HISTORY

OF
TALL BUILDINGS

BY
SHAH PREYASH R.
GROUP 11
 ABOUT THE DEFINITION
Tall buildings cannot be defined in specific
terms related just to height or to the number of
floors.

The definition cannot be universally applied.

Depends on person’s or community's

circumstance and their perception.

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 SOME DEFINITIONS
Council of Tall Buildings– A building whose
height creates different conditions in the design,
construction and use than those that exist in
common buildings of a certain region and period.

Structural Definition – The building because of its

height, is affected by lateral forces due to wind or
earthquake actions to an extent that they play an
important role in the structural design.

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 OLD BUILDINGS
In old age buildings were made of heavy stone, towers had
thick sturdy walls, but the rooms were dark and cramped.
Big buildings have been used to show-
Power
Wealth
Honor
Some religious beliefs
Competition among owners, families, architects, and
builders.

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SOME OLD MONUMENTS

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 The pyramid of Giza

Location : - At the city of Giza, Cario,

Egypt
Build by :- Khufu a ruler of Egypt
year :- 2560 BC
Material :- Stone
Ht :- 481 ft
The gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral
Location :- Paris, France
Build by :- Maurice de Sully (started)
Jean de Chelles &
Pierre de Montreuil (complete)

year :- 1345
Material :- stone
Ht :- 238 ft
 Kutab Minar

Location :- Delhi , India

Build by :-Qutab-ud-din Aibak (start)
Firoz Shah Tughlak (complete)
Year :- 1368
Material :- Stone
Ht :- 238 ft
 MATERIAL USED IN OLD
BUILDING

They were built with masonry or

stone walls supporting most of
the weight (so-called load-
bearing walls), including that of
the floors, the people, and
everything the rooms contained.

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 WHY MASONARY
CONSTRUCTION IS NOT USED
IN MULTI-STORED BLDG.?
MASONARY CONSTRUCTION

Resisting surface area

LOAD INCREASE at the base could not THE WALL ACTION
AS BUILDING VOL. AND become reasonably large. WAS NOT SEEN AS
HEIGHT INCREASES 3-D BUILDING FORM

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EVOLUTION OF TALL BUILDINGS

EVOLUTION

DEVASTATING FIRE USE OF STEEL

SAFE ELEVATOR COLUMNS AND BEAMS
OF CHICAGO

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 ELEVATORS
Primitive elevators of various
designs had been used for
centuries, and starting in the mid
19th century, steam-operated
elevators were used to move
materials in factories, mines, and
warehouses.
These elevators were not
considered safe for people; if the
cable broke, they would fall to the
bottom of the elevator shaft.

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 CONT…
In 1853, an American inventor named
Elisha Graves Otis developed a safety
device that kept elevators from falling if a
cable should break.
This new development had an enormous
impact on public confidence ,which made
the elevator a practical solution to the
problem of getting up and down tall
buildings.

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 CHICAGO FIRE
In 1871, Chicago suffered a devastating fire.
In the years that followed, however, instead of
recovering slowly, the city experienced explosive
growth, and it quickly began to strain against its
natural boundaries.
By the 1880s, the available land for new
buildings in this area could not keep up with
demand; the only alternative was to build up.

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 STEEL FRAMES
A new method of building was developed that
used a grid of steel beams and columns that
were strong enough to support any stresses or
forces a building might experience, including
both the weight of the floor and the building
contents, as well as the force of wind or even, in
some areas, earthquakes.
With this new building method, the skyscraper
was born and the race for the tallest building
began.
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EVOLUTION OF MATERIAL

MATERIALS

STONE

BRICK

STEEL

CONCRETE

GLASS

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EFFECTIVENESS OF STEEL
High strength per unit wt.

Ductility

Durable – longer life

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EFFECTIVENESS OF CONCRETE
Its composition can be changed
depending on the needs of the building.
It can be reinforced to make it stiffer and
stronger by setting steel mesh or bars into
the concrete.
Additives can make it set or harden faster
or slower depending on the needs of the
design.

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 GLASS
Lighter in weight

Weather proof

Keep the weather out and let light in, the more
light the better.

Cheaper-than masonry, timber and concrete.

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SOLN. TO SWAY PROBLEM
The problem which produce considerable
effect on tall building was the effect of sway.
Engineers came up with new solutions for
this problem, first installing diagonally
braced steel trusses between central
elevator shafts to create a stronger core.
Moving most of the beams and columns to
the outside edge of the walls in order to
make a stiff tube.
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 SKYSCRAPER

The term "skyscraper" was coined in the 1880s, shortly

after the first tall buildings of 10 stories were
constructed in the United States
There is no uniform official definition or a precise cutoff
height above which a building may clearly be classified
as a skyscraper, a minimum height of 100 meters or
approximately 330 feet (the equivalent of 25 to 30
stories) may constitute a safe criterion for such a
qualification

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HOME INSURANCE BUILDING
(THE FIRST TALL BUILDING)
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Completion Date: 1885

(demolished in 1931)

Height: 138 feet

Stories: 10

Materials: Steel

Facing Materials: Brick

Engineer(s): William LeBaron

Jenney

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 TALLEST BUILDING OF
WORLD
Name Height Stories Year Location
Taipei 101 1,676 1012003 Taipei, Taiwan
Petronas Tower I 1,486 881998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Petronas Tower II 1,483 881998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sears Tower 1,450 1101974 Chicago, United States
Jin Mao Building 1,381 881998 Shanghai, China
CITIC Plaza 1,283 801996 Guangzhou, China
Shun Hing Square 1,260 811996 Shenzhen, China
Empire State Building 1,250 1021931 New York, United States
Central Plaza 1,227 781992 Hong Kong, China
Bank of China 1,209 701989 Hong Kong, China
Emirates Towers One 1,161 551999 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Centre 1,148 791998 Hong Kong, China
T & C Tower 1,140 851998 Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Amoco Building 1,136 801973 Chicago, United States
John Hancock Center 1,127 1001969 Chicago, United States
Burj al Arab Hotel 1,053 601999 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Baiyoke Tower II 1,050 901998 Baiyoke Tower II
Chrysler Building 1,046 771930 New York, United States
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NationsBank Tower 1,023 551993 Atlanta, United States
 SEARS TOWER
LOCATION-Chicago, United States

YEAR - 1974

STORIES -110

HT (ft.) -1450

HT (m) -442
 PETRONAS TOWER
LOCATION - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

YEAR -1998

STORIES -88

HT (ft.) –1486

HT (m) -452
 TAIPEI TOWER
LOCATION - Taipei, Taiwan

YEAR – 2003

STORIES – 101

HT (ft.) – 1676

HT (m) - 509
 REFERENCES
Tall Building Structure – Coull and Smith
Steel ,concrete and composite design of
Tall Buildings – Taranath
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/index.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/skyscraper?cat=
http://www.answers.com/topic/skyscraper?cat
http://
www.infoplease.com/spot/skyscraperhistory.ht
www.infoplease.com/spot/skyscraperhistory.h
THANK YOU