Projects of the tallest skyscrapers. Giant skyscrapers of the future. Theory versus practice
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Opened in 2010, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai has become the tallest building on the planet, a symbol of the triumph of engineering genius. But she is not destined to be a record holder for long. In different parts of the Earth, preparations are already in full swing for the construction of even more tall and complex skyscrapers, each of which has a height at least a kilometer.
Sky City. China
The Sky City Tower, although it will have a height of just under a kilometer, is likely to be the first to break the Burj Khalifa's record of 828 meters from the base to the top of the spire. The project involves the construction of a stepped 838-meter tower in Chinese city Changsha, on 202 floors of which there will be residential apartments, hotels, educational establishments, hospitals, offices, shops.
But what is interesting is not so much the record height of Sky City, but the incredibly fast pace of construction of this building. The Broad Sustainable Building company, which will build it, is known throughout the world for erecting high-rise buildings in just a few days. She plans to build this skyscraper in just 90 days plus 120 days of preparing the site for construction.
Construction of this skyscraper was supposed to begin in the summer of 2013, but has so far been postponed. Is it true, preparatory work on the site where Sky City will grow, they are gradually moving forward.
Azerbaijan Tower. Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan also wants to build the world's tallest skyscraper. Growing revenues from the sale of oil and gas make it possible to implement very large social and infrastructure projects in this country, for example, the construction of the artificial Khazar Islands archipelago, the high-rise dominant of which will be the 1050-meter Azerbaijan Tower.
The construction of the archipelago began several years ago. Now the first public, residential and office buildings have grown on it, and the construction of the Azerbaijan Tower itself is expected to begin in 2015.
The project’s investors promise to put the Azerbaijan Tower building into operation in 2019, and to finish the entire artificial archipelago by 2020.
Kingdom Tower. Saudi Arabia
But still, most of the super-tall building projects are planned to be implemented in rich Arab countries. For example, Saudi Arabia lives with the idea of building the tallest building in the world - they are haunted by the Burj Khalifa in the neighboring United Arab Emirates.
Construction of the Kingdom Tower skyscraper began in 2013 in the city of Jeddah. The height of this 167-story building will be just over 1000 meters. The exact data is still unknown - they will appear only after the facility is put into operation. Investors are afraid to make them public, fearing that someone will build a structure just a few meters higher and break the record.
Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece of the Kingdom Center mixed-use development, a city of residential, office, hotel, retail and entertainment developments that will cost $20 billion.
Madinat al-Hareer. Kuwait
They want to build a kilometer-long skyscraper in Kuwait. In June 2014, a building project called Madinat al-Hareer, whose height will be 1001 meters, was finally approved there.
The name "Madinat al-Hareer" translates as "Silk City", which alludes to Kuwait's glorious history as one of the world's silk trading centers. It was originally planned that this skyscraper would be built by 2016, but, apparently, this deadline will be postponed by at least two years.
Dubai City Tower. United Arab Emirates
Dubai is looking at the projects listed above with caution - in the very near future they could break the height record of the Burj Dubai skyscraper. But, on the other hand, in this city they don’t sit with their hands folded. There, work is in full swing to create a project for the world's first two-kilometer building.
The Eiffel Tower is used as the basis for the design of Dubai City Tower. But the dimensions of this Arab skyscraper will be seven and a half times larger than the French prototype. The height of the future tower will be 2400 meters.
The 400 floors of the Dubai City Tower will be connected not only by elevators, but also by a vertical train that can travel at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour and transport people from the bottom floor to the top in a matter of seconds.
From buildings that pump water from Himalayan glaciers to circular towers that could allow their occupants to travel without leaving home. How do architects imagine the buildings of the future?
The skyscraper is one of the most representative symbols modern society. The sight of the Burj Khalifa rising out of the desert is an imposing image of technological progress. Engineering solutions and the amount of resources that allowed this building to soar into the skies may seem unimaginable. But besides the fact that buildings are growing taller and taller, and using less energy overall, they are still not far from the Empire State Building.
eVolo magazine hosts an annual skyscraper design competition that asks architects what more can we do with skyscrapers? Some solutions represent buildings that will save us from water shortages, others - buildings that can help cope with the problem of garbage, or even those that can independently move to a safe place in the event of a disaster.
All the projects are absolutely fantastic. Most of them require technologies that don't even exist yet. But maybe instead of building higher and higher, we can try building smarter?
Himalaya Water Tower(in the picture above)
Zhi Zheng, Hongchuan Zhao, Dongbai Song
China
These buildings are designed to collect water frozen in the Himalayan glaciers, where 40% of the Earth's fresh water is located today. The buildings are located on several pipes that go deep into the ice and produce water for their inhabitants.
Mountain Band-Aid
Yiting Shen, Nanjue Wang, Ji Xia, Zihan Wang
China
In response to China's aggressive mining program that is gradually eating away at the nation's mountains, the featured buildings will help restore these losses, as well as provide shelter for villagers who have been displaced by industry.
Monument to Civilization
Lin Yu-Ta
Taiwan
This skyscraper will not be a haven for city residents. However, he will become one for their garbage. For example, if you collect a year's worth of New York's garbage and place it in a mine, you will get a height three times greater than the Empire State Building. These buildings will not only harness energy from waste, but also serve as excellent monuments to the wastefulness of a particular city. The lower the garbage buildings, the more environmentally friendly and sustainable its economy.
Migrant Skyscraper
Damian Przybyla, Rafał Przybyla
Poland
Sometimes the chosen place turns out to be so bad or dangerous that you just want to pick up and leave. But if money has already been invested in the construction of a building, or even an entire city, this becomes difficult. This is where wheel-shaped buildings can come in handy. When things get really bad, they can just pack up and go somewhere else.
