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| The Empire State Building just blocks away from the World Trade Center. |
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| Another terrorist airplane on its way to the other tower. |
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| The remains of the 9 - 11 Bombing. The disaster killed nearly 3000 people. |
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
9 - 11 Bombing
The bombing of the World Trade Center or commonly known as the Twin Towers which is located near the famous Empire State Building in New York City, New York is one of the most unforgettable disaster that has ever happened to skyscrapers. It is known as the 9 - 11 bombing. It happened on September 11, 2001. It killed nearly 3000 people.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Most Popular Skyscrapers
From my opinion, these are the top 10 most popular skyscrapers in the furture. Enjoy!
10. The Bow
Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Designer: Foster + Partners
Height: 774 feet
Floors: 58
Estimated Completion: 2011
The Bow gets its name from the tower's unique, curving shape. When it's completed it will be Calgary's first steel skyscraper, which means it'll use significantly less material, as a steel frame does away with the need for a multitude of weaker supports built into load-bearing walls. It will also be Calgary's tallest building, and the green-minded team at Fosters and Partners built it to be environmentally sustainable. Three sky lobbies spaced about 18 floors apart divide it into three zones for business, shopping and leisure, and a southward atrium spans the entirety of the Bow's facade, which will expose the inside to plenty of sun and help warm it during Canadian winters. Energy is also saved by the amount of light the Bow's heavily-windowed structure lets in, meaning more natural illumination and less of the artificial stuff.
Designer: Foster + Partners
Height: 774 feet
Floors: 58
Estimated Completion: 2011
The Bow gets its name from the tower's unique, curving shape. When it's completed it will be Calgary's first steel skyscraper, which means it'll use significantly less material, as a steel frame does away with the need for a multitude of weaker supports built into load-bearing walls. It will also be Calgary's tallest building, and the green-minded team at Fosters and Partners built it to be environmentally sustainable. Three sky lobbies spaced about 18 floors apart divide it into three zones for business, shopping and leisure, and a southward atrium spans the entirety of the Bow's facade, which will expose the inside to plenty of sun and help warm it during Canadian winters. Energy is also saved by the amount of light the Bow's heavily-windowed structure lets in, meaning more natural illumination and less of the artificial stuff.
9. Beekman Tower
Where: New York
Designer: Frank Gehry
Height: 867 feet
Floors: 76
Estimated Completion: 2011
The Beekman Tower looks astonishingly mundane next to some of Frank Gehry's signature creations. That is until you notice the little details. The Beekman Tower's stainless-steel surface ripples in a pleasant way thanks to the cascading layers of its staggered units. The curving of the exterior will make for irregular floors, and no two if its stories will be exactly the same.
Designer: Frank Gehry
Height: 867 feet
Floors: 76
Estimated Completion: 2011
The Beekman Tower looks astonishingly mundane next to some of Frank Gehry's signature creations. That is until you notice the little details. The Beekman Tower's stainless-steel surface ripples in a pleasant way thanks to the cascading layers of its staggered units. The curving of the exterior will make for irregular floors, and no two if its stories will be exactly the same.
8. Tower Verre (53 W. 53rd)
Where: New York
Designer: Jean Nouvel
Height: 1,155 feet
Floors: 75
Estimated Completion: 2012
When the Tower Verre was first proposed, it faced considerable opposition from Manhattanites because of its radical, angular design and the fact that it'd top the height of the 1046-foot-tall Chrysler Building. The Hines real estate firm has since gained approval for the building's air rights and construction on the steel-and-glass monolith is slated to begin next year.
When complete, the skyscraper will include gallery space that will serve as an expansion to New York City's Museum of Modern Art, with luxury apartments and hotel rooms on its uppermost floors. With the building's diamond-sharp twin spires, some argue that it will serve as an addition to the MoMA's collection as well.
Floors: 75
Estimated Completion: 2012
When the Tower Verre was first proposed, it faced considerable opposition from Manhattanites because of its radical, angular design and the fact that it'd top the height of the 1046-foot-tall Chrysler Building. The Hines real estate firm has since gained approval for the building's air rights and construction on the steel-and-glass monolith is slated to begin next year.
