Three questions behind ‘skyscrapers’ buildings

From the legendary Tower of Babel to the iconic Burj Khalifa, skyscrapers have always been a testament to people’s desire to reach new heights.
The record for the tallest building in the world has, over time, been continuously broken by bolder constructions. Does this make the public forget the original purpose of these structures, and focus more on the unique value that skyscrapers bring.

Where do skyscrapers come from? Historically, high-rise buildings have been the place to preserve the value of a great religion or empire. For example, the Giza pyramid complex – built to house the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu – used to be more than 145 meters high. It was the tallest man-made structure for nearly 4,000 years, before being surpassed by the 160-meter-tall Lincoln Cathedral in the 14th century. Other ancient structures such as the Potala Palace of Tibet or the monasteries of Athos were all built on top of the mountain, with man’s ambition to touch closer to heaven. However, according to CNN, the definition of “high-rise building”, the forerunner of skyscrapers, was only really born in the 20th century. Famous architect Richard Rogers once said that the 20th century was unified. Ruled by innovation and science, with powerful impacts in every sector, including construction. According to Carol Willis, director of New York’s Skyscraper Museum, in the late 1800s, industrialization pushed urban populations and land prices up, prompting large-capacity buildings to be built in Limited space becomes the optimal solution to save costs. Meanwhile, the American technological revolution from 1880 to 1890 saw an explosion of new inventions, helping architects to build taller, stronger buildings. The birth of the Bessemer steelmaking method allowed the design of the frame to be taller and more flexible than the cast iron of the previous era. The newly invented water system has helped buildings to break the strict 23 meter height limit that was in place to control fire risk. In particular, the patent for AC power has allowed electric elevators to operate at a height of up to 10 floors. Thanks to that, in the 1880s, the first generation of skyscrapers officially appeared in Chicago and New York. Thanks to that, America, the land of dreams, is believed to be the birthplace of modern skyscrapers. Architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler first coined the term “high-rise office building” in 1896. Accordingly, based on Renaissance architecture, the buildings were built up to 10 floors. with the first two floors being the main hall and stalls, some services located in the basement, the upper floors “stacked”, ending with a roof or attic placed on top, with a piping system. vertical conductor linking the building to the power source, heat. Later, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) maintained a set of criteria for defining tall buildings, defining it as a multi-storey structure designed for residential and commercial use. or manufacturing operations. Built after the great fire of 1871, the 12-story Home Insurance building in Chicago – completed in 1884 by William Le Baron Jenney – is now considered the first high-rise of the industrial era. In the next 100 years since the inauguration of the Home Insurance building, the United States has always been the “gathering” of the world’s tallest buildings. In New York alone, the world’s tallest building record was broken six times between 1908 and 1931 – with the height of the structures having doubled, from the Singer Building to the Building Empire State. Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world today, a symbol of the pinnacle of modern skyscraper architecture. Photo: CNN. Why do skyscrapers exist? After just over a century, domination of the “skyscraper” market has gradually shifted from the US to the Eastern Hemisphere. Malaysia was the first country to break the US record for the tallest buildings in the world when the Petronas Twin Towers were completed in 1998. The Taipei 101 building of Taiwan, China is the next building to hold this record, starting in 2004. Currently, the 163-storey Burj Khalifa, which rises more than 800 meters above the Dubai sky, has become the New symbol of the world’s skyscrapers arena. CNN points out that, more than the purpose of building offices or houses, more than demonstrating the economic and technological levers that profoundly affect construction architecture, skyscrapers like Petronas or Burj Khalifa are also is a symbol for “I” – a measure of brand value. In a report presented at the 2007 CIB World Tall Buildings Conference, expert Eldemery Ibrahim said that the development of tall buildings is also a symbol of power, status, and prestige. As analyst Sorkin in his Architectural Record once wrote, “the historic race to the sky reveals the contrast of tradition and modernity, influencing ‘structure’, even culture, and politics. of a land”. Not only that, the official website of the Burj Khalifa Building, confidently asserts: “Not only is the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa is also an unprecedented example of international cooperation, a symbol of prosperity. progressive and a symbol of a new, dynamic and prosperous Middle East. More than that, it is tangible evidence of Dubai’s growing role in a changing world.” Also, today, it is a fact that not all the space inside the skyscrapers is used. The term “vanity height” was coined by CTBUH in 2013 to describe just that, describing the height difference between the top of a skyscraper and the highest usable floor. According to CTBUH, about 29% of the area of ​​the Burj Khalifa Building has a frivolous height. Nine other high-rise buildings in the US, China and the UAE also had a height unavailable ratio of 28% to 36%. According to CTBUH, 61% of the world’s skyscrapers would lose their super-tall building status without this frivolous height. This makes the media, including many big names like BBC, Daily Telegraph and some architectural experts doubt the necessity of building skyscrapers, when it does not necessarily meet the purpose. Initially, the high-rise buildings aimed at serving people’s needs. However, a remark made by architect Louis Sullivan in 1896 somewhat overturned these doubts: “What is the principal characteristic of a high-rise office building? It was lofty arrogance. That should be the height. Power and strength must be there, aura and arrogance must be there. It has to be a proud subject and soars to every inch, straight from bottom to top as a single unit without a single line of deviance.” The number of skyscrapers will decrease in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: CNN. New definition of “skyscrapers” in life “new normal”? In 2014, the world entered a period of boom in the number of skyscrapers, with nearly 100 buildings over 200 meters tall being built. According to research site The Towel Info, in recent years, developed countries have emerged as centers of new generation high-rise buildings, especially in urban areas of Japan or China, where An inch of land is more precious than gold. According to CTBUH, 191 “ultra-tall” skyscrapers – a term that describes buildings at least 300 meters tall – have been completed. Although skyscrapers started out as an American phenomenon, the Middle East and Asia – especially China – currently dominate the skyscraper construction market. CTBUH data shows that China accounts for more than half of all new skyscrapers built in 2020 that are 200 meters or more in height, while Dubai has more new skyscrapers by far than any other city. other. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be slowing down the racing track of skyscrapers, because the higher the number of floors, the higher the construction cost. According to CNN, all buildings reach a limit where adding an extra floor will cost more to build than it will make in profit. William Clark and John Kingston – two economists and architects – once asserted in 1930 that the maximum profit height for a skyscraper in New York in 1920 was no more than 63 stories. Thus, buildings that exceed the ceiling height (from time to time) will show that investors are overestimating the profits that can be obtained from the construction of new buildings. So far, that’s still true. For the same reason, in 2020, the number of new skyscrapers built globally will decrease by more than 20%. CTBUH attributed this drop to COVID-19, when projects around the world were “paused” because of the persistently imposed blockade and distance orders. “As tall buildings often depress economic indicators, any impact that economic conditions or market disruptions might have on projects that are just starting, or under construction in 2020, will be visible,” said CTBUH. “It must be remembered that the economic crisis of 2008 was not hastily reflected, but the decline in building construction was only recorded until 2010 and 2011,” the CTBUH report said, warning. about the risk of delay, even stopping the progress of a series of skyscrapers due to the decrease in investment capital because of the pandemic. However, CNN still believes that the records of skyscrapers will continue to be broken, because their value lies not only in return on investment, but also in prestige and brand. “The role of skyscrapers is divided into two halves,” explains Hong Kong-based architect Simon Chan, because “every city wants to have a landmark that offers a distinct cultural feel, rather than a settlement. mere material needs”.