th century. Every city intent on asserting its presence as a cultural center and participant in world affairs threw its resources into constructing a tall building to anchor the downtown area and make the skyline instantly recognizable around the world. A skyscraper rising alone above the crowd has always held a special allure -- even King Kong couldn't resist the tallest building around.
Economic factors drove the construction of buildings that went up instead of out; as precious downtown space became more expensive the only way for buildings to expand was skyward.
Although humans have always strived to erect awe-inspiring structures -- the pyramids, the Coliseum, or the Taj Mahal -- it was not, until recently, feasible to construct buildings that were very tall. As floors were added to a building, the walls of the base had to be thickened to sustain the huge amounts of weight exerted downward by multiple stories stacked atop one another. This left little room on the ground floor and made such buildings impractical.
In the 19th century, however, advances in manufacturing iron and steel made it possible to support great amounts of weight without taking up much space. In addition, the invention of elevators allowed tenants to work on upper floors without having to walk up an inordinate amount of stairs. Other improvements and refinements such as plumbing and electricity made occupancy tolerable, so that working in a location far removed from the ground was not uncomfortable or inconvenient. Economic factors drove the construction of buildings that went up instead of out; as precious downtown space became more expensive the only way for buildings to expand was skyward.
The Orient Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai is the world's third-tallest TV tower,
after the CN Tower in Toronto and the Moscow TV Tower.
Skyscraper construction truly emerged in the 20th century, and the United States dominated the discipline for most of that period. The field took off in the late 1920s, when three New York City builders entered into a feverish competition to erect the world's tallest structure. Those connected with the buildings eagerly sought the cachet that came with that distinction, and they were not above using trickery to outwit their competitors. Two buildings begun in 1929, the Chrysler Building and the Bank of Manhattan Tower, were designed for identical heights of 925 feet. After construction started, H. Craig Severance, architect of the Bank of Manhattan Tower, added two feet to his building's height and claimed it as the world's tallest. But William Van Alen, the Chrysler architect, had secretly secured permission to add a seven-story spire to his building. The spire was furtively assembled inside the upper floors of the building and quickly hoisted to the top one day in November 1929, reaching to a height of 1,046 feet. The Chrysler building's triumph was short-lived, however, as the 1,250-foot Empire State Building -- erected in a mere 410 days -- surpassed it by a wide margin just six months later. With the completion of the World Trade Center in 1972, the "world's tallest" crown moved to downtown Manhattan, where it remained for only two years before leaving town altogether: In 1974, construction of Chicago's 1,450-foot Sears Tower signaled an at least temporary end to New York's skyscraping domination.
| The World's Tallest Buildings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Building | City | Height |
| 1890 | World Building | New York | 309 feet |
| 1908 | Singer Building | New York | 612 feet |
| 1913 | Woolworth Building | New York | 792 feet |
| 1930 | Chrysler Building | New York | 1,046 feet |
| 1931 | Empire State Building | New York | 1,250 feet |
| 1972 | World Trade Center | New York | 1,368 feet |
| 1974 | Sears Tower | Chicago | 1,450 feet |
| 1998 | Petronas Towers | Kuala Lumpur | 1,483 feet |
| 2004 | Taipei 101 Tower | Taipei | 1,667 feet |
Asia Takes The Lead
In the 1990s, the action shifted around the globe to Asia. Countries such as Malaysia and China wanted to make the statement that they had arrived as participants in world affairs, and would play integral roles in the global economy. Constructing the world's tallest building was a dramatic way for a city to announce its presence as a commercial and financial capital.
The Top of Petronas Towers
In 1996, the 88-story twin Petronas Twin Towers, named after a Malaysian oil company, were completed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Although the occupied portion of the building reaches only 1,229 feet, the spires reach to 1,483 feet -- or 29 feet higher than the Sears Tower. The Petronas Twin Towers' reign as tallest building was short-lived however. In the Republic of Taiwan, the Taipei 101 Tower, completed in 2003 and set to open in 2004, eclipsed the Petronas Twin Towers by 184 feet. Located in Taiwan's capital city, the building is 101 stories high, comprising a series of stacked pagoda shapes. In Shanghai, China, the 95-story Shanghai World Financial Center is under construction. This building, delayed by financial setbacks, is slated to be finished in 2007, and it may surpass the Taipei 101 Tower in height.
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