Group H
Manny Aguilar
Ivan Teran
Eric Woiwode
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Skyscraper originally referred to the tall, main sail
of a ship
The structural definition is based on the fact that
the buildings have a steel frame
Today, it refers to a very tall and habitable
building
 There is no actual height which determines if a
building is a skyscraper
U.S. and Europe share a loose convention that 150
m tall is considered a skyscraper, while 300 m tall
is “supertall”
ADVANTAGES
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Land area
 Option to build up, rather
than out
Creates habitats for a larger
number of people
Creates more space for
businesses
Corporations build
skyscrapers for name
recognition and promotional
value
 i.e. Sears, Chrysler, Bank
of America and Donald
Trump
DISADVANTAGES
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Utilities
Construction Deaths
Spreading of illness
Emergency Situations
Terrorist Attacks
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Large buildings have always been used to show
affluence and power
Height of these buildings was limited
Buildings higher than six stories were rare
16th century - Shibam, Yemen
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17th Century Edinburgh, Scotland
Defensive city wall limited
area to build
 Homes increased in height;
11 stories were common, and
some records show homes
with 14 stories
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The Flaxmill, 1797 –
Shrewsbury, England
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“Grandfather of
Skyscrapers” built with an
iron frame, which led to the
steel frame used in modern
skyscrapers
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Home Insurance Building, 1884-1885 – Chicago, Illinois
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Wainwright Building, 1891 – St. Louis, Missouri
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Developed by Major William Le Baron Jenney; Led to the “Chicago
skeleton” form of construction
Some consider this the first true skyscraper built due to its use of
vertical bands, which emphasized its height
Late 19th Century saw many taller buildings going up
Most were built in Chicago, New York and London
Technological advances have paved the way for bigger
and better skyscrapers
 Safe Elevators
 Water pumps
 Building Materials
 Improved techniques for measuring and analyzing
structural loads and stresses
 Invention of electric arcwelding
 Fluorescent light bulbs
Foundation
 Skeleton
 Exterior
 Finishing
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Taipei, Taiwan
Topped out in 2003 at
1,671 ft (509 m)
At the 87th floor a 800
ton tuned mass
damper is held
Eight tiers of eight
stories
Building costs
approximately 1.7
billion
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Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tallest twin towers
1,483 ft (452 m)
88 stories plus
architectural spire
Geometric patterns
originating in ancient
Islam
Two construction
companies were hired
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Chicago
1,451 ft (tallest in US)
Cost was 160 million
76,000 tons of steel
72,000 cubic yards of
concrete
Bundled-tube
structural design
On a clear day you
can see four states
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Completing date mid 2009
Predicted to be the tallest
man-made structure in the
world
Records
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Tallest free standing
structure
Building with most floors
Vertical concrete
pumping (for a bldg.)
Vertical concrete
pumping (for any
construction)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscraper
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/skyscraperhistory.h
tml
http://skyscraperpage.com/
http://www.emporis.com/
http://www.uaepropertytrends.com/ptrends/mvnfor
um/viewthread?thread=1145