When complete, the skyscraper will include gallery space that will serve as an expansion to New York City's Museum of Modern Art, with luxury apartments and hotel rooms on its uppermost floors. With the building's diamond-sharp twin spires, some argue that it will serve as an addition to the MoMA's collection as well.
7. Sinosteel International Plaza
Where: Tianjing, China
Designer: MAD
Height: 1,174 feet
Floors: N/A
Estimated Completion: 2012
What may look like a sick joke to reinforce the image of office workers as "busy bees" is actually the Sinosteel International Plaza's coolest feature. It's honeycomb exterior serves it in two key ways: As its load-bearing structure, and to help regulate the amount of light and heat enters the building. By using an alternating pattern of five different-size hexagonal windows, the Plaza's rooms will get plenty of sun while maintaining a comfortable temperature with less need for cooling in the summer and not as much heat loss in the winter. Alleviating the strain of cooling and heating a building several hundred feet tall will lower the building's energy costs significantly. Also, since the honeycomb structure acts as the building's support, that means there's no need for extensive internal infrastructure, giving more floor space over to other uses.
Designer: MAD
Height: 1,174 feet
Floors: N/A
Estimated Completion: 2012
What may look like a sick joke to reinforce the image of office workers as "busy bees" is actually the Sinosteel International Plaza's coolest feature. It's honeycomb exterior serves it in two key ways: As its load-bearing structure, and to help regulate the amount of light and heat enters the building. By using an alternating pattern of five different-size hexagonal windows, the Plaza's rooms will get plenty of sun while maintaining a comfortable temperature with less need for cooling in the summer and not as much heat loss in the winter. Alleviating the strain of cooling and heating a building several hundred feet tall will lower the building's energy costs significantly. Also, since the honeycomb structure acts as the building's support, that means there's no need for extensive internal infrastructure, giving more floor space over to other uses.
6. Al Hamra Tower
Where: Kuwait City, Kuwait
Designer: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Height: 1,352 feet
Floors: 77 (and 3 floors underground)
Estimated Completion: 2009
Anyone whose office has a window in the Al Hamra Tower will have a room with a view: The tower looks out over the whole of Kuwait City, as well as the Arabian Gulf. Looking at the tower from the outside will also offer quite the sight, as it's curving, veil-like "carved" shape is unlike any other skyscraper in its height range.
The Al Hamra Tower comes from a fine pedigree, as it's designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the architecture firm behind the Burj Dubai. It'll serve the city as an office building, accompanied by a five-story shopping plaza at its base with an 11-story parking garage that bridges to both the mall and tower. Just like the Bow, Al Hamra Tower is split into three zones by sky lobbies. When it's done, it'll be the tallest building in Kuwait City.
Designer: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Height: 1,352 feet
Floors: 77 (and 3 floors underground)
Estimated Completion: 2009
Anyone whose office has a window in the Al Hamra Tower will have a room with a view: The tower looks out over the whole of Kuwait City, as well as the Arabian Gulf. Looking at the tower from the outside will also offer quite the sight, as it's curving, veil-like "carved" shape is unlike any other skyscraper in its height range.
The Al Hamra Tower comes from a fine pedigree, as it's designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the architecture firm behind the Burj Dubai. It'll serve the city as an office building, accompanied by a five-story shopping plaza at its base with an 11-story parking garage that bridges to both the mall and tower. Just like the Bow, Al Hamra Tower is split into three zones by sky lobbies. When it's done, it'll be the tallest building in Kuwait City.
5. Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower
Where: Guangzhou, China
Designer: Information Based Architecture
Height: 1,489 feet (2,001 feet measured by its needle)
Floors: 37 (and 2 floors underground)
Estimated Completion: 2009
Height: 1,489 feet (2,001 feet measured by its needle)
Floors: 37 (and 2 floors underground)
Estimated Completion: 2009
The Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower arrives hot on the heels of China's Birds Nest, recently completed for the 2008 Olympic Games. Measured from its base to its needle, which juts out over 500 ft. above the structure's roof, the tower will stand an estimated 2001 ft. That'll make it the third tallest structure in the world, trailing behind the Burj Dubai and the KVLY-TV transmitting mast in Blanchard, North Dakota.
The Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower is a hyperboloid structure, meaning it draws its structural integrity from its shape, as an arch of an aqueduct or bridge does. At both its waist and the roof are open-air observation decks, and its scant 37 floors will be packed with revolving restaurants, art spaces, conferences halls, shops, a movie theater and, as its name suggests, broadcasting facilities.
4. International Commerce Centre
Where: West Kowloon, Hong Kong
Designer: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Height: 1,608 feet
Floors: 118
Estimated Completion: 2010
How do you know your skyscraper is tall? When you have to shorten it because it violates regulations that don't permit towers to be taller than surrounding mountains. That's what happened to the International Commerce Centre: It was originally proposed to stand nearly 1900 ft., but had to be trimmed down to 1608 ft. to fall within regulations. It'll still be the tallest building in Hong Kong when it's complete, though not in all of China.
A full shopping mall inside the tower's basement is already in use. When the rest of the tower is done, it will house space for offices and hotel rooms. And not just any hotel: The Ritz-Carlton will have its entry lobby at 1400 ft. above the ground, making it the highest hotel in the world.
Designer: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Height: 1,608 feet
Floors: 118
Estimated Completion: 2010
How do you know your skyscraper is tall? When you have to shorten it because it violates regulations that don't permit towers to be taller than surrounding mountains. That's what happened to the International Commerce Centre: It was originally proposed to stand nearly 1900 ft., but had to be trimmed down to 1608 ft. to fall within regulations. It'll still be the tallest building in Hong Kong when it's complete, though not in all of China.
A full shopping mall inside the tower's basement is already in use. When the rest of the tower is done, it will house space for offices and hotel rooms. And not just any hotel: The Ritz-Carlton will have its entry lobby at 1400 ft. above the ground, making it the highest hotel in the world.
3. Federation Tower
Where: Moscow, Russia
Designer: NPS Tchoban Voss
Height: 1,660 feet
Floors: 93
Estimated Completion: 2009
The Federation Tower's distinct look is fashioned after the sails of a ship, and it's actually two towers, the 1660-foot East Tower and 795-foot-tall West, connected by several walkways. The taller East tower will be for offices, while the western one will be a hotel and apartments, both topped with 360-degree observation decks.
The building stands less than two and half miles away from the Kremlin, and when it's done it'll be the tallest building in all of Europe.
Designer: NPS Tchoban Voss
Height: 1,660 feet
Floors: 93
Estimated Completion: 2009
The Federation Tower's distinct look is fashioned after the sails of a ship, and it's actually two towers, the 1660-foot East Tower and 795-foot-tall West, connected by several walkways. The taller East tower will be for offices, while the western one will be a hotel and apartments, both topped with 360-degree observation decks.
The building stands less than two and half miles away from the Kremlin, and when it's done it'll be the tallest building in all of Europe.
2. Chicago Spire
Where: Chicago, Illinois
Designer: Santiago Calatrava
Height: 2,000 feet
Floors: 150
Estimated Completion: 2012
Chicago's 1730-foot-tall Sears Tower has enjoyed the title of tallest building in all of North America since 1973. It'll lose that title by 300 ft. with the completion of the twisty, turny, environmentally sustainable Chicago Spire.
Architect Santiago Calatrava, who designed the 2004 Olympic Games complex in Athens and the Turning Torso Tower in Sweden, is going for gold in Chicago:The gold of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification that measures green design. To nail its targeted "gold", the Spire has an impressive list of Mother Nature-approved features: recycled rainwater to care for the landscaping, river water to help cool the building, a storage area for hundreds of bicycles, special glass to ward off migrating birds, planned park spaces and an underground parking structure that'll help save energy because it won't have to be air-conditioned.
The Spire's elegant, 2.44-degree twist rotates the building's facade a full 360 degrees, making what could have looked very odd come off as entirely natural.