House of Babel
Nikita Asadov
Russia
The previous project could allow you and your neighbors to quickly move to another place, but this one can completely rid you of your neighbors. One module of this building is on the ground, and the second is as high as you wish. A great way to get rid of annoying neighbors or stay safe when some unpleasant events happen on earth.
Plastic Fish Tower
Kim Hongseop, Cho Hyunbeom, Yoon Sunhee, Yoon Hyungsoo
South Korea
The building is designed specifically to solve the problem of plastic waste in the ocean. In addition to the fact that it provides housing with beautiful view depths, it will continuously clean the ocean - sucking in and processing plastic waste floating on the surface.
Human Rights Skyscraper
Ren Tianhang, Luo Jing, Kang Jun
China
In Beijing, where owning land is a big challenge, this building was designed to symbolize everyone's right to own their own private home. Outside of Beijing, this decision could help stop indiscriminate development. As the population of cities grows, some people are left with a choice - to live in the city or have their own home outside it. Now they can have both.
Cliff Dwellings
Román J. Cordero Tovar, Eric Israel Dorantes, Daniel Justino Rodríguez, Izbeth K. Mendoza Fragoso
Mexico
We are using more and more land for construction. In this regard, compact architecture that occupies a minimum of space is becoming increasingly valuable. But there is a solution even with zero area - to build houses on steep mountain slopes.
Coal Power Plant Mutation
Chipara Radu Bogdan
Romania
As long as clean energy makes its way, coal power will remain a large part of our economy for a long time. But what if we could prevent air pollution? These skyscrapers will “sit” on chimneys and neutralize the escaping gases, using them for as long as possible to power the entire building.
Opened in 2010, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai has become the tallest building on the planet, a symbol of the triumph of engineering genius. But she is not destined to be a record holder for long. In different parts of the Earth, preparations are already in full swing for the construction of even more tall and complex skyscrapers, each of which has a height at least a kilometer.
Sky City. China
The Sky City Tower, although it will have a height of just under a kilometer, is likely to be the first to break the Burj Khalifa's record of 828 meters from the base to the top of the spire. The project involves the construction of a stepped 838-meter tower in the Chinese city of Changsha, on 202 floors of which there will be residential apartments, hotels, educational institutions, hospitals, offices, and shops.
But what is interesting is not so much the record height of Sky City, but the incredibly fast pace of construction of this building. The Broad Sustainable Building company, which will build it, is known throughout the world for its construction in just a few days. She plans to build this skyscraper in just 90 days plus 120 days of preparing the site for construction.
Construction of this skyscraper was supposed to begin in the summer of 2013, but has so far been postponed. True, preparatory work on the site where Sky City will grow is gradually underway.
Azerbaijan Tower. Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan also wants to build the world's tallest skyscraper. Growing revenues from the sale of oil and gas make it possible to implement very large social and infrastructure projects in this country, for example, the construction of the artificial Khazar Islands archipelago, the dominant height of which will be a 1050-meter tower.
The construction of the archipelago began several years ago. Now the first public, residential and office buildings have grown on it, and the construction of the Azerbaijan Tower itself is expected to begin in 2015.
The project’s investors promise to put the Azerbaijan Tower building into operation in 2019, and to finish the entire artificial archipelago by 2020.
Kingdom Tower. Saudi Arabia
But still, most of the super-tall building projects are planned to be implemented in rich Arab countries. For example, Saudi Arabia lives with the idea of building the tallest building in the world - they are haunted by the Burj Khalifa in the neighboring United Arab Emirates.
Construction of the Kingdom Tower skyscraper began in 2013 in the city of Jeddah. The height of this 167-story building will be just over 1000 meters. The exact data is still unknown - they will appear only after the facility is put into operation. Investors are afraid to make them public, fearing that someone will build a structure just a few meters higher and break the record.
Kingdom Tower will be the centerpiece of the Kingdom Center mixed-use development, a $20 billion city of residential, office, hotel, retail and entertainment developments.
Madinat al-Hareer. Kuwait
They want to build a kilometer-long skyscraper in Kuwait. In June 2014, a building project called Madinat al-Hareer, whose height will be 1001 meters, was finally approved there.
The name "Madinat al-Hareer" translates as "Silk City", which alludes to Kuwait's glorious history as one of the world's silk trading centers. It was originally planned that this skyscraper would be built by 2016, but, apparently, this deadline will be postponed by at least two years.
Dubai City Tower. United Arab Emirates
Dubai is looking at the projects listed above with caution - they could break the height record of the Burj Dubai skyscraper in the very near future. But, on the other hand, in this city they don’t sit with their hands folded. There, work is in full swing to create a project for the world's first two-kilometer building.
The Eiffel Tower is used as the basis for the design of Dubai City Tower. But the dimensions of this Arab skyscraper will be seven and a half times larger than the French prototype. The height of the future tower will be 2400 meters.
The 400 floors of the Dubai City Tower will be connected not only by elevators, but also by a vertical train that can travel at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour and transport people from the bottom floor to the top in a matter of seconds.
Investors and authors of the Dubai City Tower skyscraper project expect it to be commissioned in 2025. The construction estimate has not been disclosed.
The 2011 Skyscraper Competition is an attempt to promote the vision of the infrastructure of our future by architects who have put a lot of effort and soul into their projects. Projects received awards for following criteria: use of new technologies, materials, programs; aesthetics and spatial organization; taking into account globalization and the digital revolution; adaptability and adaptability. The event was organized by eVolo Magazine. The competition jury selected among the participants those projects in which the architectural and natural features.
