SKYSCRAPER DEFINED

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many floors, usually designed for office,
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. For buildings above a height of 300 m (984 ft), the term Super tall can be used;
skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m (1,969 ft) are classified as Mega tall.
A relatively small building may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes well above its built
environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed
historically with building methods and technologies and thus what is today considered a
skyscraper is taller than before.
High-rise buildings are considered shorter than skyscrapers. There is no clear definition of any
difference between a tower block and a skyscraper though a building lower than about thirty
stories is not likely to be a skyscraper and a building with fifty or more stories is certainly a
skyscraper.
The term "skyscraper" was first applied to buildings of steel framed construction of at least 10
stories in the late 19th century, a result of public amazement at the tall buildings being built in
major cities like Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, and St. Louis. The structural
definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on
engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-story
buildings. This definition was based on the steel skeletonas opposed to constructions of loadbearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicago's Monadnock Building.
The Emporis Standards Committee defines a high-rise building as "a multi-story structure between
35100 meters tall, or a building of unknown height from 1239 floors and a skyscraper as "a
multi-story building whose architectural height is at least 100 m or 330 ft." Some structural
engineers define a highrise as any vertical construction for which wind is a more significant load
factor than earthquake or weight. Note that this criterion fits not only high-rises but some other
tall structures, such as towers.
The word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. The skyscraper, in
name and social function, is a modern expression of the age-old symbol of the world center or
axis mundi: a pillar that connects earth to heaven and the four compass directions to one
another.
A loose convention of some in the United States and Europe draws the lower limit of a skyscraper
at 150 m or 490 ft.
How is the height of a building determined?
The original design height of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) was a symbolic 1776
feet. David Childs' redesign of 1WTC accomplished this height with a spire and not with
occupied space. Does the spire count? How is height measured? The Council on Tall Buildings
and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) defines height in three ways:
Architectural Top: Includes permanent spires, but not functional or technical equipment, such as
antennae, signs, flag poles, or radio towers that can be removed or replaced
Highest Occupied Floor: Height to the top space used by occupants, other than areas for
servicing mechanical equipment

Highest Point of the Building: Height to the tip of the top, no matter what it is. However, the
structure has to be a building. A tall building must have at least 50% of its height occupied as
usable, habitable space. Otherwise, the tall structure may be considered a tower for
observation or telecommunications.
When ranking the height of skyscrapers, CTBUH considers architectural height and measures a
building's height from "the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance." Other people or
organizations may argue that buildings are to be used by people and should be ranked by the
highest Occupied Space. Still others may say that height is simply from the bottom to the top
but then do you exclude underground floors?
Tall, Super tall, and Mega tall
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has established definitions that can be
used as a starting point for discussing skyscrapers:
Tall: "a building of perhaps 14 or more stories or over 50 meters (165 feet)"
Super tall: a building over 984 feet (300 meters)
Mega tall: a building over 1,968 feet (600 meters)

Contributing Factors

Combination of several innovations: steel structure, elevators, central heating, electrical

plumbing pumps and the telephone.

To dominate American skylines at the turn of the century.

The disastrous fire of 1871 coupled with a resurgence of civic pride.
the city's population was rapidly expanding
the introduction of the electric motor for Elisha Otis's safety elevator
The price of steel tumbled - from $166/ton in 1867, to $32/ton in 1895 - which greatly
facilitated the adoption of steel-frame designs, which in turn enabled the erection of
taller buildings.

Contributing Persons

Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) invented first process for mass-producing

steel inexpensively, essential to the development of skyscrapers.
Bessemer patented "a decarbonization process, utilizing a blast of air" in
1855. Modern steel is made using technology based on Henry
Bessemer's process.

William Kelly, had held a patent for "a system of air blowing the carbon
out of pig iron" another method of steel production. Bankruptcy forced
Kelly to sell his patent to Henry Bessemer, who had been working on a
similar process for making steel.

George A. Fuller (1851-1900) worked on solving the problems of the "load

bearing capacities" of tall buildings. The "invention" of the skyscraper lies
with George Fuller. George Fuller built the Tacoma Building in 1889, the
first structure ever built where the outside walls did not carrying the
weight of the building. Using Bessemer steel beams, Fuller created steel
cages that supported all the weight in tall buildings or skyscrapers.

The Flatiron Building was one of New York City's first skyscrapers
(Broadway and 23rd), built in 1902 by Fuller's building company. Daniel H.
Burnham was the chief architect.

The world's tallest building when it opened in 1913, architect Cass Gilbert's 793-foot Woolworth
Building was considered a leading example of tall building design.

Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 April 14, 1924) was an

American architect, and has been called the "father of
skyscrapers".He is considered by many as the creator of the
modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the
Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an
inspiration to the Chicago group of architects who have come to
be known as the Prairie School.
The technical limits of weight-bearing masonry had always
imposed formal as well as structural constraints; those constraints
were suddenly gone. None of the historical precedents were any
help, and this new freedom created a kind of technical and
stylistic crisis. Sullivan addressed it by embracing the changes that
came with the steel frame, creating a grammar of form for the
high rise (base, shaft, and cornice), simplifying the appearance of
the building by breaking away from historical styles, using his own
intricate floral designs, in vertical bands, to draw the eye upwards
and emphasize the building's vertical form, and relating the shape of the building to its specific
purpose. All this was revolutionary, appealingly honest, and commercially successful.
Sullivan himself, however attributed the idea to Marcus Vitruvius Pollio the Roman architect,
engineer and author who first asserted in his book De architectura that a structure must exhibit
the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas, venustas that is, it must be solid, useful, beautiful.[8] This
credo, which placed the demands of practical use above aesthetics, would later be taken by
influential designers to imply that decorative elements, which architects call "ornament", were
superfluous in modern buildings. But Sullivan himself neither thought nor designed along such
dogmatic lines during the peak of his career. Indeed, while his buildings could be spare and
crisp in their principal masses, he often punctuated their plain surfaces with eruptions of lush Art
Nouveau and something like Celtic Revival decorations, usually cast in iron or terra cotta, and
ranging from organic forms like vines and ivy, to more geometric designs, and interlace, inspired
by his Irish design heritage. Terra cotta is lighter and easier to work with than stone masonry.
Sullivan used it in his architecture because it had a malleability that was appropriate for his
ornament. Probably the most famous example is the writhing green ironwork that covers the
entrance canopies of the Carson Pirie Scott store on South State Street. These ornaments, often
executed by the talented younger draftsmen in Sullivan's employ, would eventually become
Sullivan's trademark; to students of architecture, they are his instantly-recognizable signature.

