History of Skyscraper

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History of Skyscraper:

A substantial importance that has led to doing research pertaining to the skyscrapers is because of the high rate at which they are being constructed in hearts of towns and cities. The establishment and development of skyscrapers have been increasing at a rate that is very high and they have been proved an extremely useful since they minimise on space utilization and maximize on resource exploitation. A single skyscraper is always constructed on a small room but accommodates a lot of economic activities. They can be used for both religious, cultural, commercial and communication purposes. For this many uses that underlie skyscrapers, they have to be studied and researched fully from the history of their development.

In order to do research on skyscrapers from different information sources, there is a need for guide questions whose when systematically answered would give the full history of the skyscrapers. These questions are, when skyscrapers were first constructed? The construction of skyscrapers took place in between 1813 and 1898 and was done under the invention of an Englishman called George A Fuller using the Henry Bessemer’s steel process. The first building was started in 1851, and its construction progressed up to 1900 by George A Fuller. According to Hewitt W, (p. 19) in order for George to come up with the first skyscraper, he had first to solve the problem which was the “load bearing capacities” problem. After he solved this problem, he was able to construct a skyscraper using Bessemer’s steel process. His first skyscraper was the Tacoma Building which was in the year 1889. According to Popular Mechanics’ magazine, this was the first building whose outside wall did not carry the building’s weight (Lent Dayton Upson, 1974, p. 349).

The second question is, what were the early skyscrapers made of and what did they were made of? The first skyscraper the Tacoma that was constructed by George A Fuller was constructed using steel beams of Bessemer. For George Fuller to come up with a strong skyscraper, he first created cages of steel which helped him in supporting the whole skyscraper’s weight. The early skyscrapers were a combination of different structures in order to serve multiple purposes. These structures included; steel structure that was used to support the total weight of the whole skyscrapers. Secondly were the elevators which served the purpose of movement from the ground level of the skyscrapers to the top parts. The reasons as to why elevators were constructed in skyscrapers, was because skyscrapers are tall structures and it was more cumbersome for one to climb up to the top, and thus there was a need to find an easy, and fast mobile system. Elevators that are electric projected were the best choice (Lagus, & ASTM Committee E-6 on Performance of Building Constructions, 1984, p. 134)

The elevator of the highest speed was developed in the year 1887 in a skyscraper ad aimed at faster elevation of passengers to the top of the skyscrapers. The skyscrapers were also installed with central heating system which aimed at keeping them warm during winter seasons. It was realized that, during winter seasons, the inner cavity of the skyscrapers were too cold to accommodate human life and, therefore, there was the need to warm the building. This is why they were installed with central heating systems. According to Nye, D, E (p. 88), the skyscrapers were installed with both a plumbing system to pump water to all parts of the building and a telephone system which facilitated communication.

The third question is what led to the construction of skyscrapers? In the first place, Barras, R (p. 448) claims that the construction of skyscrapers was to express architectural, engineering, and construction ability. This was an attempt to invent new construction means and come up with new and unique structures that had their own design and form. Later on, the purpose and reason for the construction according to Barras, R (p.449) took other lanes. These included; the construction of skyscrapers as an investment for magnetic speculation. People and states yearned to invest in something that was viewable and unique from what actually existed. By doing this, they attracted foreign investors in their states and industries. At the same time, the development of skyscrapers acted as a way cycle of building offices through reinforcement of extreme volatility. On the other hand, Wheeler and Beatley (p. 367) claim that skyscrapers were also used by religious groups to show off their power in religion. The Islam built their mosques extremely high to form skyscrapers to show how powerful they were compared to other religious groups.

The fourth question is what were the international legal and aesthetic refinements for the construction of skyscrapers? The first and revolutionized skyscraper was the Flatiron building in New York located at the Fifth Avenue and in the twenty-Third Street. It was the first skyscraper of New York and in USA located in Manhattan and it was built by the Bessemer’s construction company, and was finished in 1902. Despite the highly increasing development, there have been many cases of collapse of skyscrapers in different parts of the world. For this reason, the law have been put in place internationally to govern the construction of skyscrapers. According to the International Law governing construction of tall buildings, Rev, IX, 315-341 the skyscrapers should be constructed in areas with no earth tremor or earthquake. The construction of the skyscrapers should come up with a structure that it should supplement the requirement of XIV, 435-462 of the International Law ( HYPERLINK “http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0849545.html#ixzz1g9JAVBVZ” http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0849545.html#ixzz1g9JAVBVZ).