Designer: Santiago Calatrava
Height: 2,000 feet
Floors: 150
Estimated Completion: 2012
Chicago's 1730-foot-tall Sears Tower has enjoyed the title of tallest building in all of North America since 1973. It'll lose that title by 300 ft. with the completion of the twisty, turny, environmentally sustainable Chicago Spire.
Architect Santiago Calatrava, who designed the 2004 Olympic Games complex in Athens and the Turning Torso Tower in Sweden, is going for gold in Chicago:The gold of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification that measures green design. To nail its targeted "gold", the Spire has an impressive list of Mother Nature-approved features: recycled rainwater to care for the landscaping, river water to help cool the building, a storage area for hundreds of bicycles, special glass to ward off migrating birds, planned park spaces and an underground parking structure that'll help save energy because it won't have to be air-conditioned.
The Spire's elegant, 2.44-degree twist rotates the building's facade a full 360 degrees, making what could have looked very odd come off as entirely natural.
1. Shanghai Tower
Where: Shanghai, China
Designer: Gensler
Height: 2,073 feet
Floors: 127
Estimated Completion: 2013
The Shanghai Tower (formerly known as the Shanghai Center) is in good company. It's being built next to the 1615-foot-tall Shanghai World Financial Center that, as of the publication of this article, is the second tallest completed skyscraper in the world, falling in line behind Taiwan's 1670-foot-tall Taipei 101. The Tower is also right next to the Jin Mao Building, which is the fifth tallest in the world at 1381 ft. in height. At 2073 ft., the Shanghai Tower will top all three—not so bad for a plot of land that used to be a golf course.
The Tower and its two sister buildings are all part of the Lujiazui financial district of Pudong, the plans for which have been in the works since 1993. Following Gensler's winning design, it'll borrow some aesthetic qualities from the World Financial Center, though with a twist—literally. Like the Chicago Spire, the Centre features a turning facade, with the top of the building facing clockwise 90 degrees in relation to its base.
Designer: Gensler
Height: 2,073 feet
Floors: 127
Estimated Completion: 2013
The Shanghai Tower (formerly known as the Shanghai Center) is in good company. It's being built next to the 1615-foot-tall Shanghai World Financial Center that, as of the publication of this article, is the second tallest completed skyscraper in the world, falling in line behind Taiwan's 1670-foot-tall Taipei 101. The Tower is also right next to the Jin Mao Building, which is the fifth tallest in the world at 1381 ft. in height. At 2073 ft., the Shanghai Tower will top all three—not so bad for a plot of land that used to be a golf course.
The Tower and its two sister buildings are all part of the Lujiazui financial district of Pudong, the plans for which have been in the works since 1993. Following Gensler's winning design, it'll borrow some aesthetic qualities from the World Financial Center, though with a twist—literally. Like the Chicago Spire, the Centre features a turning facade, with the top of the building facing clockwise 90 degrees in relation to its base.
Introduction Of My Blog
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many storeys, usually designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper. One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework from which curtain walls are suspended, rather than load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscrapers' walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by the concept of steel frame and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls and a small surface area of windows.
Skyscrapers since 1960s utilize the tubular designs, innovated by a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer named Fazlur Rahman Khan. This engineering principle makes the buildings structurally more efficient and stronger. It reduces the usage of material , while simultaneously allows the buildings to reach greater heights. It allows fewer interior columns, and so creates more usable floor space. It further enables buildings to take on various shapes. There are several variations of the tubular design; these structural systems are fundamental to tall building design today. Other pioneers include Hal Iyengar, William LeMessurier, etc. Cities have experienced a huge surge in skyscraper construction.
Today, skyscrapers are an increasingly common sight where land is expensive, as in the centres of big cities, because they provide such a high ratio of rentable floor space per unit area of land. They are built not just for economy of space; like temples and palaces of the past, skyscrapers are considered symbols of a city's economic power. Not only do they define the skyline, they help to define the city's identity. In some cases, exceptionally tall skyscrapers have been built not out of necessity, but to help define the city's identity and presence or power as a city.
The Empire State Building in New York City, New York is one of the most well - known skycrapers in the world.
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