How Big Does Your Building Grow?
Artwork: designslinger]
Construction on the Chicago Spire has come up to ground level. The concrete core that
will rise up through the center of the building is emerging from it's subterranean base. When the building is finished and standing at it's full 2000 feet, it will be the tallest structure in the Americas. With over 1200 apartments it will also be the tallest apartment building in the world. When you look at the photo of the building site, it is amazing that a structure this tall can fit on such a small lot. Advancements in construction and design technology have allowed architect Santiago Calatrava and his team, to create a slender tower without a huge base at the bottom. The twisting glass spire has already been nicknamed, Chicago's Corkscrew or Screwdriver, and a few associations with a member of the male anatomy.
Way back in 1953, another famous architect proposed building an incredibly tall building
on Chicago's lakefront. Frank Lloyd Wright was 89 years old and at the height of his very long career, when he revealed his design for a tower that would climb one mile into the sky. The man had been called crazy many times throughout his 70 years as an architect, but the Illinois Mile High Tower was considered one of his wackiest ideas. Building so high would require the bottom of the building to be gigantic in order to carry all that weight. Wright figured that a foundation pointing downward deep into the ground like a giant upside-down tripod, would support a slender tower. The floors of the building would be cantilevered out and supported by a central core, much like a tree trunk supports it's branches. Therefore, the base of the building, in relation to it's height, could be much smaller. The concept was so sound that a few of Wright's design principles are incorporated into Calatrava's tower. Another major problem in building a skyscraper that pushes the limits, is getting people from the ground up to the top. Elevator shafts use a lot of square footage and in a building this size you'd need several banks of them to handle all the people going through the place. You also want to move those passengers quickly from floor to floor. Wright's solution was an entirely new system; atomic powered elevators that would swiftly carry 100 people to whichever floor they desired. Calatrava did not have to go to an atomic extreme, because of today's advanced elevator technology.
Artwork: designslinger]
In the mad dash to build the tallest building on the planet, the venerable architectural
firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and their lead architect Adrian Smith, have crossed the finish line. The Burj Dubai has already made the list of "highest structure ever built," and still has several floors to go before topping out at 2,600 feet. Is it just me, or does the building look remarkably similar to Wright's visionary design? Calatrava on the other hand, chose a spiral motif for his project rather than the set-backs used by either Wright or Smith, but it still has that "I think I've seen that somewhere before" feeling. And, be sure to keep your eyes and ears open, because the Saudi Arabian government has plans to build a mile high building in Jeddah. Maybe someone is already rolling out Frank's old drawings.
Comments