Another signature element of Sullivan's work is the massive, semi-circular arch. Sullivan employed
such arches throughout his careerin shaping entrances, in framing windows, or as interior
design.
All of these elements can be found in Sullivan's widely-admired Guaranty Building, which he
designed while partnered with Adler. Completed in 1895, this office building in Buffalo, New York
is in the Palazzo style, visibly divided into three "zones" of design: a plain, wide-windowed base
for the ground-level shops; the main office block, with vertical ribbons of masonry rising
unimpeded across nine upper floors to emphasize the building's height; and an ornamented
cornice perforated by round windows at the roof level, where the building's mechanical units
(like the elevator motors) were housed. The cornice crawls with Sullivan's trademark Art Nouveau
vines; each ground-floor entrance is topped by a semi-circular arch.

William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832June 14, 1907) was

an American architect and engineer who is known for building
the first skyscraper in 1884 and became known as the Father of
the American skyscraper.
Jenney is best known for designing the ten-story Home Insurance
Building in Chicago. The building was the first fully metal-framed
building, and is considered the first skyscraper. It was built from
1884 to 1885, enlarged in 1891, and demolished in 1931. In his
designs, he used metal columns and beams, instead of stone and
brick to support the building's upper levels. The steel needed to
support the Home Insurance Building weighed only one-third as
much as a ten-story building made of heavy masonry. Using this method, the weight of the
building was reduced, thus allowing the possibility to construct even taller structures. Later, he
solved the problem of fireproof construction for tall buildings by using masonry, iron, and terra
cotta flooring and partitions. In the years from 1889 to 1891, he displayed his system in the
construction of the Second Leiter Building, also in Chicago.

Home Insurance Building & Second Leiter Building

During the second half of the 19th century in the United States, it was the possibilities of cast iron
and steel in the building of multi-storey unit constructions that were most effectively exploited.
After the installation of the first safety elevator by Otis, it became possible to use as well as build
tall buildings. Skyscraper architecture was first seen in New York, but the genre was mastered by
the Chicago School of architecture during the late 1880s and 1890s, thanks to pioneer architects
such as William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907), Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912), Dankmar
Adler (1844-1900), Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), Cass Gilbert (1859-1934).

The American Surety Building, designed by Bruce Price and completed in 1896, gave New York
the title of tallest building for many years.

The ideas of structural engineer Fazlur Khan were also influential in this movement, in particular
his introduction of a new structural system of framed tubes in skyscraper design and
construction. The first building to apply the tube-frame construction was the DeWitt-Chestnut
Apartment Building which Khan designed and was completed in Chicago by 1966.

Advent of the steel-frame skyscraper

Jenney is best known for designing the ten-story

Home Insurance Building in Chicago. The building
was the first fully metal-framed building, and is
considered the first skyscraper. It was built from 1884
to 1885, enlarged in 1891, and demolished in 1931. In
his designs, he used metal columns and beams,
instead of stone and brick to support the building's
upper levels. The steel needed to support the Home
Insurance Building weighed only one-third as much
as a ten-story building made of heavy masonry. Using
this method, the weight of the building was reduced,
thus allowing the possibility to construct even taller structures. Later, he solved the problem of
fireproof construction for tall buildings by using masonry, iron, and terra cotta flooring and

partitions. In the years from 1889 to 1891, he displayed his system in the construction of the
Second Leiter Building, also in Chicago.
According to popular story, one day he came
home early and surprised his wife who was
reading. She put her book down on top of a bird
cage and ran to meet him. He strode across the
room, lifted the book and dropped it back on
the bird cage two or three times. Then, he
exclaimed: "It works! It works! Dont you see? If
this little cage can hold this heavy book, why
cant an iron or steel cage be the framework for
a whole building?" Jenney applied his new idea
to the construction of the Home Insurance
Building, the first skyscraper in the world, which
was erected in 1884 at the corner of LaSalle and
Monroe Streets in Chicago. The Home Insurance
Building was the first example of a steel skeleton building, the first grid of iron columns, girders,
beams and floor joists ever constructed.

Evolution of Skyscraper
Montgomery Schuyler (1899)
the eminent critic of the Architectural Record, wrote an article on the subject of progressive
American Architecture called "The Skyscraper Up-to-Date," in which he lamented that the
element of experiment seemed to have disappeared from the design of the skyscraper.
He recalled the early days, especially in the first half of the 1880s, when much "wild work" was
done. But now, he said, architects seemed to have settled down to a tripartite formula involving
a base, shaft, and capital composed of certain groupings of stories. This formula, he went on to
say, may be clothed in a variety of historic styles.
in Scribner's Magazine, Schuyler reported again on "The Evolution of the Skyscraper"
In the article, Schuyler explained the advances in technology that made possible the rapid rise
of building heights. These included the elevator, cage and skeleton construction, fireproof
protection for columns and beams, isolated footings and caisson foundations, and the rest.
He further suggested that these changes of shape resulted from the increasing size and height
of the skyscraper and were made possible by technological advances under the pressure of a
strong surge for profits. He made it clear that change in form was not basically a matter of style.
Once the frame was formulated, the exterior details could be borrowed from Romanesque or
Baroque architecture, or neoclassical architecture, or any one of a number of other historical
styles.
While recognizing the impact of technology and the presence of revival styles, Schuyler was
aware of an underlying set of conditions that produced a sequence of solutions.
The first he identified with the "wild work" being done in the 1880s.
The second was a tripartite pattern beginning about 1890.

