Skyscraper facts for kids

The Empire State Building, New York City, a famous skyscraper.

The Willis Tower, Chicago, another famous skyscraper.

A skyscraper is a very tall high-rise building, usually more than 152 metres (500 feet) in height. Most skyscrapers are built in urban areas such as cities, and they are very common in the central business district (also called downtown) areas of many large cities including New York City, Chicago, London, Paris, Sydney, Beijing, Berlin, Toronto, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

History

Originally, the word skyscraper meant a tall sail on a sailing ship. Over time, the word's meaning has changed, and today it means a tall building. Until the nineteenth century, buildings taller than six stories tall were not common. Tall buildings made of weak materials would fall down. In addition, people did not like walking up many steps and running water could only be brought up to fifty feet (15m) high.

Better technology helped make skyscrapers more common. Stronger building materials such as steel and reinforced concrete were developed, so stronger buildings could be made. Water pumps brought water up to heights above fifty feet.

The first building to be considered a skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, was built in Chicago, Illinois in the United States, and was designed by William LeBaron Jenney. The building, ten stories high, was built from 1884 to 1885. It was destroyed in 1931 because they wanted to build another building in its previous place.

In the same year the Home Insurance Building was destroyed, one of the oldest and most famous skyscrapers, the Empire State Building, opened in New York City. Later in the 20th century, people started building skyscrapers in cities that did not have many tall buildings in the past. In 1973, the then-called Sears Tower in Chicago was finished and became the world's tallest building until the late 1990s. It took the record from the World Trade Center in New York City, which opened in 1970 but was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Many taller buildings have been built since then, including Taipei 101 in Taipei. This building was the world's tallest from 2004 until 2008, when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai opened. Burj Khalifa is at this time the tallest building and man-made structure ever made, but the Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, which is still being built, will be even taller.

Related pages

• List of tallest structures in the world
• List of tallest buildings in Australia
• List of tallest buildings in Thailand
• List of tallest buildings in the United States

Images for kids

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  tallest building]] in the world, with a height of 829.8 metres (2,722 ft). The setbacks at various heights are a typical skyscraper feature.

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  By some measures, what came to be known as a "skyscraper" first appeared in Chicago with the 1885 completion of the world's first largely steel-frame structure, the Home Insurance Building. It was demolished in 1931.

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  Built in 1864, Oriel Chambers in Liverpool is the world's first metal framed glass curtain walled building. The stone mullions are decorative.

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  The Wainwright Building, a 10-storey red brick office building in St. Louis, Missouri, built in 1891

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  Fazlur Rahman Khan is known for making some very important advancements in skyscraper engineering. Sculpture honoring Khan at the Willis Tower.

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  Contemporary skyscrapers in Shanghai

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  Changes of structure with height; the tubular systems are fundamental for supertall buildings.

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  The Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong uses a trussed tube design

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  The Sky Garden in London's 20 Fenchurch Street

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  Hong Kong's high land prices and geographic limitations justify the construction of skyscrapers

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  30 St Mary Axe in London is an example of a modern environmentally friendly skyscraper.

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  Taipei 101, the tallest and largest LEED Platinum certified building in the world since 2011.

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  The original 1 World Trade Center was the world's tallest building from 1971 to 1973

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  The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the tallest from 1998 to 2004.

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  Taipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper from 2004 to 2010, was the first to exceed the 500-m mark.

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  100px]] Habib Bank Plaza was Asia's tallest building from 1963-1968

See also

In Spanish: Rascacielos para niños