1. First place: LO2P, recycling center in Delhi (Atelier CMJNb Julien Combs, Gael Brule)
The LO2P skyscraper was designed specifically for New Delhi, the capital of India, which is characterized by high levels of pollution. This structure, reminiscent of the London Eye, is built from building material obtained from recycling old cars. Large-scale greenhouses of this design will serve as air filters. LO2P is also equipped with a filter system that absorbs suspended particles from the air, and waste heat and carbon dioxide processing center are used to grow plants, from which, in turn, biofuels are made.
2. Second place: Flat Tower (Johann Meskam, Paul-Eric Schirr-Bonnans, Xavier Schirr-Bonnans)
The Flat Tower is a high-density building shaped like a dome with pass-through skylights. The extensive surface of the dome is ideal for collecting solar energy and rainwater. At the lower level of the building there are places for recreation and entertainment, offices and living quarters are located in the upper compartments. The automated transport system provides communication between compartments of various shapes. This project was developed specifically for the industrial area of the French city of Rennes, but can also be adapted to any other area.
3. Third place: New Hoover Dam (Wuhe-Shen Chua)
Today you can visit the Hoover Dam and enjoy the beauty from the observation deck, bridge or gallery, but one problem: all these places are located quite far from each other. The designer of this project combines all the main points of the dam in one structure, and also equips it with a vertical aquarium, which will finally win the hearts of tourists.
Honorary awards also received the following projects:
NoeTax: 3D Urban Network (Studio DMTW, Marc Antoine Damen, René Lierschaft and Anna-Maria Wiedekind)
This is a project of a three-dimensional urban network consisting of vertical and horizontal compartments. The building was built using a modular system, where each module represents a separate block or area.
PoroCity: Rehabilitation Mumbai (Khushalani Associates: Rajeev Khushalani, Thomas Kariat, Mihir Sangani)
Dharavi is one of the largest slum areas in the world. This project is an attempt to rehabilitate this area. The design is based on the rectangular Sierpinski pyramid. The building is divided into blocks measuring 3 x 9 m, forming sections for public use with terraces overlooking north side, infrastructure (hospitals, supermarkets, etc.), educational institutions, factories and offices. Instead of cars, elevators, movable sidewalks, escalators and funiculars moving in vertical, horizontal and diagonal planes are used as means of transportation.
Tower of the Dead (Lopez Balan, Elsa Mendoza Andres, Muaze Adrian and Hernandez Garcia)
This is a project for an underground vertical cemetery for Mexico City.
Fish Tower (Hsing-O Chang)
This project is a prototype of a vertical fish farm, the efficiency of which can exceed that of traditional farms by 30 times. The lower floor of this structure also houses a market and visitor center. The farms are designed taking into account the characteristics of the habitats and spawning areas of each fish species. There is also a research bay located here.
Sports Tower (Sergei and Olga Prokofiev)
The sports tower is a vertical complex that combines all the diversity sports facilities.
RE:pH - skyscraper on the coast (Gary Kellett)
The design of this skyscraper is based on the idea of reducing the acidity level of ocean waters by introducing fossilized coccolithophores into the water. The ideal location for this project is the south-east coast of England, where there are extensive deposits of coccolithophores (white chalk), stretching from the outskirts of London to the White Cliffs of Dover.
Iceberg Autonomy: Oil Refining Center (Akram Falimi)
Iceberg autonomy is an enclave, a “sea scraper” containing oil reservoirs and separators. This is a kind of floating water world.
Tourist city (Francisco Villeda, Hechan Park, Wouter Dons, Sandra Fleischmann)
This project is a group of megastructures created to combat the surge of urbanization in the city of Cancun (Mexico).
Root Tower: Thousands of Underground Plateaus (Enrico Tognoni, Federico Tinti, David Mariani)
Root Tower is a fantastic underground city! In essence, it is an “earthscraper” that functions through the use of underground and above-ground resources. The implementation of the idea of creating an autonomous underground city can make it possible to grow an entire underground nation! The general structure of the structure is divided into 4 layers surrounding the central core. The first layer is located on the surface of the structure and includes places for recreation and entertainment, as well as food warehouses, agricultural fields, farms and greenhouses. The outer shell of the building is covered with photovoltaic sections used to collect solar energy. IN separate sections wind turbines are located. The second layer has about 60 residential levels, presenting a variety of residential areas for different types and sizes of families. The third and fourth layers contain offices, as well as special compartments for collecting and studying geothermal energy.
New York's 6th Ward (John Houser)
This area will occupy the space between 22nd and 14th streets and 6th and 7th avenues in New York. The grid structure includes stations, parks, residential buildings, offices, etc. An urban utopia!
Singapore port (Georgiy Kkhmaladze)
Already from the name of this project one can understand that this port will be created with the aim of expanding the financial district of Singapore. The designer places special emphasis on the use of resources such as rainwater, natural ventilation and sunlight. The walls of the skyscraper will be inclined at an angle of 20 degrees to the ground. Each villa in this building offers its residents two-storey apartments and a beautiful shaded private garden. The hotel and offices are located on the middle levels of the skyscraper, where the most extensive compartments are hidden.
Moonscraper (Louis Quinon)
It's time to move to the Moon, or more precisely, to the lunar crater Shackleton, located at the young pole of the Moon. I'm not kidding! This project will be implemented exactly there and, perhaps, in the future it will become your home.
