Skyscraper

Completed in 2009, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is currently the tallest building in the world, with a height of 829.8 meters (2,722 ft). The setbacks at various heights are a typical skyscraper feature.

A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft)[1] or 150 meters (490 ft)[2] in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.

One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel frame that supports curtain walls. This idea was invented by Viollet le Duc in his discourses on architecture.[3] These curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on 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 skyscraper walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a small surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic, and other lateral loads. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, which in some cases is also structurally required.

As of September 2023, fifteen cities in the world have more than 100 skyscrapers that are 150 m (492 ft) or taller: Hong Kong with 552 skyscrapers; Shenzhen, China with 373 skyscrapers; New York City, US with 314 skyscrapers; Dubai, UAE with 252 skyscrapers; Guangzhou, China with 188 skyscrapers; Shanghai, China with 183 skyscrapers; Tokyo, Japan with 168 skyscrapers; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 156 skyscrapers; Wuhan, China with 149 skyscrapers; Chongqing, China, with 144 skyscrapers; Chicago, US, with 137 skyscrapers; Chengdu, China with 117 skyscrapers; Jakarta, Indonesia, with 112 skyscrapers; Bangkok, Thailand, with 111 skyscrapers, and Mumbai, India with 102.[4] As of 2024, there are over 7 thousand skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) in height worldwide.[5]

  1. ^ "Skyscraper, Emporis Standards". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "What is a Skyscraper?". Theb1m.com. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. ^ Hoffmann, Donald (1969). "Frank Lloyd Wright and Viollet-le-Duc". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 28 (3): 173–183. doi:10.2307/988556. JSTOR 988556.
  4. ^ "Cities by Number of 150m+ Buildings". The Skyscraper Center. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Countries by Number of 150m+ Buildings - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.