Higher,
Faster, Stronger? History of SkyscrapersSkyscrapers
and cities each need the other.
Barr,
J. M. (2024). Cities in the sky: The quest to build the world’s tallest
skyscrapers. Scribner.Sources:https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cities-in-the-Sky/Jason-M-Barr/9781982174217https://buildingtheskyline.org/cities-in-the-sky/Skyscrapers
make up the striking skyline of cities, becoming part of the city's image and
character, and embodying humanity's ambition and dream to reach the sky. In the
21st century, despite ongoing debates about building skyscrapers, their numbers
have increased and their heights have soared. The number of skyscrapers built
in the first 20 years of the 21st century is almost seven times that of the
entire 20th century.When
the Empire State Building was completed in 1931, it was the tallest building in
the world and held this record for forty years. Today, amidst the skyscraper
construction boom worldwide, particularly in Asia, the Empire State Building
ranks 53rd in height. The Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the
world, standing at 828 meters (half a mile), which is twice the height of the
Empire State Building.Why
build skyscrapers? How are they constructed? How do skyscrapers change city
skylines, and how do they alter our lives, work, and leisure? How will
skyscrapers shape our future cities? Jason Barr's " Cities
in the sky: The quest to build the world’s tallest skyscrapers" attempts
to answer these questions. The book is divided into three parts: the first two
parts recount the history and geographical expansion of skyscrapers, focusing
primarily on the United States and the Eurasian continent, from late
19th-century Chicago to 20th-century New York, and then to 21st-century London,
Hong Kong, mainland Chinese cities, and the Arabian Peninsula. The third part
adopts a global perspective, analyzing the value, negative impacts, and
controversies of skyscrapers in the economic, social, and environmental contexts,
and looks ahead to the future of skyscrapers and cities.What
drives the global pursuit of skyscrapers and city skylines? The book argues
that the answer is simple: humanity wants and needs skyscrapers. Global trade
and urbanization networks have given rise to skyscrapers.Skyscrapers
and cities are interdependent. Cities are large, densely populated areas where
humans and their supporting institutions gather. The term
"metropolis" originates from Greek, meaning "mother city."
For a city to succeed as a mother, it needs to provide a nest and space for its
children. Skyscrapers are a type of habitat that allows the human species to
thrive. They solve geographical problems by creating land in the sky.The Origins of SkyscrapersSince
the late 19th century, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1885,
has been considered the world’s first skyscraper, and architect William Le
Baron Jenney has been hailed as its inventor. However, the truth is that Jenney
did not invent the skyscraper, and the Home Insurance Building was not the
first skyscraper.Before
the Home Insurance Building, the term "skyscraper" had already been
used to describe buildings for a long time. For example, the Chicago Tribune on
February 25, 1883, in its "New York Gossip" column, reported on the
"high-rise craze" and discussed New York's "skyscrapers,"
mentioning the city's Tribune Building (1875, 9 floors) and the Western Union
Building (1875, 10 floors). Before being used to describe buildings, the term
could refer to anything tall, including large horses, ship masts, high-flying
baseballs, and elaborately decorated ladies' hats.Ancient
city buildings rarely exceeded five stories. Church spires or bell towers were
exceptions. The spire of Notre-Dame in Paris, completed in the 13th century,
reached 78 meters, while Big Ben, completed in 1859, stands at 96 meters.
However, in residential and workspaces, few people were willing to climb more
than five stories, making the top floors the least valuable. The advent of
elevators and other innovations revolutionized the profitability of high-rise
leases. As a result, developers were motivated to build taller buildings, and
from the early 1870s, higher buildings were constructed in New York and other
major American cities. This growth was as revolutionary as the launch of the
iPhone in 2007.The
first office building in Chicago to reach ten stories was the Montauk Block,
completed in 1882. In 1885, when the Home Insurance Building was completed, at
least three other buildings completed that year were nine stories or taller.However,
the reason the author disagrees with the notion that the Home Insurance
Building was the first skyscraper is not due to its height, but because its
structural elements did not meet the requirements of a skyscraper.After
1890, the modern "true" skyscraper emerged as a relatively tall
building containing four key components. First, it required a full steel frame,
consisting of columns, beams, and girders. Second, these steel components had
to be riveted together to form a continuous steel grid. Third, the structure needed
additional steel specifically for wind resistance (and in some cases,
earthquake resistance). Finally, the outer walls were merely curtain walls that
did not bear any structural load but primarily served to keep out the weather,
allow light in, and provide an aesthetically pleasing façade. This true
skyscraper eventually broke height limitations, enabling buildings to be
constructed taller while remaining safe, comfortable, and profitable.To
function as skyscrapers, they must meet a series of demands. First, they must
be fireproof, windproof, and resistant to collapse. Second, they must be
habitable, providing comfortable interior spaces and modern conveniences.