The third, in the form of a tower, evolved largely in the pre-World War I period.
Schuyler seemed aware that the size and height of buildings and their relationship to urban
requirements would of necessity produce a new form or forms that could be viewed historically
as distinct phases.
View of skyscraper divided into seven chapters or phases.
Phase 1
A pre-skyscraper phase, dated roughly between 1849 and 1870, composed of buildings
containing the essential elements of the skyscraper but not as yet assembled into a single
structure.
Phase 2
Starting with the Equitable Life Assurance Building, of 1868-70, which contains the necessary
ingredients for the early skyscraper but where the compositional features of Phase 1 still persist.
Phase 3
Beginning about 1878, when the French mansardic mode gives way to a flat-roofed formula
involving a free and varied grouping of stories producing, in Schuyler's words, much "wild work."
Phase 4
Starting in the late 1880s and characterized by a tripartite system of composition corresponding
to the parts of a classic column with its base, shaft, and capital.
Phase 5
Dealing with the skyscraper in tower form. In this category three variants are recognized: the
"isolated" tower, conceived as early as 1888 but not realized until 1894-95; a "mounted" tower,
dating about 1911, as exemplified by the Woolworth Building; and a "set-back" tower, resulting
from the rights provided by the revision of the zoning codes from 1916 onward.
Phase 6
Associated with the "setback" form of skyscraper, dictated by the zoning-code revisions effective
after 1916.
Phase 7
Dating from 1930 and represented by Rockefeller Center, features a solution with limited space
development, park-like setting, and often of multiblock dimensions.

Chronology of Important Skyscrapers (c.1850-1970)

Phase 1
Jayne Building (Philadelphia) (1849-52) by William L. Johnston.
Harper Brothers Building (NYC) (1854) James Bogardus.

Haughwout Store and Elevator (NYC) (1857) by John P. Gaynor, Elisha Otis.
Phase 2
Equitable Life Assurance Building (NYC) (1868-70) by Gilman & Kendall.
Western Union Building (NYC) (1873-5) by George B. Post.
Tribune Building (NYC) (1873-5) by Richard Morris Hunt.
Evening Post Building (NYC) (1854) by Charles F. Mengelson.
Phase 3
Mills Building (NYC) (1881-3) by George B. Post.
Produce Exchange (NYC) (1881-4) by George B. Post.
Home Life Insurance Building (Chicago) (1884-5) by William Le Baron Jenney.
Rookery (Chicago) (1885-6) by Burnham & Root.
Tacoma Building (Chicago) (1889) by Holabird & Roche.
Marshall Field Warehouse (Chicago) (1885-7) by H. H. Richardson.
Chamber of Commerce Building (Chicago) (1888-9) by Baumann & Huehl.
Phase 4
Union Trust Building (NYC) (1897) George B. Post.
Wainwright Building (St. Louis) (1892-3) Adler & Sullivan.
Havemeyer Building (NYC) (1891-2) George B. Post.
Washington Life Building (NYC) (1897) by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz.
Broadway-Chambers Building (NYC) (1899-1900) by Cass Gilbert.
Flat-iron Building (NYC) (1902) by Daniel H. Burnham & Company.
Phase 5
Guaranty Building (Buffalo) (1894) by Adler & Sullivan.
American Surety Building (NYC) (1894-96) Bruce Price.
Singer Building (NYC) (1906-8) Ernest Flagg.
Metropolitan Tower (NYC) (1909) Napoleon Le Brun & Sons.
Woolworth Building (NYC) (1911-13) Cass Gilbert.
Empire State Building (NYC) (1929-31) Shreve, Lamb & Harmon.
CBS Building (NYC) (1965) Eero Saarinen & Associates.

Phase 6
Daily News Building (NYC) (1929) Howells & Hood.
Indemnity Building (NYC) Buchman & Kahn.
Chanin Building (NYC) (1929) Sloan & Robertson.
Lincoln Building (NYC) (1930) J. E. Carpenter & Associates.
Phase 7
Rockefeller Center (NYC) (1930-40) Hofmeister, Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux.
World Trade Center (NYC) (1969-70) Yamasaki & Assoc; Emery Roth & Sons.
Embarcadero Center (San Francisco) (1971-89) John Portman & Associates.
Lever House (NYC) (1952) Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Seagram Building (NYC) (1954-58) Van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.

Tripartite Pattern
The tripartite division associated with the classic column, which Schuyler noted in 1899. This can
be considered Phase 4. As stated earlier, Schuyler felt that an early example of this formula was
George B. Post's Union Trust Building.
The facade not only has the base, shaft, and capital but also a transitional story between the
base and the shaft and a similar one between the shaft and the capital. An equally early
instance is George H. Edbrooke's Hammond Building, Detroit's first skyscraper, which features the
three-part system.
A more successful solution, because of its height, can be seen in the Havemeyer Building.
Here, the shaft is given greater emphasis by being seven stories tall rather than five. The base is
three stories, as is the capital, while the transitional stories are one each.
Substantially the same method was employed in Robert Maynicke's building at 715-727
Broadway. The two-story base carries the transitional story leading to a six-story shaft surmounted
by another transitional story with heavy cornice and topped by a two-story capital. The
difference between this solution and that of the Havemeyer Building is that in the former, the
shaft is composed of a colonnade instead of an arcade.

A Chicago version of the Phase 4 formula without the upper transitional story is to be seen in a
building for the New York Life Insurance Company. A St. Louis variant is the Union Trust Company
Building, where the arcade is used in the shaft and where there are no transitional stories, merely
a base and capital elegantly articulated.
Into this category one should also put Adler & Sullivan's Wainwright Building. In his book on Louis
Sullivan (1856-1924), Hugh Morrison says that Sullivan's composition was dictated by function and
the desire to achieve a "soaring" effect in a building of such height.

