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Skyscrapers are true symbols of architectural innovation. Also known as 'supertall buildings' or 'vertical cities,' these structures represent human ambition, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As global populations increase, there’s a growing need to build upwards, living closer to the sky. Yet, this idea comes with a host of challenges that must be overcome to construct increasingly taller buildings.
There are countless hidden details about skyscrapers that most people are unaware of. When we began constructing towering structures in the sky, not only did our lives change, but so did the world around us. In this article, we’ll explore some of those hidden impacts and discuss what skyscrapers could mean for our future.
10. How Tall Can A Building Really Become?
Currently, the tallest skyscraper in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 830 meters (2,723 feet). However, a new tower over 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) tall, called the Jeddah Tower, is being constructed in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, there are plans to build a 1,700-meter (5,577 feet) skyscraper in Tokyo in the not-too-distant future. This raises the question: is there a maximum height for skyscrapers?
In simple terms, there will be a point where skyscrapers can no longer grow taller. A building can reach any height, as long as its foundation is wide enough to support it. However, the Earth's curvature limits both the base and height of such structures. Despite this, we are far from reaching that limit. According to an engineer involved in the Burj Khalifa project, we could build 'higher than the highest mountain' on Earth. This suggests that architectural engineering has virtually no bounds when it comes to constructing tall buildings. With advancements in materials, design, and climate considerations, it's likely that we could build them.
The 'X-Seed 4000' (pictured above) is a concept for the tallest skyscraper achievable with our current technology. This hypothetical building would rise 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) high and have a base spanning 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) in diameter. Its mountain-like structure would be able to house up to one million people. While the blueprints are complete, the X-Seed 4000 is unlikely to be built anytime soon, not because of technological constraints, but due to its staggering construction cost of $1.4 trillion, a price tag few nations would be willing to pay.
9. We’ve Been Constructing Skyscrapers for Centuries
The term 'skyscraper' was first introduced almost 150 years ago. However, suggesting that no buildings prior to that time could be classified as skyscrapers might overlook the incredible architectural feats achieved by our ancestors. For thousands of years, humans have been constructing buildings that reach toward the heavens.
A skyscraper is officially defined as a tall building designed for continuous habitation. The general rule worldwide is that a skyscraper, regardless of its specific measurements, must stand taller than any other structure in the city to qualify as such. Furthermore, when the term was first coined in the late 1800s, buildings with more than ten stories were already considered skyscrapers.
Over time, additional criteria were introduced to define a skyscraper: for example, more than half of its total volume must be livable space. This means structures like the pyramids don’t qualify, as they were tombs—solid and uninhabitable. Our modern communication and observation towers also don’t meet the definition.
In the 3rd century BC, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt constructed the Lighthouse of Alexandria, standing at 135 meters (443 feet). As its name suggests, it guided ships in the region, but it also had 364 rooms and numerous galleries for visitors. Clearly, this was an urban structure, not just a tall tower.
In AD 516, the Chinese completed the Yongning Pagoda, a temple that reached 137 meters (450 feet) in height. Although the structure no longer exists, ancient records describe it as resembling a palace, with around 1,000 rooms. So while we may have only recently coined the term 'skyscraper,' building to great heights is far from a modern innovation.
8. Skyscrapers Have a Rival
Skyscrapers don't have to be confined to the Earth's surface; they can also be built below ground, giving rise to what are known as 'Earthscrapers.' This type of structure is the complete opposite of traditional skyscrapers, extending into the depths of the Earth. Their vast scale allows them to house entire communities.
Due to Mexico City’s regulation capping the height of new buildings in its historic center at eight stories, the architectural firm BNKR Arquitectura developed plans for an Earthscraper directly beneath the city’s central square. This subterranean structure would reach 65 stories deep, with a design resembling an inverted pyramid. The center of the building would be hollow, providing natural ventilation for the floors and underground parks. The top layer would be covered by a glass panel, allowing the square’s surface to remain visible, facilitating interaction between the Earthscraper and the city above.
In another project, experts from Washington University in St. Louis have proposed constructing an Earthscraper within Arizona's abandoned Lavender Pit Mine. This underground skyscraper would extend down 274 meters (900 feet) and would include spaces for living, working, and more. The upper portion of the structure would be sealed with a dome, incorporating skylights that would blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment.
