A skyscraper is an extremely tall high-rise building that is generally taller than 152 meters (500 feet). The word "skyscraper" comes from the Greek skys krites, meaning sky walker. In English, such a building was called a skyscrape before the term was established in 1931.
The tallest building in the world is currently the Shanghai Tower which rises 468 m (1,614 ft) to the top of its spire and is divided into 29 floors. It is also known as the Pinnacle Building because it features a revolving restaurant at its top called the Sky Lounge. The previous record holder was the Burj Khalifa which rises 828 m (2743 ft) - this title now belongs to the Shanghai Tower.
In addition to being really tall, modern skyscrapers need to be strong enough to support all of the weight above their foundations. This means they often contain large amounts of steel or concrete. The World Trade Center in New York City consists of two towers between which lies a huge open plaza. This was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and David Childs and was meant to reflect the surrounding city landscape. It remains one of the largest open spaces in Manhattan.
A skyscraper is a huge, continuously inhabited structure with several levels. Skyscrapers are currently defined as being at least 100 or 150 meters tall, while there is no widely recognized definition. The word "skyscraper" comes from the name of a building style invented in New York City by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1858. He called it "Chicago School" after its most famous example, the Chicago Stock Exchange.
There are many different types of buildings used around the world for different purposes. Some buildings are just one type of construction with many floors, such as hotels or office buildings. Others are made up of several sections or "phases" that were built at different times and by different people (or even organizations). A good example is the White House in Washington, D.C. It has been rebuilt twice after major fires, so it is now a combination of styles from many different periods right up to the present day.
The first skyscrapers were used for business purposes. They allowed more space than traditional buildings, which usually had only one floor down from the street level, so businesses could store more inventory and customers could see how large their purchases were before they bought them. At the time, this was considered progress: more space meant less crowded streets and better access to goods.
A high-rise structure, often known as a multistory high-rise skyscraper, is tall enough to need the use of a mechanical vertical transportation system such as elevators. A skyscraper is a tall high-rise structure. The term applies to any building over 10 stories high, although many buildings with more than 20 stories also are classified as skyscrapers.
The tallest building in Chicago is currently Trump Tower at 40th Street and South Lake Shore Drive. Built in 1973, it stands 1128 feet (335 meters) tall with 28 floors. The previous record holder was The John Hancock Center, now known as One John Hancock Plaza, built in 1976 and reaching 1120 feet (340 meters). Other notable examples of skyscrapers include the World Trade Center complex in New York City, which is 1,397 feet (442 meters) tall; the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, which are 1,483 feet (455 meters) tall; and Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which is 1,981 feet (60 meters) tall.
As well as being used for offices, hotels, and shops, skyscrapers are also used for housing. There are several models of high-rises available for housing, depending on how much space you want to allocate to each floor. You can get small apartments by choosing low-rise buildings, which are under five stories high.
A high-rise building is taller than a low-rise structure, and its height is defined differently in different jurisdictions. In the United States, for example, a building can be as tall as 45 feet if it has a flat roof. A high-rise building could also be called a skyscraper, although that term is usually applied to buildings with more than seven floors.
In Europe, a high-rise building must be at least 60 meters (197 ft) tall to be classified as such.
In Japan, there are no restrictions on the height of a building, so long as it does not block the view of Mount Fuji. The tallest building in Japan is the Tokyo Tower, which at 1128 feet is only slightly taller than what would be considered a low-rise building in other countries.
The difference between the heights of a low-rise and high-rise building becomes important when trying to estimate how many people live in a city. The population of New York City, for example, is estimated to be about 8 million people, but only about 4 million square feet of space is required to house them all because most people do not live in high-rise buildings.
Nowadays, structures with 40 or more storeys and a height of 150 meters or more are designated "skyscrapers." Buildings taller over 300 meters are referred to as "supertall," while those taller than 600 meters are referred to as "megatall."
The word "tower" is used for buildings that are not quite so high as a skyscraper but still much higher than a tall building. A tower may be as low as a house but usually stands out from its surroundings because of its height. It can be anything from a single stone block to a complex of many buildings in one area. The tallest tower in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 2140 meters (6912 feet).
Towers were once used as prison cells, but today they are mainly found in three forms: church towers, military towers, and radio telescopes.
There are several different ways of classifying buildings. One common system divides structures into four categories by their height: low-rise up to four stories high; mid-range from five to nine stories; high-rise over ten stories. However, this system does not take into account other factors that may influence how attractive or useful a building is, such as its mass, location, etc.
Another classification system groups buildings into commercial, office, residential, and public facilities.
A high-rise building is any new or existing structure that is more than 80 feet above ground and has the following occupancy classifications: E (for business), F (for commerce), or G. (for industry). A Category 1 high-rise skyscraper rises more than 780 feet above ground. A Category 2 high-rise skyscraper rises more than 540 feet above ground.
The tower built by Helmut Jahn will take between 30 and 36 months to complete and welcome people to its 421 flats. If finished today, 1000M would be the 15th tallest skyscraper in Chicago, but it would fall to 17th after the Vista Tower and One Chicago open.
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