Finally, they must fully reflect our aspirations and the message we want to
convey to the world, as they help define our identity.The Exemplary Significance of the Empire State BuildingAt
the start of the 20th century, each city had to decide its own skyscraper fate:
to embrace, regulate, or reject. The United States was the world's first laboratory
for skyscrapers, with each city serving as a unique experiment, influencing the
construction of skyscrapers in other cities around the world, exemplified by
the Empire State Building.The
original design of the Empire State Building did not include the observation
deck, which has now become an almost standard feature of skyscrapers.In
August 1929, the initial design plans for the Empire State Building envisioned
a tall (1,000 feet, 305 meters, 80 stories) but unadorned office building. A
few months later, the developers acquired an adjacent plot of land, allowing
them to increase the building’s height by five stories without violating city
building regulations. This not only surpassed the height of the
then-under-construction Chrysler Building (319 meters) but also went a step
further by adding a 61-meter mooring mast for dirigibles.
![]()
A
hypothetical mooring of an airship to the mast atop the Empire State Building,
ca. 1930.
Soon,
with the failure of the dirigible tests, the design for the mooring mast was
abandoned, but this turned into an opportunity, leading to the creation of a
1,050-foot (320-meter) observation deck.The
Empire State Building was constructed in a record time of eighteen months. By
the time it was completed, the Great Depression was in full swing. The
observation deck not only attracted millions of tourists but also helped owner
to keep the building during the Depression. In its first year of operation, it
generated nearly $800,000 in revenue, while the office space brought in $1
million.Despite
its difficult start during the Great Depression, ninety years later, the Empire
State Building is not only beloved but also a financial powerhouse, with its
market value growing at an average of 5% per year when adjusted for inflation.
Once jokingly referred to as the "Empty State Building," it has
become a source of pride and profit for New York.The
iconic silhouette of the Empire State Building has become a global symbol of
American entrepreneurial spirit and engineering prowess. As the ultimate symbol
of the city of strivers, other cities have sought to build their versions of
the Empire State Building, such as the Shanghai Tower, the Burj Khalifa, or
Taipei 101, to emulate its magic. Nothing declares "we have arrived on the
global stage" more than possessing the tallest building in the world.The Evolution of Skyscraper HeightsSince
1900, the height of the tallest building completed each year has increased by
an average of 1.2% annually. Since 1980, with competition from Asian countries,
this growth rate has risen to 1.8%.In
the early 1900s, a typical skyscraper was about 100 meters tall. By the 1960s,
this figure had doubled, and by 2015, buildings standing at 457 meters were not
uncommon. In the future, buildings reaching 1 kilometer in height will become
ordinary, and eventually, mile-high buildings may appear. The reason they haven't
been completed yet is not due to technical or cost issues but political
instability.Globally,
there are over 44,000 skyscrapers reaching 100 meters or more in height; of
these, 50% are 120 meters or shorter, and 90% are below 170 meters. Skyscrapers
exceeding 300 meters constitute only 0.07% of all tall buildings worldwide.Focusing
on the decade from 2010 to 2019, we can see where skyscrapers have risen.
Nearly half of the skyscrapers were built in the Chinese Mainland, with the top five
also including South Korea (11%), Malaysia (7%), the UAE (4%), and the United
States (3%). Overall, Asia constructed 90% of the world's skyscrapers during
this period. Of the world's ten tallest skyscrapers, nine are in Asia, and five
are in the Chinese Mainland.In
the late 20th and early 21st centuries, China experienced a "skyscraper
fever." Since 1990, China has built more skyscrapers almost every year
than any other country. Nearly half of the world's tallest 100 buildings are
located in the Chinese Mainland.The
United States has 2,949 buildings that are 100 meters or taller. China, in
comparison, has more than 13,540 skyscrapers. Per capita, China has 9,681
skyscrapers per billion people, while the United States has 8,936. This stark
contrast is remarkable given that China had virtually no skyscrapers until
1980, while the United States had a century-long head start.Urban
population and GDP are the two most important factors predicting the number and
height of a city's skyscrapers, with economic growth being the fundamental driving
force. There is a strong correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.94) between
the height of a city's tallest building and its second tallest building.The Paradox of SkyscrapersWe
face a strange paradox. We believe that high-rise living is harmful to us, yet
city centers around the world continue to build upwards.The
core argument of this book is that skyscrapers exist because of urban
economics: when the demand for certain locations exceeds the land's carrying
capacity, skyscrapers arise. They are machines for compressing geographic
space.However,
skyscrapers also have many negative impacts. The media frequently reports on
incidents of skyscrapers getting out of control, critics complain about their
scale and environmental impact, and NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) groups do
everything they can to keep them out of their communities.Skyscrapers
make economic sense, but what about their psychological and social impacts? Do
they make us happy? What is the cost we have to pay?
1.“The
character and quality of any city can be told from a great distance by its
skyline, but these buildings do more than advertise a city. They show the faith
of many in its destiny, and they create a like faith in others.”—Earle Shultz and Walter Simmons, Offices in the Sky
2.“Later,
as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the
unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during
the previous three months. Now that everything had returned to normal, he was
surprised that there had been no obvious beginning, no point beyond which their
lives had moved into a clearly more sinister dimension. With its forty floors
and thousand apartments, its supermarket and swimming-pools, bank and junior
school-all in effect abandoned in the sky-the high-rise offered more than
enough opportunities for violence and confrontation.”
— J. G.
Ballard, High-Rise
![]()
CityReads ∣Notes On Cities"CityReads", a subscription account on WeChat,
posts our notes on city reads weekly.
Please follow us by searching "CityReads"