7. Supertall Buildings Influence Weather Patterns
It's well-established that urbanization disrupts the natural environment, replacing the flora and fauna once native to an area with human-made structures. As humans, we typically adapt our surroundings to suit our needs rather than adjusting ourselves to the environment. However, the effects of large cities go beyond just local wildlife, as towering buildings also leave a significant impact on the climate of the region.
Skyscrapers alter wind currents in the vicinity, with the effects varying based on whether the wind flows at the base of the building, around it, or above it. When skyscrapers are clustered together, they create 'wind tunnels,' funneling gusts at high speeds near the ground. At the same time, these buildings act as barriers, causing wind laden with chemical pollutants to rise into the atmosphere. These pollutants can either disperse to distant areas or settle in the vicinity, posing health risks to the city's inhabitants.
The most intriguing phenomenon is known as the 'thermal effect.' Materials like concrete or brick, commonly used in construction, are efficient at absorbing solar energy. During the day, the skyscraper absorbs the sun's heat. At night, this heat is released into the surrounding air, raising the temperature of the city. As the sun rises again, the cycle repeats, keeping the urban temperature consistently higher than the surrounding regions.
6. The Rise of Oceanscrapers
Skyscrapers and earthscrapers are typically built on solid ground, but the earth is not the only place to construct buildings. In fact, there's a concept of skyscrapers floating on water, known as oceanscrapers. Although no oceanscrapers have been built yet, rising sea levels in the near future could make them highly valuable. Over the years, several architectural designs for oceanscrapers have been proposed, with one recent project standing out above the rest: the Aequorea.
The Aequorea oceanscraper, designed by architect Vincent Callebaut, aims to address the growing issue of oceanic waste. In the story behind this design, set in 2065, humans collect plastic and other debris from the ocean and combine it with algae emulsion, creating a malleable material made into filaments. This new material is then used to construct oceanscrapers like the Aequorea using massive 3-D printers. Indeed, future oceanscrapers will be made from recycled ocean waste.
This futuristic structure would span 500 meters (1,640 feet) in diameter and extend 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) deep, capable of supporting 20,000 people. Most of the building would be submerged, similar to an iceberg, with enormous tentacles anchoring it securely even in high winds. Hydroponic gardens would cover the structure, and it would rely on local resources from its surroundings for food and energy, making the Aequorea fully self-sufficient.
5. Skyscrapers Can Also Trigger Earthquakes
It is a well-established fact that tremors aren't solely the result of geological activities, like tectonic shifts. They can also be triggered by human activities on a large scale, such as mining or nuclear explosions. However, what is less common is an earthquake caused by a skyscraper, and even rarer are two earthquakes caused by two skyscrapers.
Taipei 101, a 508-meter-tall (1,667 ft) skyscraper in Taiwan, was built in an area that had been geologically stable with no noticeable earthquakes before its construction. However, during the building process, the frequency of micro-earthquakes tripled. In 2004, an earthquake measuring 3.8 magnitude occurred directly beneath Taipei 101, followed by another one at magnitude 3.2 just months later.
To make Taipei 101 resistant to earthquakes, the architects incorporated heavier materials into its design. As a result, the building's 700,000-ton mass exerts substantial pressure on the Earth's crust below it. Once completed, this pressure spread throughout the region, setting off the earthquakes. These events have led experts to consider the seismic impact when designing taller skyscrapers in the future.
4. A Vertical City In The Sky
Building on the previous points, we already understand that skyscrapers are not confined to the Earth's surface. Interestingly, another form of ‘unconventional’ skyscraper could potentially exist directly in the sky, high above the clouds. While this idea may seem far-fetched, the possibility of constructing a floating skyscraper in the future is quite plausible. The Clouds Architecture Office, which has worked on space-related projects, has proposed the idea of creating a floating structure suspended from an asteroid orbiting in space.
Moving asteroids to orbit the Earth isn't an impossible task. NASA, for example, once had plans in the 2020s to redirect an asteroid (or at least part of one). From that concept, the floating skyscraper would be tethered to the asteroid, which would be positioned 50,000 kilometers (31,068 mi) above Earth, using high-strength cables. Known as Analemma Tower, this structure would consist of modular sections that could be added over time. Solar panels at the top would power the building, and water would be harvested directly from the clouds. If realized, the lower levels would feature entertainment spaces, the middle levels would be for offices and residential zones, and the highest levels might even include a temple and funerary area.
