Skyscraper


[[Taipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper by roof height on high rise.]] ::"What is the chief characteristic of the tall office building? It is lofty. It must be tall. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and pride of exaltation must be in it. It must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exaltation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line." :::—Louis Sullivan's The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered (1896) The word skyscraper was originally a nautical term for a tall mast or sail on a sailing ship. Today the word is used exclusively to refer to a tall habitable building, usually higher than 152 metres (500 feet). A skyscraper is also sometimes referred to as a highrise, a term which is generally used to refer to a residential building. Until the 19th century, buildings of over six stories were rare. It was impractical to have people walk up so many flights of stairs, and water pressure could only provide running water to about 50 feet (15 m). The development of steel, reinforced concrete, and water pumps have made possible the construction of extremely tall buildings, some of which are over 300 metres tall. The other development essential to practical skyscraper development was the invention of the elevator. The skyscraper first emerged in the land-strapped areas of New York City and Chicago toward the end of the 19th century. William LeBaron Jenney designed the first skyscraper in Chicago, The Home Insurance Building. The ten-story structure was constructed in 1884-1885 and was destroyed in 1931 for the Field's building. The weight-bearing components of skyscrapers also differ substantially from those of other buildings. Buildings of about four stories are supported by their walls, while skyscrapers are larger buildings that must be supported by a skeletal frame. The walls then hang off this frame like curtains. Special consideration must then be given for buildings that are over 40 stories tall because of the force that wind puts on the structure. Frankfurt with its skyscrapers See world's tallest structures for a discussion of the tallest skyscrapers and other man-made structures, as determining the "world's tallest..." depends greatly on matters of definition.

Top 50 Skyscrapers by structural/architectural height

The [[Sears Tower in Chicago, the world's tallest skyscraper from 1974 to 2004. Retained Highest pinnacle on a high-rise]]
This table is adapted from http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/wo/ and utilizes the criteria set by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). It ranks high rises by the highest architectural detail, and does not include the height of structural components that do not count as architectural structures, such as antennas and masts. This sort of ranking allows buildings that look smaller in height to be ranked higher if another building's spire is adjudged to be a large antenna and thus excluded. This results in such rankings as the Petronas Towers being ranked higher than the Sears Tower despite having a much lower highest point and occupiable floor. Also, the list does not include free-standing buildings that are not classified as high rises, such as the CN Tower, TV masts, bridges, or oil platforms. The table is up to date as of 2004, with destroyed buildings removed, notably the World Trade Center which would be in the top ten. (Note: the height given is the highest architectural detail and may not be highest point on building.) bgcolor="#cccccc" |Rank||Building||City||Colspan="2" align="center"|Height||Floors||Built|| bgcolor="efefef" |2||Petronas Tower 1||Kuala Lumpur||452 m||1,483 ft||88||1998|| bgcolor="efefef" |4||Sears Tower bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |7||CITIC Plaza bgcolor="efefef" |9||Empire State Building bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |12||Emirates Office Tower bgcolor="efefef" |14||Aon Center||Chicago||346 m||1,136 ft||83||1973 || bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |17||Ryugyong Hotel bgcolor="efefef" |19||Chrysler Building bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |22||Menara Telekom||Kuala Lumpur||310 m||1,017 ft||55||2001 || bgcolor="efefef" |24||AT&T Corporate Center bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |27||Two Prudential Plaza bgcolor="efefef" |29||First Canadian Place bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |32||311 South Wacker Drive bgcolor="efefef" |34||American International bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |37||One Liberty Place bgcolor="efefef" |39||Tomorrow Square bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |42||Bank of America Plaza bgcolor="efefef" |44||Republic Plaza||Singapore||280 m||919 ft||66||1995 || bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |47||Hong Kong New World Tower||Shanghai||278 m||913 ft||61||2002 || bgcolor="efefef" |49||Williams Tower
1 Taipei 101 Taipei 509 m 1,671 ft 101 2003
3 Petronas Tower 2 Kuala Lumpur 452 m 1,483 ft 88 1998
Chicago 442 m 1,450 ft 108 1974
5 Jin Mao Tower Shanghai 421 m 1,380 ft 88 1998
6 Two International Finance Centre Hong Kong 415 m 1,362 ft 88 2003
Guangzhou 391 m 1,283 ft 80 1997
8 Shun Hing Square Shenzhen 384 m 1,260 ft 69 1996
New York City 381 m 1,250 ft 102 1931
10 Central Plaza Hong Kong 374 m 1,227 ft 78 1992
11 Bank of China Tower Hong Kong 367 m 1,205 ft 72 1990
Dubai 355 m 1,163 ft 54 2000
13 Tuntex Sky Tower Kaohsiung 348 m 1,140 ft 85 1997
15 The Center Hong Kong 346 m 1,135 ft 73 1998
16 John Hancock Center Chicago 344 m 1,127 ft 100 1969
Pyongyang 330 m 1,083 ft 105 1992
18 Burj Al Arab Dubai 321 m 1,053 ft 60 1999
New York City 319 m 1,046 ft 77 1930
20 Bank of America Plaza Atlanta 312 m 1,023 ft 55 1992
21 US Bank Tower Los Angeles 310 m 1,018 ft 73 1990
23 Emirates Hotel Tower Dubai 309 m 1,014 ft 56 2000
Chicago 307 m 1,007 ft 60 1989
25 JPMorganChase Tower Houston 305 m 1,002 ft 75 1982
26 Baiyoke Tower II Bangkok 304 m 997 ft 85 1997
Chicago 303 m 995 ft 64 1990
28 Kingdom Centre Riyadh 302 m 992 ft 41 2002
Toronto 298 m 978 ft 72 1976
30 Yokohama Landmark Tower Yokohama 296 m 972 ft 70 1993
31 Wells Fargo Plaza Houston 296 m 972 ft 71 1983
Chicago 293 m 961 ft 65 1990
33 SEG Plaza Shenzhen 292 m 957 ft 70 2000
New York City 290 m 952 ft 66 1932
35 Key Tower Cleveland 289 m 947 ft 57 1991
36 Plaza 66 Shanghai 288 m 945 ft 66 2001
Philadelphia 288 m 945 ft 61 1987
38 Bank of America Tower Seattle 285 m 937 ft 76 1985
Shanghai 285 m 934 ft 55 2003
40 Cheung Kong Centre Hong Kong 283 m 928 ft 62 1999
41 The Trump Building New York City 283 m 927 ft 70 1930
Dallas 281 m 921 ft 72 1985
43 OUB Centre Singapore 280 m 919 ft 63 1986
45 UOB Plaza One Singapore 280 m 919 ft 66 1992
46 Citigroup Center New York City 279 m 915 ft 59 1977
48 Scotia Plaza Toronto 275 m 902 ft 68 1988
Houston 275 m 901 ft 64 1983
50 Wuhan World Trade Tower Wuhan 273 m 896 ft 58 1998
For a longer listing go to List of skyscrapers