Apparently, the tripartite concept played little or no part in determining the design of the
elevation. A rental plan of the Wainwright Building discovered recently in the St. Louis Free
Library shows, however, that the second floor was identical with the floors above, excepting the
top story, so that the heavy molding that appears to separate the second story from the third
was introduced not for a functional but an aesthetic purpose. The ten-story facade obviously
looked better with a two-story base, a seven-story shaft, and a taller-than-average capital
housing various services.

The tripartite pattern is repeated in the Schiller Building, where there is little indication on the
facade that the structure houses a theatre. It occurs in the Marquette Building, which has a twostory base, a transitional story, an eleven-story shaft, and a one-story transition and capital.
A final aspect of the tripartite phase needs noting. This is well illustrated by the American Surety
Building. Here we have a three-story base with Ionic order and a caryatid story, an eleven-story
shaft, and then an extremely elaborate and tall capital.
Just when this practice began it is difficult to say. But it appears to have been popular in the
late 1890s and was used well into the twentieth century. A good example, with highly decorated
base, capital, and transitional stories, is the Washington Life Building, where the simple eight-story
shaft offers an effective foil for the ornament above and below.
At the very end of the nineteenth century, Cass Gilbert designed the Broadway-Chambers
Building, which offers one of the best examples of this shaft treatment of the tripartite formula.
Not only do we have a decorous capital with base and transitional stories but the three essential
parts are distinguished by a difference in material and colour. The shaft is dark-brown brick, the
capital a warm marble, and the base a gray granite. When Daniel H. Burnham & Company was
commissioned to do the Flatiron Building in New York between 1901-3, the firm's design proved
that the tripartite arrangement was still fashionable. It was without question the most widely used
solution for the design of a skyscraper in the United States at that time, being practiced in all
regions of the country.
Tower Designs
The concept of a tower had been associated with the skyscraper. We have seen it used by
Hunt in the Tribune Building. Earlier, in pre-skyscraper days, William L. Johnston (181149) had
used a two-story Gothic version in the Jayne Building. In both examples, the towers were mere
appendages, essentially expressive symbols. Height had an economic value, and a tower atop
a business building was the cheapest way to achieve it.
When Bradford Gilbert (1853-1911) was commissioned to do an office structure in 1887 for a
narrow site at 50 Broadway, he was successful in having the building code revised to permit the
use of skeleton construction. The 21-foot-6-inch-wide facade was designed as a Romanesque
tower, and it was thought appropriate to call it the Tower Building. But, in fact, it was not a
tower. The structure was about 108 feet deep and when seen from the side its form was actually
slab-like.
Philadelphia had an earlier version of this form in the Tower Building by Samuel Sloan (1815-84)
of 1855. Thus, it appears that a reference to towers had an appeal that was aesthetic and
expressive. How widespread was its use may be realized by its employment in religious, civic,
domestic, and exhibition architecture, railway stations, and the like. Its appearance, in
commercial buildings, is, therefore, to be expected.

It is thought that the first free-standing tower to be erected was the American Surety Building by
Bruce Price, because the architect expressed his preoccupation with the tower concept
verbally.
Composition of Facade: Windows, Stories
Most characteristic, however, is the method of grouping the stories as a means of achieving a
sense of order in a facade involving so many windows, piers, spandrels, mullions, and so on.
In the Boreel Building, of 1878-79, Stephen Hatch follows Mengelson's lead in dividing his
elevation vertically and horizontally. The piers create a composition of five bays with the
windows arranged in a 3-2-2-2-3 pattern, while broad-banded moldings and cornice group the
stories in a 2-3-3-1 scheme. As in the Evening Post, decoration is minimized, with a central accent
provided by a two-story entrance and a Queen Anne pediment over the attic story.
The ten-story Morse Building is a variation on this theme. The roof-line is fiat. The piers make for a
three-bay, 4-2-4 solution. And the stories are grouped 2-1-2-1-2-1 by double-string courses
running past the piers. The tenth story is in the form of a corbeled arcade topped off by a
modest cornice.
The Mills Building is larger in size but follows the same principle of design. Here, two wings flank a
central entrance and light court. These are subdivided on the Broad Street facade into four bays
each, two windows wide. The horizontal division is 1-1-2-3-2-1. Of interest is an earlier solution of
1880, which presented an unbroken facade of eight bays, each three windows wide, with the
stories grouped in a 1-1-3-1-1-2 pattern. The terminating stories are in the form of a mansard with
colossal dormers. The formula shown in the rendering reflects the transition from Phase 2 to Phase
3, with a flat-roofed scheme replacing the mansard.
The Produce Exchange introduces the other way of achieving unity during this time. In this
instance, horizontal grouping is 1-4-2-1-1. But the four-story arcade, the two-story arcade above
it, and a single floor below the cornice and the attic story are arranged in a vertical geometric
progression of 1-2-4 windows. The architect must have felt the need of a solution of this sort to
attain a sense of order in a structure of so many parts and of such massive size. By employing this
progression, he managed to avoid monotony and to relate the elements in a most agreeable
way.
In the Auditorium building, Sullivan again makes use of this solution in the upper seven floors but
varies the vertical composition to a 4-2-1 and the horizontal into a 1-2-3 progression.
The more typical design system, however, during this period was the one described earlier,
namely, an arbitrary and seemingly capricious grouping of stories designed to produce the most
attractive composition. The Rookery by Burnham & Root uses a 1-2-3-3-1 pattern. Cobb & Frost in
the Chicago Opera House prefer a 2-2-4-2. Baumann & Huehl employ a 2-3-3-4-1 formula in the
Chamber of Commerce Building, and Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge favour a 1-2-5-3-1-1 for the
Ames Building, of 1889-91, in Boston.
Zoning Codes: Revision of the N.Y. Building Code (1916)
It is necessary to note one other factor that played a part in producing the tower-with-base
formula. This was the revision of the N.Y. building code in 1916.
Brought on by the ill effects these gigantic buildings were having on the city and the public, the
code introduced a zoning ordinance that necessitated a set-back system based on the width of
the street.

