The growth of vertical city

History

More than 150 years ago, the cities looks very different from current day. Buildings where people live and their businesses are rarely as tall as flagpoles. The cityscape tends to be flat and uniformly patterned. That is apart from monuments, temples, and town halls and cathedrals (decorated with domes, towers, or towers). Historically, the word tower was usually intended for churches and town halls until the birth of skyscrapers. Major evolutionary changes have worked, from a Campanile watchtower of the Renaissance or minaret of Islamic architecture to the office building.

Transformation

The first skyscraper construction projects in history appeared in the bustling cities. They exemplified the spirit of the roaring 20s in the design. Cities such as Chicago and subsequently New York are the birthplaces of commercial tall buildings beginning at the end of 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Employing mixes of largely neo-gothic and neoclassical style, the resulting design marvels are buildings that have shaped not only the spatial design of cities for the coming century but have changed our lives entirely. Globalization, population growth, and economic development during the 1980s and 1990s then led to this type of building being widely used.

Tall buildings are integrally connected with a city and its growth. This is because they are responses to unique development conditions found within an urban environment. More compelling is the view that the city is a marketplace of ideas. A place in which the very ideas of congestion and expansion are intrinsic to its functions and its vitality. High-rise buildings are allowing shifts of supply and demand in architecture, the trend was underpinned by evolving engineering. The development of steel frames, which could be used instead of load-bearing masonry, made it easier and cheaper to build skyscrapers.

Modern era

With increasing technology and an understanding of how materials behave, buildings have come to be constructed with ever greater height and span. Also for innumerable agricultural, civic, commercial, industrial, recreational, religious, and residential uses. Skyscrapers are lagging indicators of economic trends. An investment strategy could be green-lighted under economic conditions that could change significantly throughout the construction period.  These could be anywhere from two to ten years, or more.

Environmental factors

Building environment, such as urban topology, topography, climate, wind, and seismic factors directly affect the architectural design of tall buildings and the quality of urban life. External environment affects the overall design. However, internal environment such as indoor air quality, daylight, and ventilation are also major considerations in determining the quality of life of occupants. The ability of a city or community to support and sustain its current population and anticipated growth, is directly related to its infrastructure of transportation, utilities, and services.

Future

Designing the skyscraper of the future is about making its space more efficient than ever. The sought after things include: added comfort, green building for better energy conservation, more control for building tenants etc. The real limit to skyscraper technology still remains to be the limits of the elevator. The steel cords can hold only so much weight before the load becomes too heavy to carry. Energy efficiency is one of the prime driving forces behind designing the skyscraper of the future. Today energy efficiency determines the economic value of the building not height.

References

1. Eric Höweler, Skyscraper: Vertical Now, Rizzoli/Universe Publishers, New York, 2003.
2. Beedle LS, Mir M. Ali, Armstrong PJ. The Skyscraper and the City: Design, Technology, and Innovation. Books 1 and 2. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press; 2007.
3. Al-Kodmany, K. New suburbanism: Sustainable spatial patterns of tall buildings. Buildings 2018, 8, 127.
4. Grankina D V, Ivanov N V, Konyakhin V O 2018 Modern Constructive Solutions of High-Rise Buildings in Terms of Construction of the Lakhta Center (Engineering Bulletin of the Don)
5. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/research/CTBUH_ResearchReport_2017YearInReview.pdf
6. https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/features/list/history-of-skyscrapers-and-high-rise-buildings#
7. https://www.dezeen.com/2019/02/11/burj-jumeira-supertall-skyscraper-dubai-fingerprint-architecture/
8. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/history-of-the-skyscraper/index.html
9. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-tallest-buildings/
10. http://www.thenewecologist.com/2018/01/top-reasons-why-green-building-is-a-need/
11. https://aisyahmutiarabetha.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/arsitektur-dan-lingkungan/