Birth of Skyscrapers in America

1. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE - V
BIRTH OF SKYSCRAPERS
IN AMERICA
S T A T E I N S T I T U T E O F U R B A N P L A N N I N G A N D A R C H I T E C T U R E .
Submitted by:-
Abhiniti Garg (1304001)
Kavita (1304015)
Navdha Kabra (1304020)
Simran Vats (1304036)

2. INTRODUCTION:
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many floors,
usually designed for commercial and residential use. There is no official
definition or height above which a building may be classified as a
skyscraper and at which height it may not be considered a high-rise
anymore.
This definition depends of the relative impact of the shape of a building
to a city's overall skyline. Depending of the height of the rest of the
buildings and structures in a city, even a building of 80 meters height
may be considered a skyscraper provided that it clearly stands out
above its surrounding built environment and significantly changes the
overall skyline of that particular city.
PETRONAS TOWER
For buildings above a height of 300 m (984 ft), the term Supertall can be
used, skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m (1,969 ft) are classified as
Megatall.

3. OBSTACLES AND INVENTIONS:
Two developments in the 19th century paved the way for a whole new type of
building: the skyscraper.
The first was the development of a safe elevator.
Primitive elevators of various designs had been used for centuries, and starting in
the mid 19th century, steam-operated elevators were used to move materials in
factories, mines, and warehouses. But these elevators were not considered safe for
people; if the cable broke, they would plummet to the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Then in 1853, an American inventor named Elisha Graves Otis developed a safety
device that kept elevators from falling if a cable should break. This new
development had an enormous impact on public confidence. And later in the
century, the switch to an electric motor made the elevator a practical solution to the
problem of getting up and down tall buildings.

4. OBSTACLES AND INVENTIONS:
The second development took place in
Chicago. In 1871, Chicago suffered a
devastating fire. In the years that
followed, however, instead of recovering
slowly, the city experienced explosive
growth, and it quickly began to strain
against its natural boundaries. By
the 1880s, the available land for new
buildings in this area could not keep up
with demand; the only alternative was
to build up. But in order to achieve the
desired height, construction techniques had to change. A new method
Of building was developed that used a grid of steel beams and columns that were
strong enough to support any stresses or forces a building might experience,
including both the weight of the floor and the building contents, as well as the
force of wind or even, in some areas, earthquakes. And with this new building
method, the skyscraper was born and the race for the tallest building began.

5. USE OF MODERN MATERIALS:
Since the birth of the skyscraper,
builders and engineers have
continuously looked for ways to
improve building methods and
materials, in order to make
structures stronger, taller, and
lighter.
Skyscrapers are built to last, so
they must be made of materials
that are strong; durable; resistant
to the sun, wind, rain, frost, and
snow; and affordable.
Concrete is one of the most
common materials, beyond the
steel supports, because it is
enormously versatile. Its composition
can be changed depending on
the needs of the building. It can be reinforced to make it stiffer and stronger by
setting steel mesh or bars into the concrete. And additives can make it set or
harden faster or slower depending on the needs of the design.

6. Another very important material is glass. Because the steel skeleton now supports
the main loads of the building, the outer skin only serves to keep the weather out
and let light in, the more light the better. So glass walls became very popular
beginning after World War II, because they are weatherproof while providing
ample natural light, and also because they are so much lighter-and cheaper-than
masonry or concrete.
USE OF MODERN MATERIALS:

7. HISTORY:
The tallest building in ancient times was
the 146 m (479 ft) Great Pyramid of Giza in
Ancient Egypt, built in the 26th century BC.
It was not surpassed in height for thousands
of years, the 14th century AD Lincoln
Cathedral being conjectured by many to have
exceeded it. The latter in turn was not
surpassed until the 555-foot (169 m)
Washington Monument in 1884. However,
being uninhabited, none of these structures
actually comply with the modern definition
of a skyscraper.
The first skyscraper was the ten storey home insurance
building in chicago Buit in 1884-1885.
In this building, a steel frame supported the entire
weight of the walls, instead of load- bearing Walls
carrying the weight of the building Which was the
Usual method.

8. HISTORY:
Earlier, the walls of a building supported the structure; the taller the structure,
the thicker the walls had to be. A 16-story building constructed in Chicago in
1891 had walls 6 ft (1.8 m) thick at the base. The need for very thick walls was
eliminated with the invention of steel-frame construction, in which a rigid steel
skeleton supports the building's weight, and the outer walls are merely hung from
the frame almost like curtains.
In the early 1960s structural engineer Fazlur Khan realized that the dominating
rigid steel frame structure was not the only system apt for tall buildings, marking
a new era of skyscraper construction in terms of multiple structural systems. His
central innovation in skyscraper design and construction was the concept of the
"tube" structural system, including the "framed tube", "trussed tube", and
"bundled tube". These systems allow greater economic efficiency, and also allow
skyscrapers to take on various shapes, no longer needing to be rectangular and
box-shaped.

9. WORLD TRADE CENTRE, NEW YORK
AREA OF WORLD TRADE CENTRE
The "Twin Towers", the original 1
WTC (417 m), and 2 WTC were the
in the world. The other buildings in the
complex included the 3 WTC,
4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC. All
of these buildings were built
between 1975 and 1985, with a
construction cost of $400 million The
complex was located in New York City's
and contained 13,400,000 square feet
(1,240,000 m2) of office space.

10. WORLD TRADE CENTRE, NEW YORK
The core of the towers housed the
elevator and utility shafts, restrooms,
three stairwells, and other support
spaces. The core of each tower was a
rectangular area and contained 47 steel
columns running from the bedrock to
the top of the tower. The floors used
prefabricated floor trusses ,supported
their own weight as well as, providing
stability to the walls and distributing
wind loads among the walls. The floors
consisted of 4 inches (10 cm) thick
lightweight concrete slabs.

11. WORLD TRADE CENTRE, NEW YORK
Tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
• Striking views of the harbor,
New York City and New Jersey
• Floor to ceiling glass
• Column-free floors
• 13 ft, 4 inch slab-to-slab floor height
• 54 high-speed destination dispatch
elevators
• Dramatic 55 ft high ground floor lobby
• Convenient access to the WTC concourse
and 450,000 SF of restaurants, shops and
services
• Direct access to the Santiago Calatrava
designed
World Trade Center Transportation Hub
linking to 11 subway lines, PATH and
Hudson River ferries

12. WORLD TRADE CENTRE, NEW YORK
45th FLOOR PLAN. 90th FLOOR PLAN.

13. PETRONAS TOWER, KAULA LUMPUR
Height
Antenna spire 451.9 m (1,483 ft.)
Roof 378.6 m (1,242 ft.)
Top floor 375 m (1,230 ft.)
Technical details
Floor count 88
Floor area 395,000
m
2
(4,252,000
sq. ft.)
Elevator count 78
Architect:
Cesar Pelli and Associates.
Date of Completion- 1997

14. PETRONAS TOWER, KAULA LUMPUR