Floating Olympic Village (Andrew Chow Wai Tat, Tao Huang, Xu Liang Chang)
This project represents inverted skyscrapers that will serve as an Olympic village, and will subsequently be transformed into a city floating above the ground, where offices, residential buildings, entertainment and recreation areas and infrastructure will be located. The prototypes of the design were the umbrella dome, rough and stalactites. The designers of the project see its implementation for the future Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Skyscraper at the North Pole: Cargo transhipment base (Borja Mugiro)
This project is proposed as a transportation center for the Arctic region. The multi-section skyscraper cuts through the Arctic ice shelf and serves as a warehouse for cargo from different countries peace.
Life on Demand (Benjamin Feenstra, Jelmer Frank Vigna)
We present to your attention a futuristic concept of delivering all kinds of goods and services directly to your doorstep, and you don’t have to leave it at all. Play golf? Please! The doctors? He is at your service! "Go to the cinema? Nothing could be easier! Just order and we will fulfill your every wish.
Waste collector (Agatha Sander, Tomek Kujawski)
This skyscraper is nothing more than a waste recycling plant located right in the city center! This project was developed specifically for the Huangpu area (Shanghai). The facility's processing capacity is 400 tons of solid urban waste daily. Recycling is clean, autonomous and does not require intensive land use.
Hotel of Hope: High Rise Transit Housing (Asaf Dali)
This project is intended for people who lost their homes as a result of natural Disasters or economic crisis. The external frame of the building allows you to set up a tent camp inside the building, as well as place all the necessary amenities there, such as showers, beds, etc. etc. The design also includes laundry rooms, storage areas and communal kitchens.
Vertical farm within the city (Yiking Jiang, Ying Jiang)
This is a project to build a skyscraper with parks and farms right in the center of Shanghai.
The Grain of Life (Osama Mohammed Elganam, Karim Mohamed Elnabawy, Mohammed Ahmed Khamis, Nesma Mohamed Abobakr)
We bring to your attention a plan of residential structures for the newly liberated Cairo. To create them, construction materials will be used from recycled waste from city landfills. The essence of the project is to construct a frame capable of accommodating various configurations of residential sections.
An inhabited mountain will save you from overpopulation (Anna-Maria Cimatu, Mariant Dendrow)
The habitable mountain is a skyscraper designed to be built in one of the least suitable places for life on our planet, the Taklamakan Desert (northwest China). In this high-rise building, covering an area of 185 sq. m. meters, there are artificial lakes and residential complexes equipped with all necessary amenities. At the top of this structure, rainwater accumulates, which subsequently freely falls in cascades directly into the atrium of the skyscraper and irrigates the plants. It really is an oasis in the desert!
Tree of Life (Denis Sviridov and Anastasia Gudzenko)
The Tree of Life Project is a self-contained ecosystem designed specifically for open-pit mines around the world. The lower level of the structure, or its root, contains a power station for collecting geothermal energy, as well as a water purification system. The barrel provides structural strength. Pneumatic elevators are the connecting links between the sections of a skyscraper. In the crown of the Tree of Life there are residential sectors, offices, schools and entertainment centers. It also has its own agricultural fields and greenhouses, used solar panels and wind turbines.
Skyscraper Hydra (Miloš Vlastić, Vuk Djođević, Anna Lazović, Melissa Stanković)
Hydra is a skyscraper project based on hydrogen energy obtained through the process of electrolysis and stored in batteries. Energy can be transported through pipes, trucks or wires. It is also planned to obtain energy from lightning during a thunderstorm and store it in the same batteries. It is planned to create all the conditions necessary for the living of scientists' families.
Oil platforms are being transformed into energy-sustainable “sea scrapers” (Yang Wan Kim, Jun Jung Park, Jung Ha Park)
This is a project to transform oil platforms into energy-sustainable skyscrapers that will purify water. Modernized equipment is expected, including residential complexes.
Elastic Tower (David Gal, Jin Young Song)
Elastic cables are suspended from the top of the Elastic Tower and are attached to the perimeter of the rack at its base. The cables encircle the skyscraper, creating a diagonal configuration that prevents the structure from deforming.
Overhead Communication (Adam Nakagoshi, Thao Nguyen)
The three-level structure is designed to communicate between the upper floors of existing skyscrapers. The lower floors are for public use and are used primarily for transportation. The middle levels accommodate residential sections and offices, while the upper floors contain recreation and entertainment areas.
Roller Coaster: Vertical Amusement Park in Times Square (Dalho Young and Sungdong Jung)
The name of the project speaks for itself! Roller coasters are now in Times Square. This research project movements in three dimensions, which has not yet been tested and was created in order to destroy the usual idea of movements in horizontal and vertical planes.
Barbed wire(Hungbeom Cho, Jinkyu Park, Hong Sup Kim, Jiwon Kim)
The project was based on the idea of the unification of North and South Korea, as well as the importance of preserving the inviolable reserves of the demilitarized zone. The project includes the creation of a museum and nature reserve where visitors can play sports and simply relax in nature.
Skyscraper-dump (Milorad Vidožević, Jelena Pukarević, Melissa Pilcher)
This is a decontamination project. Pacific Ocean by creating several underwater skyscrapers or floating islands. The structure of the buildings is based on self-supporting nodes, organized according to a functional hierarchy and communicating with 4 connecting cores supporting 3 main programs. There is a collector at the bottom of the structure, a processing plant at the middle level, and entertainment areas at the top.
Kinetic skyscraper (Viktor Kopeikin, Pavel Zabotin)
The kinetic skyscraper project includes three main programs, a geothermal plant (lower level), living quarters and offices (upper level), and a “solar” plant equipped with thousands of photovoltaic panels. Attached to the outer frame are kinetic living compartments, shaped like flower buds, which are also capable of opening and closing.
