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Bhaskar
Bhaskar
A skyscraper is a
continuously habitable
high-rise building that
has over 40 floors and is
taller than approximately
150 m. Historically, the
term first referred to
buildings with 10 to 20
floors in the 1880s. The
definition shifted with
advancing construction
technology during the
20th century.
History of Skyscraper Architecture (c.1850-1970)
But Schuyler was primarily an architectural critic and not a historian, and, therefore, he apparently
missed the signs of where his thoughts and remarks were leading. He saw the changes taking
place but, perhaps because he was too close to the scene, he seems to have not been able to see it
in historical perspective. In this article we investigate whether a new view of skyscraper history
can be conceived which would take into account both the influence of technology and the role of
revival and more modern modes. The approach used here is based primarily on architectural form
as dictated by the ever-growing size and height of skyscrapers responding to broad cultural forces
operating in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Such a view of skyscraper history might be 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."
Seagram Building, NY (1954-8)
Designed by ex-Bauhaus architect
Mies van der Rohe, one of the key
figures in 20th century architecture,
in both Europe and America
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.
The first four phases can be assigned terminal dates because the compositional
formulas employed rarely appear in present-day solutions. However, the last three
continue in use and promise to do so for some time in the future.
How Skyscraper Design Evolved
If architecture is one of the most exciting types of art, nothing quite compares to the
art and ingenuity of designing supertall buildings. Nothing compares with this
inspirational form of public art, that can be viewed and appreciated by anyone.
In 1899, Montgomery Schuyler, 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. Schuyler claimed the first example for
George B. Post (1837-1913), in his Union Trust Building, of 1889-90, which he
described as Richardsonian Romanesque. He said this was soon followed by others in
classical garb, such as the American Surety Building, of 1894-95, designed by Bruce
Price (1845-1903).
Evolution of high rise buildings with plane surfaces as elevations.
The Tallest Building in America (1900-present)
Traditionally, New York City and Chicago compete for the title of
tallest building in America. For example, the eight tallest
buildings in the United States are either in New York or Chicago,
and out of America's top 25 supertall buildings, eight are in
Chicago and seven are in New York City. Here is a chronological
list of the tallest buildings in the United States, including all ten
structures that held the title of tallest building in America,
during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Here are few examples of buildings with
plain elevations:
• Park Row Building (15 Park Row), • Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower
New York City
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company • Empire State Building, New York City
Tower, New York City
• One World Trade Center (North tower)
• Woolworth Building, New York City
• Trump Building (40 Wall Street), New
York City
• Chrysler Building, New York City
Park row building:
15 Park Row
location
Manhattan, New York City
Architect R. H. Robertson
No of floors 26
Significant dates
General information
Hotel
Type
Commercial offices (originally)
1 Madison Avenue
Location
Manhattan, New York City
Construction
1905
started
Completed 1909
Height
Roof 213.4 m (700 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 50
Design and construction
Architect Napoleon LeBrun & Sons
Woolworth Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1913 to 1930
Metropolitan Life Insurance
Preceded by
Company Tower
Surpassed by 40 Wall Street
General information
233 Broadway
Location
Manhattan, New York City
Construction started November 4, 1910
Topped-out July 1, 1912[1]
Completed 1912
Opening April 24, 1913
Renovated 1977–1981
US$13.5 million (equivalent to
Cost
$349,000,000 in 2019)
Witkoff Group, Cammeby's
International (bottom 30 floors)
Owner
Alchemy Properties (top 30
floors)
Height
Roof 792 ft (241 m)
Technical details
Floor count 55
Lifts/elevators 34
Design and construction
Architect Cass Gilbert
Developer F. W. Woolworth
Trump Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from April 1930 to May 27, 1930
Preceded by Woolworth Building
Surpassed by Chrysler Building
General information
Architectural style Neo-Gothic
40 Wall Street, New York,
Location
NY 10005
General information
Status Complete
Type Office building; observation deck
Architectural style Art Deco
350 Fifth Avenue
Location
Manhattan, New York 10118
Construction started March 17, 1930
Completed April 11, 1931
Opening May 1, 1931; 89 years ago
$40,948,900]
Cost
($555 million in 2018 dollars)
Owner Empire State Realty Trust
Height
Tip 1,454 ft (443.2 m)
Roof 1,250 ft (381.0 m)
Top floor 1,224 ft (373.1 m)
Observatory 80th, 86th, and 102nd (top) floor
Dimensions
424 ft (129.2 m) east–west by 187 ft (57.0 m)
Other dimensions
north–south
Technical details
Floor count 102
Floor area 2,248,355 sq ft (208,879 m2)
Lifts/elevators 73
Design and construction
Architect Shreve, Lamb and Harmon
One World Trade Center
Record height
Tallest in North America and the Western Hemisphere since 2013
Preceded by Willis Towr
General information
Status Completed
•Office
Type •Observation
•Communication
Architectural style Contemporary modern
285 Fulton Street
Location
Manhattan, New York, U.S.