Reaching a height of 32 kilometers (20 mi), the upper floors of the floating skyscraper would have smaller windows to accommodate the pressure difference with the outside atmosphere. The completed tower would be so vast that the top floors would receive 40 extra minutes of sunlight compared to the lowest levels, thanks to the curvature of the Earth. While the building would likely drift over multiple countries, the first version might be constructed in Dubai, as the cost of building there would be lower compared to other locations.
3. Living In These Buildings Makes You Age Faster
Skyscrapers have an impact on the environment and weather, but do they affect us personally? It turns out that living at the top of a skyscraper could actually cause you to age faster. This occurs due to a fascinating physical phenomenon called gravitational time dilation. Essentially, when we move farther from a massive object like the Earth, time speeds up for us. But just how much faster would we age living up there?
In the latter part of the 20th century, a project known as Temps Atomique International was initiated. Atomic clocks were strategically placed around the globe, at varying altitudes, to precisely measure global time. In the 1970s, it was discovered that at a height of 30 meters (100 ft), time moves one picosecond (one trillionth of a second) faster than at sea level. To put this into perspective, if a person's life expectancy is 70 years, living at 30 meters (100 ft) would make them age two milliseconds faster over their lifetime.
In 1976, the SAO Institute in Cambridge launched a rocket with a clock on board, reaching a height of 9,656 kilometers (6,000 mi). Upon the clock's return and analysis, it was found that time at that altitude passes one second faster every 70 years. This phenomenon would naturally apply to a person living at that height as well.
So, what does this all mean in simple terms? Essentially, a person who spends their entire life in a skyscraper would age a few seconds faster than someone living at ground level. Of course, this difference wouldn't be noticeable. However, as skyscrapers continue to grow taller in the future, the age gap could become more significant. So, it’s worth considering: now you know that living high up in a building can have an impact on your health.
2. The Skyscrapers Built In A Few Days
The Burj Khalifa took five years to construct. The Empire State Building took only 20 months to complete. For such massive vertical structures, these buildings were built remarkably fast. But there’s more to the story. In China, a 57-story skyscraper was constructed in less than three weeks.
The Chinese company Broad Sustainable Building constructed a skyscraper named Mini Sky City in a mere 19 days. This 200-meter (656 ft) building utilized an innovative approach known as modular construction. Since 90 percent of the building was preassembled in a factory before the actual construction process began, workers were able to put up three floors per day.
However, this isn't the first time the company has set a construction record. In 2011, they completed a 30-story building in just 15 days, applying the same technique. If you're concerned about the quality of these rapidly-built structures, rest assured that the design is robust enough to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 9.0.
The founder of the Chinese company also has plans for a colossal skyscraper called Sky City, which would rise 220 stories tall, surpassing the Burj Khalifa. He claims the construction would take just seven months. The modular construction technique is gradually gaining global acceptance, so in the near future, we may witness LEGO-style buildings popping up everywhere.
1. Some Tall Buildings Can Burn You Alive
Can a skyscraper be turned into a dangerous weapon? Sadly, yes, the design of a building can unintentionally make it a powerful microwave oven capable of causing severe harm to people.
The 'Walkie-Talkie' skyscraper in Central London has a unique curved, concave surface on one of its sides. This allows sunlight to reflect off the building's windows, concentrating the light into a narrow beam. It’s similar to how sunlight is focused through a magnifying glass to burn ants. The result is equally hazardous, as objects in the building's light path can be heated to temperatures as high as 117 degrees Celsius (243 °F).
In fact, in 2013, a car parked near the Walkie-Talkie had some parts completely melted due to the intense heat. A journalist even managed to cook an egg using the building’s 'heat ray.' Anyone standing in the beam for even a short time could suffer from scorched hair. The building soon earned the nickname 'Walkie Scorchie' or 'Fryscraper.' Thankfully, in 2014, the structure was modified to dissipate the reflected sunlight, allowing pedestrians to walk by without concern.
This isn't the only instance of such a problem. The Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, designed by the same architects as the Walkie-Talkie, suffers from the same flaw: windows that concentrate sunlight. In this case, the ‘death ray’ was aimed directly at the hotel’s pool area, causing many tourists to suffer severe skin burns while swimming. Eventually, the hotel resolved the issue by placing large umbrellas over the pools.