Chernobyl skyscrapers (Menggi Zhang)
This is a project to reconstruct a post-apocalyptic zone Chernobyl disaster on the territory of Ukraine.
White Cloud (Adrian Vincent Kumar, Yoon Kong Sung)
We present to your attention an air purification project. The buildings are “inverted” skyscrapers, at the base of which there is an extensive entertainment infrastructure, and at the top - residential complexes and offices. The thin membrane allows air to pass through, subjecting it to a purification process, and a constant mist washes over air particles trapped in the fabric-like material. The dust sifted out during the cleaning process is used in the manufacture of bricks at a factory located in the same structure.
United Skyscraper (Justin O)
The final height of this skyscraper has not yet been determined, because the project has been constantly being refined for 20 years! Changes can be traced in this building architectural styles throughout all 20 years.
Black and white footage from the thirties or forties. A steamship overloaded with European emigrants approaches the east coast of the United States. From early morning, passengers stand on the cold, windswept deck and peer into the horizon. Suddenly a multilingual noise runs through the crowd, screams are heard, and hundreds of future Americans see the spiers and towers of Manhattan protruding from the leaden weather. Here, on the canyon streets of the Big Apple, their new life will begin. These buildings stretching to the sky, these motley crowds far below - a real Babylon of the twentieth century.
Old Testament Babylon was the first city where people decided to erect a tower to heaven. For well-known reasons, they failed to do this, but we can say that the Bible already contains the idea of a skyscraper. And although people built abnormally high structures already 4.5 thousand years ago (the Great Pyramid of Giza rises 145 meters, which corresponds to a modern 40-story building), real skyscrapers appeared only at the end of the 19th century in the USA - and became calling card of this country. However, globalization has not ignored super-tall buildings. Today, not only New York or Chicago - Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and even Moscow can lay claim to the title of the most skyscraper cities in the world. The desire to build “higher, higher and higher” seems to have captured the whole world, and in the near future will greatly change the face of our planet. Let's see, like the European emigrants, what kind of skyscrapers surround us today - and will surround us a few years from now.
Vanity made of glass and concrete
What is a skyscraper? It would seem that the answer is simple - a tall building. It will not be difficult to identify skyscrapers in the urban landscape by eye. In theory, everything is somewhat more complicated.
Over the millennia of its history, humanity has built many tall structures. For a long time Religious buildings rose above the cities - bell towers, temples, minarets. In medieval Edinburgh, houses with a height of 11 and even 14 floors were built. The Eiffel Tower shocked the world with its 300 meters - and by the end of the 20th century, television towers and radio masts came even to small towns. But still, the word “skyscraper” was first heard in the USA, in relation to office buildings that are mediocre by today’s standards, 7-10 floors tall.
Long before the advent of high-rise buildings, British sailors called the tallest mast on a ship a skyscraper.
Until the end of the 19th century, it was not economically profitable to build high-rise buildings. To prevent a 16-story building made of stone or brick from collapsing under its own weight, the thickness of its walls at ground level had to be as much as 2 meters. Constantly running up and down stairs promised little pleasure, and elevators at that time were constantly falling: the first emergency brake was invented only in 1852.
The situation changed in the 1870s and 80s. In ten years, land values in downtown Chicago have jumped sevenfold. Steel and iron became cheaper and began to be used as a lightweight (compared to stone) and durable frame for buildings. And entrepreneurs realized that living in a skyscraper, the spire of which can rival the height of churches, is at least prestigious. It was in Chicago and New York that the engineering tasks that a real skyscraper had to meet were first formulated. The purpose of such buildings is to ensure the constant presence of as many people as possible in a small (and very expensive!) territory. Neither the Ostankino TV Tower nor Notre Dame Cathedral were built for such a task - and therefore cannot be considered skyscrapers. A skyscraper must be filled from top to bottom with offices, apartments, hotel rooms, and, at worst, shops and restaurants, otherwise it is not a skyscraper at all, but simply a high-rise building.
Singapore |
On the third observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, at an altitude of 276 meters, engineer Gustav Eiffel equipped his apartment and office. At the same time, it never occurs to anyone to call the main attraction of Paris a skyscraper.
The second one is just as simple and at the same time complex issue- how to measure the height of a skyscraper? It only gained international relevance in the 1990s: before that, everyone knew for sure that the tallest buildings were in the United States. After the Petronas Towers twin towers were built in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, they began to lay claim to the title of the tallest building in the world. Antennas installed on flat roof the then record holder Sears Tower was not taken into account when calculating the height (and rightly so: after all, you can build a five-story building with a 500-meter antenna and declare it the tallest building in the world). Petronas Towers does not have antennas, but it does have spiers located higher than the roof of a Chicago skyscraper. On the other hand, the top floor of the Kuala Lumpur building is lower than the top floor of the Sears Tower.
To solve a non-trivial problem - who should take precedence? - the Council had to high-rise buildings and urban environment (Council on Tall buildings and Urban Habitat, CTBUH), a recognized authority on skyscrapers. As a result, as many as four, in general, equal approaches to measuring buildings were voiced:
- the main criterion that the Council uses when creating lists of the tallest buildings, and at the same time the most vague - the height of the building as an architectural whole, spiers, statues and other decorations are taken into account, antennas (with rare exceptions) are not;
- height to the floor level of the upper habitable floor (perhaps the most reasonable criterion, since the main difference between a skyscraper and a tower is precisely the number of floors; where the floors end, the skyscraper ends);
- height to roof level (for buildings with non-flat roofs - to the ceiling last floor);
- height to the top of a building, be it a roof, spire or antenna (the most practical criterion - used by pilots and air traffic controllers).