The fifth question is what is the importance of skyscrapers to the economic, social and cultural lives of people all over the world?

In the early time, skyscrapers have been of significant importance to the economy of the states where they were constructed and to the people. In the early times of about 18th century, the construction of skyscrapers was a way to show off innovation ability and a wise investment decision by the state (Lent Dayton Upson, 1974, p. 346). Later on, the purpose of skyscrapers multiplied into the following uses: Commercial uses; most of the skyscrapers were used for business purposes either as marketing places or acted as administrative blocks to business organizations. This was more convenient as skyscrapers attracted private and foreign investors in the business. Administrative purposes; skyscrapers were also used by states administrators as their administrative points. This was because to some extend the height of the building structure indicated the power manifested by the administrator. Religious centre; skyscrapers were also used by religious followers of different religions. They used tall buildings as a way to show off power over other religion.

Magnetic attractors to foreign investors into the state; the presence of many and well developed skyscrapers shows a high level of economic state. This encourages and also attracts foreign investors in the state. Most people have been preoccupied with questions that some have been answered, and others have pertaining to skyscrapers. Some of these questions are; Are there any legal requirements that govern the construction and development of skyscrapers? What are some of the problems that are linked to development of skyscrapers? Does the modern construction material for skyscrapers differ from the ancient construction material? With the help of these questions, it was easy to carry out research and obtain more information pertaining to skyscrapers from websites, electronic database and catalogues. Below are answers for these questions arrived at after a depth research carried out in different sources? Legal requirements governing construction of skyscrapers:

According to the CTBUH Legal requirements, the construction of tall buildings such as skyscrapers should be done in the area with no earthquakes or tremor. This is because earthquakes caused this type of buildings to collapse causing serious damage to property and life. In addition to that, Trechsel, Lagus and ASTM Committee, (p. 132) it was realized that tall buildings sway during the winter season and windy times thus putting the lives of users in danger. To avoid such things as collapsing to occur, there was a formula that was devised to measure air leakage in constructed skyscrapers (Lagus, & ASTM Committee E-6 on Performance of Building Constructions, 1984, p. 132)

. The formulae is Q = kA(Dp)n.

Where:

Q = is the rate at which air flows, m3/s

A = the area over which the air flow is distributed, m2

In addition to that, the product is required to have met the endorsement of the states’ National Bureau of Standards.

In the same formula,

Dp = the difference in the indoor and outdoor pressure, Pa,

k = is the average flow coefficient of the area of the flow, m3/m2. s. Pan.

n = is the exponent flow of air.

This formula should be used by the contractor and engineers during construction of skyscrapers in order to allow room for air leakage in a tall building for safety purpose.

In conclusion, the skyscrapers have existed in the world for a long time from 1813 up to now. The construction process has undergone different changes based on certain principles and safety precautions. Failure to take into account the construction principles and precautions put in place has led to collapse of skyscraper buildings which eventually kills many people and destroys properties. A recommendation drawn from this historical view of the skyscraper buildings is that all construction laws for tall buildings should be highly taken into account during construction for safety purposes.

References:

HYPERLINK “http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0849545.html#ixzz1g9JAVBVZ” http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0849545.html#ixzz1g9JAVBVZ

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press.

Peter L. Lagus, & ASTM Committee E-6 on Performance of Building Constructions, Measured air leakage of buildings: a symposium sponsored by ASTM committee E-6 on Performance of building constructions, Philadelphia, PA, 2-3 April 1984, p. 132

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press.

Volume 904 of ASTM special technical publication, New York, ASTM International, 1986

Lent Dayton Upson, Practice of municipal administration, Metropolitan AmericaRise of Urban America, New York, Ayer Publishing, 1974