Since then, the population has increased and agricultural land decreased, “horizontal” construction is no longer possible, so people went to “vertical” construction, as it allowed us to accommodate more people in one space.
Over time, the “vertical” construction has become commonplace. People began to build tall skyscrapers to live and work. This was facilitated by the appearance of the high monuments and memorials that have been associated with the great rulers, religions and empires, from the legendary tower of Babel to the great pyramids of Giza.
First modern skyscrapers appeared in the 80-ies of the XIX century in Chicago and new York. It is considered that the American architect William Le Baron Jenny built the first high-rise building of the industrial age, with a height of 12 floors.
The American industrial revolution (1880-1890 years) contributed to the emergence of outstanding inventions. Architects began to design high-rise buildings, and steel mills began to produce more flexible than before iron, which allowed electric elevators rise to a height more than ten floors.
The first high-rise buildings in Paris, London, Manhattan and Hong Kong appeared in business districts and has made a real revolution in office life, because their construction has focused offices and departments in the same building. In addition, the lives of office workers has greatly facilitated the emergence of trams, metros and Railways, which daily brought from their place of residence to the place of work and back. Pay attention to the fact that it was decades before every employee received the opportunity to purchase their own car.
The largest cities competed for the right to possess the tallest buildings in the world. In this regard, significantly increased the need for ventilation system and artificial lighting, which is paramount for a comfortable stay and work of people in high-rise buildings.
Traditional elements, including Windows, gave way to the elements that are characteristic of skyscrapers. But since then, as people began to solve the problem of population and shortage of land, competition and the desire to demonstrate progress and excellence became the driving force for the construction of skyscrapers.
The construction of tall buildings culminated in 1931, when it was built skyscrapers the Chrysler building and the Empire state building. Buildings in the art Deco style gave way to the skyscrapers of glass and steel that we see today in all the capitals of the world.
Extremely unsafe
In that time, some engineers are struggling to build the highest skyscrapers in the world, others came to the conclusion that tall buildings do far more harm than we think. First and foremost, the construction of tall buildings requires an enormous effort, because of the need to neutralize vibrations. This requires more iron and concrete, as well as strong and deep foundations that can withstand the weight of a skyscraper.
High-rise buildings consume a lot of energy for air-conditioning system, artificial lighting and elevators. In addition, hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere from them is much higher than mid-rise buildings. This means that, on the one hand, high-rise buildings to solve the problem of population and offices, and on the other hand, they destroy the soil for deep foundations, but also contribute to the emissions of hydrocarbons and other gases in the atmosphere, which accelerates global climate change, which, according to the country with the world’s highest skyscrapers, they struggle.
In addition to the environmental damage currently, that is the period of the spread of coronavirus infection, skyscrapers have become an unsafe environment. Moreover, they were unfit for work. The main reason for this is the fact that high-rise buildings depend on air-conditioning system, and she, in turn, facilitates the transfer of the virus by airborne droplets. Unfortunately, the builders of skyscrapers not think that nature has its own plan of revenge.
For their part, environmentalists insist that the construction of skyscrapers should be banned worldwide. According to them, the glass causes some problems because it does not restricts the entry of sunlight into the building. In addition, in skyscrapers there is no natural ventilation, only air-conditioning system!
To top it off, they claim that the world is in a vicious circle of building skyscrapers. You need to break out of it because high-rise buildings consume huge amounts of energy and make a significant contribution to the climate crisis. In other words, they contribute to the increase in temperature on the planet.