In all cases, the reference point is the ground level from the main entrance to the building.
Petronas Towers were nevertheless officially recognized as the tallest buildings in the world, which caused a wave of protests, primarily in the USA. In particular, enthusiasts pointed out that during the construction of the Sears Tower, foundations for future antennas were installed (higher than the spiers of Petronas Towers) - what is not an architectural whole?
The Council on Tall Buildings' ambiguous (or rather quadruple) opinion on how to measure skyscrapers leaves city mayors and high-rise enthusiasts with plenty of room to debate whose kung fu is superior. Often, structures that are not skyscrapers are included in the dispute. Therefore, a few words about such structures.
High-rise structures are divided into free-standing and supported. The first include television towers and smokestacks; the second - transmitting masts and antennas that are held in vertical position due to tension cables. And the most “vertically long” man-made structures are offshore oil platforms, the height of which is hidden under water.
Based on the foregoing, we can give a definition of the subject that interests us. A skyscraper is a free-standing structure, evenly divided vertically into floors intended for living and working of people, with a height of the last floor of at least 150 meters. Skyscrapers over 300 meters high are called super-tall. By the end of 2007, there will be more than one and a half thousand skyscrapers in the world, four dozen of them will be super-tall.
What does it cost us to build a house?
Skyscrapers were born for economic reasons, but they are also built for other reasons. It is estimated that optimal height buildings from the point of view of its payback - 65-70 floors. What if the financial viability of the skyscraper is questionable?
On the one hand, skyscrapers raise the prestige of a city and even a country. It was not at all because of a lack of land that seven Stalinist high-rise buildings were erected in our capital. They decorated Moscow - but at the same time demonstrated: the Soviet system is in no way inferior to the capitalist one. The main building of Moscow State University (spire height - 240 meters) until 1985 was the tallest skyscraper outside the United States.
On the other hand, skyscrapers often serve as a symbol of development and prosperity. The most famous example is the Arab emirate of Dubai. Symbolism can be traced in the notorious Petronas Towers, which combine height with the Muslim architectural tradition, and in the tallest building on the planet - Taipei 101.
Empire State BuildingThe legendary skyscraper, which was the tallest building in the world for the longest time, was built in 1931, at the height of the Great Depression. Cheap labor, including immigrants, made it possible to build a 381-meter high-rise building with 86 full floors(another 16 come from the unused top). It was planned that airships would moor to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building (the mooring masts have survived to this day), but strong air currents around the building and the Hindenburg disaster put an end to this idea. In 1952, an antenna was installed on the skyscraper, which increased the height to 443 meters. Only 20 years later, the title of the tallest in the world passed to the twin towers of the World Trade Center (roof - 417 meters, antenna - 526 meters). Over the 70-plus years of the Empire State Building's existence, more than 30 people committed suicide by jumping from the skyscraper. But the one who distinguished herself the most was a certain Elvita Adams: the wind blew her back into the building, and the failed suicide escaped with a broken hip. |
From the very beginning of the history of skyscrapers until 1974, the tallest building in the world was located in New York. And the reason for this is not only the wealth of the “city of the yellow devil”. It was only in the 60s in Chicago - New York's main rival - that it was forbidden to build buildings higher than 40 floors. Similar restrictions existed in Europe: authorities feared that skyscrapers would destroy the architectural appearance of cities, and during a fire, evacuation from them would be almost impossible.
In Singapore, it is still forbidden to build buildings higher than 280 meters so as not to interfere with aviation. As a result, the city-state has not one tallest building, but three.
But gradually skyscrapers spread throughout the world. Asians and Arabs took the most active part in their construction; Residents contributed Latin America, Australia, Europe and even Africa. In Asia, seismic resistance has been added to the list of safety requirements: for example, a gigantic pendulum-counterweight is suspended inside Taipei 101 for this purpose. At the same time, the skyscraper must bend slightly under the winds blowing at the height, otherwise the air currents will simply break the high-rise. Some engineers even define high-rise structures as buildings in which wind is a more significant factor than its own weight when calculating its safety factor.
Elevators - perhaps the main thing headache high-rise buildings. To get to upper platform New York Twin Towers, it was necessary to make two transfers on floors completely devoted to lifting facilities. In modern skyscrapers, the “elevator problem” is often solved with multi-tiered cabins.
Today it is technically possible to create a skyscraper three kilometers high - but such a building will never pay for itself. However, the steady increase in urban population is forcing architects to develop more and more projects for super-tall buildings. Back in 1956, American Frank Lloyd Wright proposed erecting a 528-story, mile-high Illinois skyscraper in Chicago. Half a century ago, such a structure was unthinkable - but the Burj Dubai, now under construction, will be only two times lower than the Illinois.
Even if we ignore the Tower of Babel, the history of never-built skyscrapers goes hand in hand with the history of high-rise buildings in general. In 1908, the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi proposed building a 360-meter hotel in New York - however, at that time such a height seemed unattainable. Numerous projects of Moscow skyscrapers remained on paper because of the Great Patriotic War and the death of Stalin (for more details, see the October MF, 2005). In 2000, due to financial difficulties in Chicago, the construction of the 478-meter 7 South Dearborn (antenna height 656 meters) was canceled; a year later, in Panama, for the same reasons, the construction of the 318-meter Torre Generali, from the top of which one could admire the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, was stopped. And the 342-meter residential Sapphire Tower, planned in Toronto, was prohibited as it would cast a shadow on the city hall.