Most dramatic examples are the Art Deco skyscrapers the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen
(1883-1954), of 1929-32, that rose 67 stories and 808 feet, and the Empire State Building by
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, of 1930-31, which tops all others at 102 stories and 1,250 feet.
The introduction of zoning codes in New York and other cities produced a new form of
skyscraper, constituting Phase 6. The period began in 1916 and continues to the present, though
its heyday was in the 1920s, between the end of World War I and the depression of 1929.
Multi-Block Sites
Current examples of the multiblock formula include the pre-9/11 World Trade Center in New
York by Yamasaki & Associates and Emery Roth & Sons, with its two gigantic towers placed in an
open plaza and surrounded by far smaller structures. Another is John Portman & Associates'
Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, which is composed of a series of thin slab towers of
various heights, set in an irregularly shaped green belt studded with low units.
Less spectacular, but a part of Phase 7, is the kind of solution, represented by Lever House,
where a more limited site is involved, often of block size or less.
This category would include the Seagram Building, of 1956-57, by Mies van der Rohe and Philip
Johnson (1906-2005), with plaza and reflecting pools.
It would also include Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel Corporation Building, of 1967, by Harrison,
Abramovitz & Abbe, which features a triangular tower on stilts set on a terrace flanked by shrubs
and a pool, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Hartford Plaza, completed in 1967 in San Francisco.
Period 1850-1970
Advances in technology can, in large part, explain the growing height of the skyscraper up to
about 1900, when the skeleton frame was widely accepted, but it cannot account for the
dramatic changes that took place afterwards.
New construction methods, such as bolted, riveted, then welded frames had virtually no effect
on skyscraper appearance. Faster, smoother, and, finally, automatic elevators improved service
but did not influence form.
The electric light, better plumbing, more dependable heating systems and the telephone
made life more comfortable and business easier to conduct, but these had virtually no effect on
the shape of the structure.
Mid/Late 20th Century Skyscrapers
If the First Chicago School is associated with the earliest types of skyscraper towers, the
Second Chicago School of architecture is closely linked to the minimalist International Style,
championed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Chicago-born firms like Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and C.F.Murphy & Associates, later 20th
century architects have adopted a series of new construction techniques for supertall buildings.
Although non-load-bearing curtain walls are used in all skyscraper towers, tubular designs have
been introduced for the supporting steel frame, in order to reduce the amount of steel used. The
108-story Willis Tower (1970-4), for instance, uses one third less steel than the 102-story Empire
state building. Tube-frame structures were first used by Fazlur Khan (1929-82), a partner in
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, in the building of the DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment Building,
Chicago (1963).

 Thereafter it was employed for the 100-story John Hancock Center and the World Trade
Center. Variants of the tube frame include the "framed tube", "trussed tube" and "bundled tube"
systems. The bundled tube system, for instance, in which a number of interconnected tube
frames are used, was used in the Willis Tower in Chicago (still commonly referred to as the Sears
Tower) used this design. The bundle tube design also permitted a more flexible formulation of
architectural space.
Skyscraper towers were no longer obliged to be box-like; the tube-units could form different
shapes. The trussed tube system was employed by Khan in the Onterie Center, Chicago (1986).
For more about contemporary trends,Postmodernist Art (1970 onwards).
ADVENT OF SKYSCAPER IN 19TH CENTURY
In the 19th Century, a new kind of structure was developed, using an iron or steel internal
structure (instead of the outer walls) to bear the building's weight. The taller of these buildings
are called skyscrapers.
Skyscrapers have always represented the rising industrial age of American society in the
1900s, and when people think of the skyscraper they imaging massive, fifty stories plus, high-rise
structures. However, the term skyscraper was first applied to the first ten to twenty story buildings
that began to rise in New York in the 1880s. While in contemporary culture these building may
not compete with the high-rising giants that line the skyline of New York and Chicago, during the
time they were built very few building could go up beyond 8 stories without facing serious
structural issues.
The skyscrapers themselves served two major historical functions: they were a symbol for
Americas rising social, global, and industrial power and they solved geographical and social
issues that were rising in the early 1900s. In the late 1800s and early 1900s America was rising as
one of the major world powers in the world. Socially and economically they were becoming
world leaders, and in the area of technology they were leading the world with new
advancements. The skyscraper was a monumental symbol of Americas technological triumphs,
as the system of supports that skyscrapers are based off of was developed in America, and in
New York the major international gate of America during this time skyscrapers were heavily
ornamented with this in mind. The skyscraper served in all respects as massive monumental
symbols to Americas rising power and glory in the world. However, skyscrapers also served a
practical purpose as they solved the issues of over population in major metropolitan areas and
the issue of the vulnerability to the elements that prior building had.
SKYSCRAPERS IN NEW YORK AND CHICAGO
Since the early days of the skyscrapers invention, New York and Chicago have been two
of the worlds premier skyscraper cities.
With the rise in American success the issue of overpopulation began to develop,
particularly in cities like New York and Chicago that were major hubs in America at the time.
With the advent of the skyscraper, however, this problem became controllable as city designers
could now develop buildings that could hold hundreds of office spaces and apartments all in a
compact area, thus conserving and utilizing as much space as possible. Moreover, skyscrapers
could be built far sturdier and more resilient than previous building, as their materials and
structural design could withstand the destructive effects of the elements, and after the Chicago
fire of 1871 this attribute became a major focal point.

Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low-rise buildings, but significant
economic growth after the Civil War and increasingly intensive use of urban land encouraged
the development of taller buildings beginning in the 1870s. Technological improvements
enabled the construction of fireproofed iron-framed structures with deep foundations, equipped
with new inventions such as the elevator and electric lighting. These made it both technically
and commercially viable to build a new class of taller buildings, the first of which, Chicago's 138foot (42 m) tall, Home Insurance Building, opened in 1884. Their numbers grew rapidly and by
1888 they were being labeled skyscrapers. Chicago initially led the way in skyscraper design,
with many constructed in the center of the financial district during the late 1880s and early
1890s. Sometimes termed the products of the Chicago school of architecture, these skyscrapers
attempted to balance aesthetic concerns with practical commercial design, producing large,
square palazzo-styled buildings hosting shops and restaurants on the ground level and
containing rentable offices on the upper floors. In contrast, New York's skyscrapers were
frequently narrower towers which, more eclectic in style, were often criticized for their lack of
elegance. In 1892, Chicago banned the construction of new skyscrapers taller than 150 feet
(46 m), leaving the development of taller buildings to New York.
After an early competition between Chicago and New York City for the world's tallest
building, New York took the lead by 1895 with the completion of the American Surety Building,
leaving New York with the title of the world's tallest building for many years.

STYLES OF EARLY SKYSCRAPER

Early skyscraper design relied on a variety of inspiration from centuries past, including
Classical, Gothic and Renaissance models.
GOTHIC REVIVAL STYLE (1830-1860)
Gothic style was extremely popular throughout the
1800s and a derivative of the style dubbed, Victorian
gothic also became popular in the late 1800s.
The term Gothic Revival refers to a literary and aesthetic
movement of the 1830s and 1840s that occurred in England
and later in the United States.`
Gothic Revival became popular in the United States after
the Civil war. It can be characterized by contrasting brick
color patterns, asymmetry, large pointed arches, steeply
pitched roofs, curvilinear trim, towers and battlements. The
earliest skyscrapers were typically a rectangular shape with
a flat roof, a tripartite division of the faade, and were
reminiscent of Gothic and Roman architecture. The base
was usually two stories, the shaft consisted of multiple floors
with a repeating window pattern and a capital was
typically capped with some terra-cotta decoration.
Gothic Revival is characterized by:

Asymmetry
Pointed arches
Large pointed windows with tracery and colored glass

Tribute Building, Chicago

Steeply pitched roofs

A curvilinear gingerbread trim along the eaves (on houses)
Towers
Battlements (a fortified wall with alternate solid parts and openings; used for defense or a
decorative motif)
An overall picturesque quality

VICTORIAN GOTHIC (1860-90)

A derivative style called Victorian Gothic (1860-90) became popular after the
Civil War. Influenced by the writings of English theorist John Ruskin (1819-1900),
this style is distinguished by contrasting colors of brick and stone in bold
polychromatic patterns and decorative bands. This more freewheeling
interpretation of the Gothic was well suited to the florid decorative approach
of the late 19th century.
Other features of the early skyscrapers include:

A rectangular shape with a flat roof

Tripartite division of the facade, similar to that of a column, with a base (usually of two
stories), shaft (midsection with a repetitive window pattern), and capital (typically an
elaborate, terra-cotta cornice)
Exterior expression of the building's interior skeleton through an emphasis on horizontal
and vertical elements
Use of terra cotta, a light and fireproof material that could be cast in any shape and
attached to the exterior
New York's early skyscrapers relied heavily on historical decoration.

SKYSCRAPER BUILT IN 19TH CENTURY

The buildings that were the tallest skyscrapers but still shorter than the tallest church or
cathedral.

Built
1870

Name
Equitable Life Building

Location
New York

1884

Home Insurance Building

Chicago

1890

New York World Building

New York

1894

Manhattan Life Insurance Building

New York

1895

Milwaukee City Hall

Milwaukee

1896

American Surety Building

New York

1899

Park Row Building

New York

Height
40 metres
(130 ft)
42 metres
(138 ft)
94 metres
(308 ft)
100 metres
(330 ft)
108 metres
(354 ft)
103.02 metres
(338 ft)

Current Status
Destroyed by
fire in 1912
Demolished in
1931
Demolished in
1955
Demolished in
1963
Standing

119 metres
(390 ft)

Standing

Standing

EQUITABLE LIFE BUILDING

The Equitable Life Assurance Building was the
headquarters of the The Equitable Life Assurance
Society of the United States. Construction was
completed on May 1, 1870 at 120 Broadway in
New York City and under the leadership of Henry
Baldwin Hydewas the first office building to feature
passenger elevators. At a
then-record 130
feet
(40 m), it is considered by some the world's first
skyscraper. The
architects
were Arthur
Gilman and Edward H. Kendall, with George B.
Post as a consulting engineer and hydraulic
elevators made by the Elisha Otis company.
The building, described as fireproof, was
destroyed by a massive fire on January 9, 1912. Extremely cold weather caused the water from
the fire trucks to freeze on the building. Six people died.

HOME INSURANCE BUILDING

The so-called Father of the Skyscraper
The Home Insurance Building is generally noted as the first tall building to be
supported, both inside and outside, by a fireproof metal frame. Often
considered the world's first skyscraper. The Home Insurance Building in
Chicago, opened in 1884, is, however, most often labeled the first
skyscraper because of its innovative use of structural steel in a metal frame
design.
The Home Insurance Building was a 138-foot (42 m) tall, 10-story skyscraper
designed by William Le Baron Jenney, who had been trained as an
engineer in France and was a leading architect in Chicago.

NEW YORK WORLD BUILDING

A skyscraper in New York City designed by early skyscraper
specialist George Browne Post and built in 1890 to house the nowdefunct newspaper, The New York World. It was razed in 1955. The
claimed height of the building was 20 stories, comparable to 16 or 18
stories by current standards
The New York World Building was also known as the Pulitzer
Building after the paper's owner, Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), who
commissioned it. Pulitzer's private office was on the second level of
the dome and looked down on other buildings along the street. And
the winner of this competition and the tallest building in New York
City for about five years. It was the city's first building to surpass the
284-foot spire of Trinity Church which, at the time, dominated the
city's skyline.

