For thousands of years, the mysterious pyramids of Egypt reigned as the world's tallest man-made structures. Their supremacy lasted until the industrial revolution began to generate enormous population centers that needed more space. Geography placed natural limits on lateral expansion, and the only way to increase building size was upward.
When New York's Empire State building was completed in 1931, the new tower was the world's tallest building, and an instant attraction. At 102 stories, it is an imposing 1250 feet high. It quickly became representative of American commerce and wealth, and helped to transform an architectural genre into a type of national status symbol.
Skyscrapers allow crowded urban areas to support the clustering of multiple businesses, creating densely occupied spaces where large numbers of people can come and go easily. They may look massive and solid, but most contain a great deal of interior room. Amazingly, construction materials commonly used today are capable of creating much higher buildings than have yet taken shape.
Most urban skylines today are dominated by these structures. Older European cities have put some constraints on building upward, but in newer nations there are fewer limits. Technology makes it possible to overcome many of the practical problems associated with taller structures, such as cleaning, air conditioning and heating facilities, and ongoing maintenance.
Today, the only limits on height are the prevailing winds, elevator technology, and money, allowing nations such as Dubai to erect mind-boggling new towers that resemble glistening high-tech needles. Like the Empire State building in its earlier years, the new tower is not yet fully occupied, but that fact has not stopped architects from planning even taller structures.
As long ago as 1956, celebrated designer Frank Lloyd Wright created plans for a tower in Chicago that would have reached a mile into the sky. Even during that pre-computer era, it would have been possible to create such a building, but the expense was prohibitive. That is not the case today in the oil-rich Middle East, where a contract has recently been awarded to begin building the Kingdom Tower in the City of Jeddah.
At over 1000 meters high, it outranks any of the competition. While buildings of this magnitude are rare, they are the urban future, and will be more environmentally sound than currently existing efforts. The new structures currently rising in New York City at the site of the old World Trade Center towers will epitomize this new breed of construction. More sophisticated ways of ensuring window cleaners are able to safely perform their tasks are necessary.
When New York's Empire State building was completed in 1931, the new tower was the world's tallest building, and an instant attraction. At 102 stories, it is an imposing 1250 feet high. It quickly became representative of American commerce and wealth, and helped to transform an architectural genre into a type of national status symbol.
Skyscrapers allow crowded urban areas to support the clustering of multiple businesses, creating densely occupied spaces where large numbers of people can come and go easily. They may look massive and solid, but most contain a great deal of interior room. Amazingly, construction materials commonly used today are capable of creating much higher buildings than have yet taken shape.
Most urban skylines today are dominated by these structures. Older European cities have put some constraints on building upward, but in newer nations there are fewer limits. Technology makes it possible to overcome many of the practical problems associated with taller structures, such as cleaning, air conditioning and heating facilities, and ongoing maintenance.
Today, the only limits on height are the prevailing winds, elevator technology, and money, allowing nations such as Dubai to erect mind-boggling new towers that resemble glistening high-tech needles. Like the Empire State building in its earlier years, the new tower is not yet fully occupied, but that fact has not stopped architects from planning even taller structures.
As long ago as 1956, celebrated designer Frank Lloyd Wright created plans for a tower in Chicago that would have reached a mile into the sky. Even during that pre-computer era, it would have been possible to create such a building, but the expense was prohibitive. That is not the case today in the oil-rich Middle East, where a contract has recently been awarded to begin building the Kingdom Tower in the City of Jeddah.
At over 1000 meters high, it outranks any of the competition. While buildings of this magnitude are rare, they are the urban future, and will be more environmentally sound than currently existing efforts. The new structures currently rising in New York City at the site of the old World Trade Center towers will epitomize this new breed of construction. More sophisticated ways of ensuring window cleaners are able to safely perform their tasks are necessary.
it can take only seconds to break someone, but it can take a lifetime to repair them..
ReplyDeleteFlights to Lusaka | Cheap Flights to Lusaka | Cheap Air Tickets to Lusaka