One of the most unusual skyscrapers never built is the Center for the Study of the Vedas in the city of Jabalpur, the geographical center of India. The massive 677-meter building, created in the traditions of Indian temple architecture, was supposed to be the heaviest structure in the world. The religious leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was going to finance the construction.
However, such cancellations of planned structures are the norm in the real estate market, not necessarily high-rise ones. In essence, building a skyscraper is no more difficult than any other building, and sometimes even easier, because high-rise building projects always attract the attention of authorities and the urban population. Let's see what heights the next decade will take us to.
| The highest... | ||
Oil platform - Petronius, Gulf of Mexico (640 meters) TV and radio tower (supported) - KVLY-TV, USA, Blanchard (629 meters) Television and Radio Tower (free-standing) - CN Tower, Canada, Toronto (553 meters) Skyscraper (by antennas) - Sears Tower, USA, Chicago (527 meters) Skyscraper (by spire) - Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan (509 meters) Skyscraper (on the roof) - Taipei 101 (449 meters) Skyscraper (top floor) - Taipei 101 (439 meters) Pipe - GRES-2, Kazakhstan, Ekibastuz (420 meters) Bridge support - Millau Viaduct, France (341 meters) Dam - Nurek hydroelectric power station, Tajikistan (300 meters) Office Building - Taipei 101 Residential building - Queensland 1, Australia, Surfers Paradise (323 meters) Hotel - Burj Al Arab, UAE, Dubai (321 meters) Educational institution - Main building of Moscow State University, Russia, Moscow (240 meters) Skyscraper in Australia - Queensland 1 Skyscraper in Asia - Taipei 101 Skyscraper in Africa - Carlton Center Office Tower, Johannesburg, South Africa (223 meters) Skyscraper in Europe - Triumph Palace, Russia, Moscow (264 meters) Skyscraper in North America- Sears Tower Skyscraper in South America - Parque Central Torre Oste, Caracas, Venezuela (221 meters) |
Construction projects of the century
The only continent on which not a single skyscraper will be built in the next fifty years is icy Antarctica. Having recovered from September 11, we again set about conquering the heights of the United States. The 610-meter corkscrew Chicago Spire, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is preparing to plunge into the Chicago sky. According to his design, the 255-meter 80 South Street will be built in New York: 12 cubic “houses” on an external frame. Around the former twin towers of the World Trade Center (the foundations themselves will remain intact) new high-tech buildings will rise, the main one, Freedom Tower, with a spire reaching 541 meters.
The 550-meter Incheon Tower is being built in South Korea. Skyscrapers are multiplying like mushrooms after rain in Chinese Shanghai: World Finance center in this city will reach a height of 492 meters. The Australian company EnviroMission threatens to build either a kilometer or 400-meter tower on the Green Continent to capture solar energy. We can talk endlessly about super-high-rise projects, so let’s pay attention only to the most interesting “construction projects of the century.”
forty forty
If in the 19th century Moscow was considered a city of churches, then in the coming century it may well become a metropolis of skyscrapers. Back in the early nineties, the capital’s authorities decided to make Moscow a world-class city, and what self-respecting metropolis can do without high-rise buildings? They chose an industrial zone not far from the center for the future Moscow City, solemnly laid the first stone, made beautiful models - and on long years Krasnopresnenskaya embankment has turned into the largest construction site in Europe. Until recent years, construction was carried out neither shaky nor slow, and the projects were constantly changing. By the beginning of 2007, only three buildings had been commissioned, not even the tallest ones in Moscow. However, in just five years, the Business Center promises to radically change the city's skyline.
Towards the end of 2007, it is planned to complete the “Tower on the Embankment” complex with a height of 285 meters, which will take away the title of the tallest skyscraper in Europe from the Triumph Palace. However, not for long. At the end of 2007 - beginning of 2008, a new building of the Moscow government should be commissioned - a complex of four 308-meter towers connected to each other in the form of the letter M. The small tower of the Federation complex has already been completed, the commissioning of which is also scheduled for 2008. Inside the 448-meter The transparent spire of this skyscraper will have a panoramic elevator. The culmination of the urban development boom will be the Russia Tower, which will be completed in 2010-2011. Presenting the project of a three-winged pyramid, Briton Norman Foster said that its safety margin would be enough for both 750 and 900 meters of height - to be guaranteed to overtake Burj Dubai - but in the end they decided to stop at 612 meters.
However, Moscow will not become a typical American or European metropolis: a high-rise “core” and low-rise suburbs. In 1999, the “New Moscow Ring” program was adopted, within the framework of which six dozen skyscrapers should be built on the periphery of the capital by 2015. The first “swallows” of this project are already rising above the surrounding area.
Moscow high-rise construction is causing a lot of controversy. Conservatives fear that the historical appearance of the city will be irrevocably spoiled by “monsters made of glass and concrete.” Foreign architects point out the inexperience of Moscow engineers and builders in the skyscraper business, and also advise taking into account solar lighting, air currents, harsh Russian winter. Many Muscovites are confident that “soon all this will collapse” - the supposedly elite “Scarlet Sails” are sliding into the river, Moscow City is being built on a swamp, and a crack has formed in the foundation of the “Federation”.
