| You would think that after 9/11,
no one would be interested in moving their office into a skyscraper,
much less build a new one. But just the opposite has happened.
This month, Architectural Record, the official
journal of the American Institute of Architects, printed a companion
supplement magazine to its magazine entitled “Reaching New Heights
- Tall buildings again serve as laboratories for creative advances
in materials, systems, and sustainability.”
One of the biggest surprises was the number
of skyscrapers (more accurately, high rises that are 12 stories
or more) that are being built worldwide, and where they are
being built.
Though America is the birthplace of the skyscraper,
none of its cities has as many skyscrapers as Hong Kong does.
Hong Kong already has 7,259. It has 280 new skyscrapers under
construction now, with another 131 that have been approved for
construction, and another 35 that are being proposed.
Next in line is New York city. It has 5,323
skyscrapers, and in spite of the trauma of 9/11, it has 67 that
are currently being built. Another 13 have been approved for
construction, and another 37 have been proposed.
Singapore is next with its existing 3,500 skyscrapers.
It has 244 that are under construction, another 45 that have
completed the approval process, and 12 more that are being proposed.
Singapore’s area is only 650 square miles. That’s an area equivalent
to about 25 miles square, not much larger than the Tulsa metro
area.
Sao Paulo, Brazil has 2,559 skyscrapers, and
has a whopping 638 more under construction. They also have more
on line, with 51 projects approved and another 8 under proposal.
Instanbul, Turkey has 2,092 skyscrapers, with
another 65 currently being built. 30 more projects have been
approved, and 20 more have been proposed.
Other cities that boast a large number of skyscrapers
include Rio De Janeiro (1,869), Tokyo (1,702), Toronto (1,545),
Buenos Aires (1,410), London (1,228), Chicago (1,032), and Kuala
Lumpur (514). Kuala Lumpur is the home of the twin Petronas
Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world. Its 88-story structure
stands 1,483 feet high.
The new Taipei 101 building in Taipei, Taiwan,
now holds the title for the tallest single building. At 101
stories, it is 1,667 feet high. Its construction was halted
temporarily in March of 2002, when a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake
shook the build enough to topple two construction cranes, killing
4 people.
Taiwan was the site of another earthquake in
1999 that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, killing 2,378 people.
Perhaps the most intriguing skyscraping under
construction now is the Burj Dubai, in the tiny Gulf state of
the United Arab Emirates. The height of this building is a closely
guarded secret, but its owners are promising that it will be
the tallest in the world when it is finished. One source estimated
its height will exceed 2,300 feet.
A very tall, slim and elegant building design,
construction on the Burj Dubai began early this year and is
scheduled to be complete in 2008. Its architect is the Chicago
firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. (SOM). SOM was the architect
for the Sears tower, as well as many other skyscrapers that
it has done in its decades-long existence.
Skyscrapers have played an important part in
the development of technology. The elevator, for example, was
a necessary development. In the early days of skyscrapers, their
height was limited, not by building technology, but by the number
of stairs a tenant was willing to climb. With today’s skyscrapers,
even newer elevator technology has been developed in order to
handle the ever-increasing heights. The Taipei 101 building’s
elevators travel at 37 miles per hour, taking its passengers
to the 90th floor in less than 39 seconds.
Dampering systems also have been developed at
the tops of skyscrapers to counteract their sway from wind loads
and earthquakes, and special foundations have been developed
to isolate and absorb the shock of ground movement during earthquakes.
What we are really seeing in the development
of the super-tall skyscrapers are the development of small cities
within the building itself. In some places, it is necessary
because of the lack of land, and in others because it makes
financial sense. Regardless of the circumstances, it has always
been a race of prestige to see who can build the tallest building.
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