History of tallest skyscraper

bgcolor="#cccccc" |Building || Built|| Status ||Colspan="2" align="center"|Roof||Colspan="2" align="center"|Pinnacle||Floors|| bgcolor="efefef" |World Building bgcolor="efefef" |Park Row Building bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |Woolworth Building bgcolor="efefef" |Chrysler Building bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |Sears Tower
Home Insurance Building 1885 Destroyed 180 ft 55 m 12
1890 Destroyed 309 ft 94 m 349 ft 106 m 20
Manhattan Life Insurance Building 1894 Destroyed 348 ft 106 m 18
1899 Present 391 ft 119 m 30
Singer Building 1908 Destroyed 612 ft 187 m 47
Met Life Tower 1909 Present 700 ft 213 m 50
1913 Present 792 ft 241 m 57
40 Wall Street 1930 Present 927 ft 283 m 71
1930 Present 925 ft 282 m 1046 ft 319 m 77
Empire State Building 1931 Present 1250 ft 381 m 1472 ft 449 m 102
1 World Trade Center 1972 Destroyed 1368 ft 417 m 1727 ft 526 m 110
1974 Present 1450 ft 442 m 1730 ft 527 m 108
Taipei 101 2003 Present 1470 ft 448 m 1667 ft 508 m 101
Disputed Claims:

Top 15 by pinnacle

Top 15 by the highest point on the building. bgcolor="#cccccc" |Building ||Colspan="2" align="center" |Height||City|| bgcolor="efefef" bgcolor="#fff4f4" |1 World Trade Center (destroyed)||526 m||1727 ft||New York City|| bgcolor="efefef" |Petronas Towers||452 m|| 1483 ft||Kuala Lumpur || bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |2 International Finance Centre bgcolor="#fff4f4" |2 World Trade Center (destroyed)||415 m||1363 ft||New York City|| bgcolor="efefef" |CITIC Plaza bgcolor="#cccccc" ||||||||| bgcolor="efefef" |Central Plaza||374 m||1227 ft||Hong Kong || bgcolor="efefef" |SEG Plaza|| 356 m||1167 ft|| Shenzhen ||
Sears Tower 527 m 1730 ft Chicago
Taipei 101 508 m 1667 ft Taipei
John Hancock Center 457 m 1500 ft Chicago
Empire State Building 449 m 1472 ft New York City
Jin Mao Tower 421 m 1380 ft Shanghai
416 m 1364 ft Hong Kong
391  m 1283 ft Guangzhou
Shun Hing Square 384 m 1260 ft Shenzhen
Tuntex 85 Sky Tower 378 m 1240 ft Kaohsiung
Bank of China Tower 367 m 1205 ft Hong Kong

Comparison of top modern skyscrapers

Comparison of the Sears Tower, Taipei 101, the Petronas Towers and the Empire State Building. The [[Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.]]

See also

da:Skyskraber de:Wolkenkratzer es:Rascacielos eo:Nubskrapulo fr:Gratte-ciel nl:Wolkenkrabber no:skyskraper ja:超高層ビル pl:Wieżowiec sv:Skyskrapa ta:வானளாவி zh:摩天大樓 Category:Architecture

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