Today is World Skyscraper Day

NEWS
Life&More
September 3, 2020
0
4 minutes read

Had not the project got stalled due to labour issues, the Jeddah-located Kingdom or Jeddah Tower would have overtaken the Burj Khalifa to become the world’s tallest skyscraper this year. At 3,307 ft or more than a kilometre, it would be around 600 ft taller than the Dubai-situated skyscraper. But it was not to be and Burj Khalifa still holds the numero uno position of being the tallest building in the world.

Skyscraper Day is celebrated on September 3 every year. It is observed to acknowledge the architectural and engineering tricks that make such buildings possible today. Skyscraper Day is celebrated on the birthday of the architect credited with the first skyscrapers, Louis H Sullivan (1856). The Home Insurance Building in Chicago is generally considered the world’s first skyscraper. Completed in 1885, it was the first to use a curtain wall construction on a steel frame.

A skyscraper is defined as a continuously habitable high-rise building with over 40 floors and taller than 150 m (492 ft). In the 1880s, the term first referred to buildings with 10 to 20 floors. With the advent of the 20^th century and introduction of advancing construction technology, the definition changed to buildings with more than 40 floors.

A 57-storey skyscraper in China was built in 19 days with the company which building the skyscraper used 2,736 modular units and assembled them at three floors per day.

As of January 2020, nine cities in the world have more than 100 skyscrapers — 150 m (492 ft) or taller.