MANHATTAN LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING

The Manhattan Life Insurance Building was a 348 ft (106 m) tower at
64-66 Broadway in New York City completed in 1894 to the designs of
the architects of Kimball & Thompson and slightly extended north in
1904 making its new address 64-70 Broadway. It was the
first skyscraper to pass 330 ft (100 m) in Manhattan.

MILWAUKEE CITY HALL

The Milwaukee City Hall is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. It was finished in
1895, at which time it was the tallest habitable building in the United
States. The city hall's bell tower, at 353 feet (108 m), also made it the
second tallest structure in the nation, behind the Washington. The Hall
was Milwaukee's tallest building until completion of the First Wisconsin
Center in 1973. It was designed by Architect Henry C. Koch in
the Flemish Renaissance Revival style, based on both German
precedent (for example, the Hamburg Rathaus or city hall), and local
examples (the Pabst Building, demolished in 1981). Due to Milwaukee's
historic German immigrant population, many of the surrounding
buildings mirror this design. The foundation consists of 2,584 white pine
pliers which were driven in to the marshy land surrounding
the Milwaukee River. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt after a fire
in October 1929. The bell in City Hall was named after Solomon Juneau,
Milwaukee's first mayor. It was designed and crafted by the Campbells, who were early pioneers
in creating diving chambers and suits near the Great Lakes area during that time.
PARK ROW BUILDING
The Park Row Building is a building on Park Row in the Financial
District of the New York City borough of Manhattan also known as 15
Park Row. The building was designed by R. H. Robertson, a pioneer in
steel skyscraper design, and engineered by the firm of Nathaniel
Roberts.
In
1999,
the New
York
City
Landmarks
Preservation
Commission designated the Park Row Building a landmark.
At 391 feet (119 m), it was the tallest office building in the world from
1899 until 1908, when it was surpassed by the Singer Building.

LIST OF TALLEST BUILDINGS IN THE WORLD (TOP 10)

1. BURJ KHALIFA,DUBAI, UAE.

2. ABRAJ AL-BAIT, MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA

3. ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NY, USA

4. TAIPEI 101, TAIPEI, TAIWAN

5. SHANGHAI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER, SHANGHAI, CHINA

6. INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE CENTER, HONG KONG

7 & 8. PETRONAS TOWER, KAULA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

9. NANJING GREENLAND FINANCIAL COMPLEX, NANJING, CHINA

10. WILLIS TOWER, CHICAGO, USA

EVOLUTION OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEM

Structural development of tall buildings
has been a continuously evolving process.
There is a distinct structural history of tall
buildings similar to the history of their
architectural styles in terms of skyscraper
ages (Ali & Armstrong, 1995; Huxtable,
1984). These stages range from the rigid
frame, tube, core-outrigger to diagrid
system. Over the year as steel and
concrete production technologies reach
a higher level, architects use these new
materials to reach greater height in the
design of skyscrapers.

TYPE 1: SHEAR FRAMES

Semi-Rigid Frame and Rigid Frame
The earliest skyscrapers utilized a semi-rigid steel frame, where the steel members were bolted or
rivetted together. Heights were limited to about 10 to 15 storeys, above which the flexible
building would distort in high winds. And Rigid Frame are steel frames with rigid connections that
allowed skyscrapers to rise to about 20 to 40 storeys, by the 1930s.

BUILDING EXAMPLE
Reliance Building Chicago, USA, in 1895, (15 stories)
Lever House building, New York, 1952 (24 stories)
225 West Washington building,Chicago, 1986 (40 stories)

TYPE 2: INTERACTING SYSTEM

Frame with Shear Truss and Frame with Shear Band and Outrigger Trusses
Adding vertical shear trusses at the core of the building and/or horizontal trusses in a belt with
framed shear truss around the perimeter allowed heights of about 60 stories.

BUILDING EXAMPLE
Chicago Civic CenterBuilding, 1965 (UP TO 40 stories)
First Wisconsin Center Building,1974 (60 stories)

TYPE 3: PARTIAL TUBULAR SYSTEMS

End Channel Framed Tube with Interior Shear Trusses and End Channel And Middle I Framed
Tubes
Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure, and are designed to act like a hollow
cylinder to resist lateral loads (wind, seismic, etc.). With their structural efficiency as a varied
version of the tubular systems, diagrid structures have been emerging as a new aesthetic trend
for tall buildings in this era of pluralistic styles.

BUILDING EXAMPLE
Water Tower Place Chicago, USA,( 74 stories)
Aon Center Chicago, USA, (83 stories)

TYPE 4: TUBULAR SYSTEMS

Exterior Framed Tube, Bundled Framed Tube and Exterior Diagonalized Tube
The technique of using a lattice of closely interconnected columns and beams, in steel or
concrete, to create a tall, very rigid "tube" allowed post-World War Two skyscrapers to soar up to
100 stories; exterior cross-bracing to further stiffen the rigid tube was added in the 1960s.
Bundling a number of rigid tubes together, as in the Sears Tower, pushed the height limit well
beyond 100 stories. "Superframe" structures, with rigid tubes one on top of another, and
extremely strong "supercolumns" at the building corners are now being explored. Alternatives to
rigid structures are also being developed; damping the movement of tall buildings with a
pendulum-like counterweight inside shows some promise.
BUILDING EXAMPLE
Exterior framed tube
World Trade Center Building, 1972 (90-100 stories)
Exterior diagonalized tube
John Hancock Center building, Chicago,1969 (100 stories)
Bundled framed tube
Sears Towers Building, Chicago, 1974 (Up to 120 stories)
Super-frame
Yokohama Landmark Tower Building, (150 stories)

TOP 10 TALLEST BUILDING IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. PBCOM TOWER, MAKATI

PBCom Tower
6795 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino Street, Salcedo Village,
Makati City, Philippines
Type: Office Building
Construction Started: 1998
opened: 2000
Owner: Philippine Bank of Communications

Height
Antenna spire 259 m (849.7 ft)
Roof
241 m (790.7 ft)
Technical details
Floor count
Floor area
Lifts/elevators 17

52 aboveground, 7 belowground
119,905 m2 (1,291,000 sq ft)

Design and construction

Architect

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP; GF &

Partners Architects

Developer

Philippine Bank of Communications

& Filinvest Development
Corporation

Structural engineer

Aromin & Sy + Associates, Inc.

