Today you will not surprise anyone with a multi-story building, but even a couple of hundred years ago, even the idea of building houses of this height seemed an engineering miracle. Today, countries compete in the number of skyscrapers and their beauty. Buildings continue to be built, increasing the number of storeys and complicating calculations.
The history of skyscrapers
High-rise buildings have been known to mankind for a long time. But the first building, called a skyscraper, was built relatively recently - only in 1885 in Chicago. It is ridiculous to say, but then the building was called so, in which there were only 10 floors, two more appeared a little later. Thus, the total height of the skyscraper of the XIX century was a little more than 50 meters.
The development and improvement of construction technologies finally eliminated the problem of massive buildings, because the steel frame made it possible to strengthen the walls, while reducing the total weight by a third. And the problem of lifting to such heights was solved after the invention of electric elevators.
Almost immediately after the first high-rise buildings appeared, a serious struggle for primacy unfolded between the builders. Especially acute was the one in which the skyscrapers of New York competed among themselves in the 20s of the XX century. Less than 30 years after the first multi-story building appeared, a 241-meter-high tower was built. Over the next 17 years, no one could beat this record, and then the Chrysler Building and its mark of 320 on the spire took the championship. But less than a year later (1931), the building was discovered, which later became the symbol of all skyscrapers. It was the Empire State Building, breaking the milestone of 100 floors. It was built in record time, a little over a year.
For a while, the struggle died down in order to flare up again in the 70s. The championship palm was intercepted by buildings in different parts of the world, but no one was able to hold it for a long time. Today it belongs to the Burj Khalifa building, the first and so far the only structure that has crossed the mark of 150 floors.
Design Features
The construction of high-rise buildings is fraught with certain difficulties. In addition to the fact that architects have to take into account the mass of the building, its seismic stability and many other parameters, all calculations must be very accurate, because otherwise many people can suffer. In the desire to achieve certain ambitions, you always need to remember safety and approach the matter wisely. That is why the design of high-rise buildings is a completely separate discipline that requires a certain attitude.
However, in the pursuit of reliability, one must not forget about beauty. Conventional reinforced concrete boxes have not been of interest to anyone for a long time, people want a certain grace and ease of form, so the work of an architect cannot be called easy. Maintenance of high-rise buildings is also not an easy task, because even with ordinary window cleaning, it is impossible to cope without the services of industrial climbers. And you also need to consider security issues that became more relevant than ever after September 11, 2001, when a fire and the collapse of two skyscrapers claimed a huge amount of lives.
Categories
For a long time to decide what exactly is considered a skyscraper, it was difficult. And now this question remains relevant, because several different criteria are used at once. Someone measures the height on the roof, not taking into account the spire, others take it into account, ignoring the antennas and other structures, and some estimate the scale based on the highest point of the building. In any case, buildings with floors (that is, no towers) that extend 100 meters or more are considered to be skyscrapers at present. From 35 to 100 are just tall buildings. Above 300 - ultrahigh, and from 600 - they wear the prefix "mega". By the way, the last two in the world.
Record holders
6 of the 10 tallest buildings in the world are located in Asia, however, it is the first three places that are occupied by structures located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the USA. So, since 2009, the list remains unchanged:
- Burj Khalifa (UAE).
- Abraj Al Beit (Saudi Arabia).
- World Trade Center 1 (USA).
- Taipei 101 (Taiwan).
- Shanghai World Trade Center (China).
- International Commercial Center (Hong Kong).
- Petronas-1 (Malaysia).
- Petronas-2 (Malaysia).
- Nanjing Greenland (China).
- Willis Tower (USA).
Skyscrapers of Moscow and Russia
In the cities of the Russian Federation, for a long time, high-rise construction was held back for aesthetic and religious reasons. Until the middle of the 20th century, the highest point of the historical center remained the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, 81 meters high. By the way, high-rise buildings in Russia for a long time had their own name, not borrowed from other languages - natives. The first such project, which had a modern scope, was the building of the Palace of Soviets, which was supposed to have a height of 495 meters. Construction began in 1937, but was interrupted by the war, and then abandoned this idea.
Until the last few decades, it was difficult to imagine truly high-rise buildings in Russian cities; it seemed that they completely did not fit into their architectural appearance. Of course, there are a lot of skeptics now, but the Moscow City district has gained its fans. In St. Petersburg, a skyscraper is also under construction, which promises to be the highest in Europe, but so far the end is scheduled for 2019 only.
Famous skyscrapers
Despite the fact that most of them have not been included in the list of the highest for a long time, New York's skyscrapers are the most famous. It is this city that comes to mind when it comes to high-rise buildings. The heroines of Hollywood films live in penthouses in Manhattan, enjoying panoramic views in the evenings. Yes, New York really cannot be imagined without skyscrapers. Shanghai and Hong Kong have also grown up in record time, but have already managed to fall in love with everyone in their modern appearance.
By the way, for quite a long time the "Stalinist" high-rise buildings of Moscow were considered quite an interesting and promising branch of architecture. And today, foreign tourists visit them as soon as possible and look at them with curiosity.