The project of the first super-tall building in St. Petersburg - the 300-meter Gazprom City tower on the spit of the Neva and Bolshaya Okhta - caused an even greater public response. The territory of the proposed skyscraper is part of the historical center of the city, where, according to current regulations, it is forbidden to build houses higher than 48 meters. However, this will not prevent the gas monopolist from acquiring its headquarters in the northern capital by 2012.
| Sir Norman Foster |
British architect Norman Foster, one of the key figures in modern skyscraper construction, does not seek to conquer the world with heights. His trump card is the functionality of buildings. At Swiss Re's London headquarters, Foster used a double exterior cladding that promotes natural ventilation for the skyscraper, keeping it cool in summer and warm in winter. The result is double energy savings. At the Hearst Tower in New York, Foster abandoned the rectangular supports and replaced them with stronger triangular ones, saving 20% of steel. In addition, it is used here new system elevators: the passenger selects the floor where he wants to move, and the computer gives him the number of the cabin that will take him to his destination the fastest. In number Le of Foster's projects - the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct, the former tallest skyscraper in Europe, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt am Main, the dome over the Berlin Reichstag and the Russia Tower in Moscow. |
Minarets of the 21st century
The United Arab Emirates is the sea, duty-free goods and a big dusty construction site. Having laid the foundations for prosperity through trade and oil production, the sheikhs decided to invest capital in the future. On the coast Persian Gulf behind last years not only dozens of skyscrapers were built, but also entire man-made archipelagos.
On the main street of Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, the tallest building in the world is being built - Burj Dubai (translated as “Dubai Tower”). Its height is kept secret, but, according to some sources, the spire will rise to 808 meters and the roof to 643 meters. Thus, it will not just be the tallest skyscraper, but also the tallest structure on the planet. The super high-rise is scheduled to open in the summer of 2009. However, as construction progresses, both the height of Burj Dubai (there are already rumors that it will exceed a kilometer) and the timing of its completion may change.
The closest competitor to the Burj of Dubai, both in height and location, is the Al-Burj skyscraper, which will be built right on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The spiers of the “Tower” will exceed the 700-meter mark, and it will have at least 160 floors. However, as in the case of Burj Dubai, the final dimensions of Al-Burj are kept secret.
The example of Dubai infects the whole Arab world. In small but very oil-producing Kuwait, a project is being developed for the 1001-meter Mubarak al-Kabir tower, which will not be implemented until 2011. But in Mecca, holy for Muslims, construction is already underway on the Abray al-Beit complex, whose seven towers (the central one is 485 meters high) will house apartments, hotels, shopping mall and a chapel for 4 thousand people. The skyscraper will be located near the walls of the Al-Haram mosque, where millions of followers of Muhammad make pilgrimages every year.
The skyscrapers already built and designed in the Middle East speak eloquently: western world, at least for the coming decades, lost the initiative in the “high-rise business.” You just have to come to terms with this. After all, it was this region that for almost three thousand years was home to the tallest structure by human hands - Great Pyramid in Giza.
Land of rising high-rises
Mega City Pyramid. |
Tokyo is “unlucky” with skyscrapers: there are more than seventy buildings above 150 meters, but Japan’s tallest skyscraper, the 296-meter Landmark Tower, is located in neighboring Yokohama. However, already in the late eighties, several projects appeared to solve the demographic problems of one of the most overpopulated capitals in the world.
The Sky City 1000 project, presented in 1989, proposes to assemble a kilometer-long tower from 14 “saucers” mounted on several supports, similar to New York’s 80 South Street. The building with a total area of 8 square kilometers will accommodate 35 thousand residents, 100 thousand jobs and establishments for every taste.
Many super skyscraper projects in the Japanese capital are to be built over the waters of Tokyo Bay. The most daring such project, “X-Seed 4000,” could become Fujiyama’s “big brother” - its height should be 4 kilometers. The 800 floors of the man-made mountain will accommodate up to a million inhabitants. The creators will have to cope, among other things, with the reduction atmospheric pressure and weather conditions at alpine heights.
They count even more on technical progress developers of Shimizu Mega City Pyramids. In fact, it will be a two-kilometer frame of carbon nanotubes hanging over the sea, on which individual structures will be fixed. Of course, construction has been postponed at least until the era of nanotechnology flourishes.
Other similar projects include Aeropolis 2001 (2 kilometers, 500 floors), MOTHER (1321 meters, 200 floors), Spiral (1000 meters, 200 floors) and the Millennium Tower, designed by the same Norman Foster. The latest skyscraper does not try to take on the size (840 meters and 180 floors), but practical possibility structures and world name creator make him a favorite in the Tokyo "high-altitude race".
Concrete jungle of the future
In science fiction, skyscrapers are as common an image of the future as starships or cyber implants. Already in the film “Metropolis” (1927), director Fritz Lang, inspired by walks around Manhattan, showed the gothic “New Tower of Babel”. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) depicts a metropolis in which 500-meter buildings have become the norm and the headquarters of the Tyrell Corporation rises several kilometers. Isaac Asimov in his novel “The Academy” (1951) came up with the planet-city of Trentor, and many years later George Lucas showed a similar planetopolis of Coruscant on the big screen. Skyscrapers appear on the pages of all cyberpunk books - from the novels of William Gibson to “Enclaves” by Vadim Panov.
Will our old Earth ever turn into a barren stone ball bristling with skyscrapers? It's as unlikely as a Dyson sphere - built from planetary material solar system shell around our star. However, a person’s desire to rise, even in such a “mundane” form as high-rise buildings, is ineradicable. And therefore, skyscrapers, like medieval palaces and temples, will rise above earthly cities, symbolizing wealth, economic prosperity and the superiority of their owners over those who, with their heads raised, look at them from below.
| Internet |
ctbuh.org - website of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. emporis.com is the most authoritative resource on high-rise buildings. skyscraperpage.com - images of skyscrapers to scale, forum. urbany.ru is a Russian resource about skyscrapers and urban construction. |