![]() Such is the considerable achievement of Adrian Smith, FAIA, and his former colleagues at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in the gargantuan yet persuasive Burj Khalifa, which rises half a mile above the desert in the once-unstoppable, now-humbled Persian Gulf playground of Dubai.Īt the staggering height of 2,717 feet (easily more than two Empire State Buildings), this shimmering, spiraling mixed-use tower inevitably raises the question: When is big too big? To some, this giant of giants - its spire alone is more than 700 feet tall - clearly overshoots the mark. He or she can only ensure that they are proud and soaring things, not Frankenstein-esque, XXL-size monstrosities. The architect does not control whether or where such behemoths are built. Their backers invariably are motivated by ambition and ego. With a retrospective view, from Home Insurance Building (1885) to Burj Khalifa (2010), this paper reviews the evolution of high-rises and gives a brief explanation about structural systems by a number of high-rise building case studies.Iconic skyscrapers, especially those that strive for the fleeting title of “world’s tallest building,” are rarely the progeny of cold logic. Today, the highest high-rise of the world, Burj Khalifa (2010), has a height of 828 meters with 163 stories. Indeed, in some cases unique software programs are designing for construction of a single high-rise as 30 St Mary Axe building. Today, in the 21th Century, architects and engineers are designing unique structural systems for unique buildings. Second half of the 20th Century witnessed construction of numerous high-rises with core-outrigger systems, diagrid systems and mega frames. Tube, core outrigger and diagrid systems were started to develop accordingly. And, this accelerate the seeking of efficient structural systems. In 1969, he put forward a classification for concrete and steel skeletons concerning efficiency of structural systems. In 1963, Kahn introduced tube systems by his DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment design with 43 stories. In other words, these building structures was designed ignoring structural efficiency. On the other hand, it is observable that the increase in the heights of the buildings carried out without any important structural development and drawn on excessive material use. In the first half of the 20th Century many iconic buildings constructed with steel rigid frames with wind bracings as Wool Worth Building with 57 stories (1913), Chrysler building with 77 stories (1930) and Empire State Building with 102 stories (1931). And also concepts of prestressing, using high-tensile steel become available in 1920’s. By the 1910’s steel work started to encase in concrete to provide fire resistance. Through the 19th Century, various building materials as concrete, steel and structural capacities of these materials were developed. In 1903, the first concrete high-rise, 15 story Ingalls Building was constructed. In 1899, Park Row Building reached 30 stories in New York. Home Insurance Building (1885) which is accepted as the first high-rise building, has cast iron and wrought iron columns, wrought iron beams and girders, and thick masonry walls which provide lateral resistance to wind loads. However, it is a common knowledge that the first step of constructing a high-rise is to achieve structural stability. ![]() The source of this intense interest can be listed as growing population in city centers, high land prizes and countries’ desire to show economic and technologic status. High-rises are becoming one of the most demanded building typology worldwide.
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