Skyscrapers: A New Wave and a New Record Breaker

From 1890 right through to 1998 the U.S. remained home to the tallest buildings in the world, only relinquishing the title in 1998' to the 'Petronas Towers' in 'Kuala Lumpar' 'Malaysia'. Although the 'Sears Tower' still looks taller if you compare the two. Anyway, in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest and many proposed plans for future skyscrapers reaching far beyond the lofty heights of those that currently exist. Some of these look like something out of a 'Bladerunner' sci-fi fantasy. An elegant silvery shard of glass reaching into the heavens this is what I'd always imagined a skyscraper to be. Currently the tallest (completed) building is the 'Taipei 101' situated in Taipei, Taiwan, which rises to 1,667 feet. Since 2001 America has obviously been averse to accepting proposals for such buildings but some consideration should be given to the fact that technology, computer aided architectural design and new composite materials have pushed these buildings in a totally new direction. Structural steel may be a thing of the past judging by what's happening in 'Saudi Arabia' right now. However take heart as Chicago is currently building the 'Chicago Spire' a 2,000 foot plus residential building that will be the tallest building in America once finished in 2010, surpassing the will it/won't it be built 'Freedom Tower' in Manhattan.

As of August 2007 the tallest building, albeit only 65% of it's estimated finished height is the 'Burg Dubai' (Dubai Tower) in 'Dubai'/'Saudi Arabia'. This building is optimistically slated for completion by 2009 which is mucho speedo if you've ever followed the sloth like evolution of some of Manhattan's current buildings. However it should be mentioned that space and vehicle access is plentiful in Dubai as opposed to the breath-squeezing crush of Manhattan. Surely there will be much pride amidst the oohing and ahhing from the adoring 'Dubanians' (or whatever you call the native populace of Dubai) once this building is topped off and although it's not as romantic as the days when the 'Empire State Building' vied with 'The Chrysler Building' finally taking the Chrysler's height title with some sneaky last minute additions, it is exciting and you can only commend 'Saudi Arabia' for having the unmitigated balls to proceed with the project.

Now although the final height for this building has not yet been announced it is believed to be approx 810 metres tall, which is around 2,673 feet tall. Yikes. This is taking the skyscraper into a whole new territory. We're talking ½ mile high here. That is considerably taller than any of the other skyscrapers existing in the world and over twice the height of the Empire State Building and let me tell you, my office has a big old window view of the Empire State Building and it's just awe-inspiring that something man-made could soon be soaring twice as high. I urge you if you live or visit Manhattan to look up in the sky at 34th street and try and get your mind around something this tall. It's been almost 40 years since the World Trade Center Towers were erected and new technology and building techniques have obviously come a long way. The 'Burg Dubai' tower project wasn't begun until 2004 so they obviously were very aware of things like terrorism and effects high octane fuel might have along with the ever-present rigors that weather at altitude presents. Instead of a Steel frame high density heat-resistant concrete is the main ingredient for this particular building. Amazing 40mph elevators will whisk passengers up some 160 floors up what will obviously be the tallest elevator in the world.

In a way the tallest building title has come full cycle. The Great Pyramid was the tallest building for a couple of thousand years so in a way the title is coming full circle back to the Middle East. There have been rumors of other Super Skyscrapers namely the 'Al Burj' - also in 'Dubai', but none have been approved or are currently under construction. Competition looms large though both from 'Dubai' itself as well as Hong Kong, China and even Russia all of which have some incredible buildings in the works. There's an optimism and sense of power inherent in these incredible structures. So, like it or not here comes the new wave. Look to the skies.