Main contractor

Samsung Construction Company

Philippines, Inc.

2. THE GRAMERCY PHILIPPINES, MAKATI

The Gramercy Residences

Kalayaan Avenue in Century City, Makati
Poblacion, Metro Manila, Philippines
Type: Residential
Construction Started: 2007
opened: 2013
Owner: Century Properties

Height
Roof

250 m (820 ft)

Technical details
Floor count
Floor area
ft)
Lifts/elevators 8

73
118,000 m2 (1,270,141.43 sq

Design and construction

Architect
Jerde Partnership
International, in
collaboration with Roger Villarosa
Architects & Associates
Developer
Corp.

Century City Development

Structural engineer
Kong)

Ove Arup & Partners (Hong

3. DISCOVER PRIMEA, MAKATI

Discovery Primea
6749 Ayala Ave, Makati, 1226 Metro Manila
Type: Residential
Construction Started: 2010
Opened: 2014
Owner: JKTC Land developer

Height
Roof

238 m

Technical details
Floor count

68

Design and construction

Architect
Jorge Y. Ramos &

Kenzo Tange Associates, in

collaboration with
Associates

Developer

JKTC, Inc.

4. BSA TWIN TOWER, MANDALUYONG

BSA Twin Tower

Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila
Type: Mixed use
Construction Started: 1999
Opened: 2000
Owner: St. Francis Square Group of
Companies

Height
Antenna spire 221 m (725 ft)
Roof

197.0 m (646.3 ft)

Top floor

196.80 m (645.7 ft)

Technical details
Floor count

BSA Twin Towers: 55 floors

St. Francis Square Mall: 4 floors

Floor area

78,600.93 m2 (846,053.4 sq ft)

Lifts/elevators 10
Design and construction
Architect

R. Villarosa Architects

Developer
St. Francis Square Group of
Companies
Structural engineer

D.M. Consunji, Inc.[5]

Main contractor

D.M. Consunji, Inc.

5. ONE SHANGRI-LA PLACE TOWERS, MANDALUYONG

One Shangrila Place Towers

Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila
Type: Residential
Construction: On-Going
Owner: Kuok Group
Height
Roof

217 m

Technical details
Floor count

64

Design and construction

Architect (Consultant) :

Palmer & Turner, Hong

Kong

Architect :

Casas + Architects

Retail and Interior Design :

BTR Workshop Limited,

Hong Kong

Landscape Architect :LDI Design Limited,

Hong Kong
Superstructure :

Sy^2 + Associates

Substructure :

Aecom

MEPF :

Meinhardt Phils. Inc.

6. GT INTERNATIONAL TOWER, MAKATI

GT INTERNATIONAL TOWER
6813 Ayala Avenue corner H.V. dela Costa Street,
Makati City, Philippines
Type: Office Building
Construction Started: 1999
opened: 2001
Owner: Philippine Securities Corporation

Height
Antenna spire 217.3 m (712.93 ft)
Roof
181.1 m (594.16 ft)
Technical details
Floor count
underground

47 above ground, 5

Floor area

82,773 m2 (890,961.16 sq ft)

Lifts/elevators 15
Design and construction
Architect
GF & Partners Architects, Recio
+
Casas Architects,
Gozar Planners
Phils.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
(design consultant)
Developer

Federal Land, Inc.

Structural engineer

Aromin & Sy + Associates, Inc.

Main contractor

C-E Construction Corporation

7. ST. FRANCIS SHANGRI-LA PLACE, MANDALUYONG

ST. FRANCIS SHANGRI-LA PLACE

Shaw Blvd. cor. St. Francis St., Ortigas Center,
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Type: Residential
Construction Started: 2005
opened: 2009
Owner: Kuok group

Height
Antenna spire 212.88 m (698.4 ft)
Technical details
Floor count
belowground

60 aboveground, 5

Lifts/elevators 7
Design and construction
Architect
Casas

Wong Tung International Ltd., in

cooperation with Recio +
Architects

Developer

Shang Properties, Inc.

Structural engineer
Ltd.

Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong

in cooperation with Magnusson
Klemencic Associates

Main contractor

EEI Corporation

8. KNIGHTSBRIDGE RESIDENCES, MAKATI

The Knightsbridge Residences

Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City,
Philippines
Type: Residential
Construction Started: 2009
opened: 2014
Owner: Century Properties

Height
Roof

220 m (721.8 ft)

Technical details
Floor count

60 aboveground, 4 belowground

Design and construction

Architect

ASYA Design Partners

Developer
Corp.

Century City Development

Structural engineer

Aromin & Sy + Associates

9. PETRON MEGAPLAZA, MAKATI

Petron Megaplaza
358 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City,
Philippines
Type: Office
opened: 1998
Owner: Megaworld corporation

Height
Antenna spire 210 m (689.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count
belowground

45 aboveground, 5

Lifts/elevators 18
Design and construction
Architect
LLP

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill,

Developer

Megaworld Corporation

Structural engineer
Inc. in
Ove Arup &

Aromin & Sy + Associates,

cooperation with
Partners

Main contractor

D.M. Consunji, Inc.

10. UNIONBANK PLAZA, PASIG

UnionBank Plaza
Meralco Avenue corner Onyx & Sapphire Streets,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines
Type: Office
opened: 2004
Owner: Union Bank of the Philippines

Height
Roof

206 m (675.85 ft)

Technical details
Floor count
belowground

49 aboveground, 6

Lifts/elevators 15
Design and construction
Architect
RTKL
consultant)

Recio + Casas Architects,

Associates (design

Developer

Union Properties, Inc.

Structural engineer
Origenes

Ove Arup & Partners, G.E.

& Associates