1.BURJ DUBAI
Also known as: Tower of DubaiBuilt: 2004-2009Cost: $4,100,000,000
Designed by: Skidmore, Owings, & MerrillType: SkyscraperStories: 164
Maximum Height: 2,683 feet / 818 metersLocation: No. 1, Burj Dubai Boulevard, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesWhen completed, this building is intended to be the tallest in the world. Originally, it was in the running with the Freedom Tower in New York, however, the Burj Dubai has the advantage of actually having begun construction while the New York project has been bogged down in political and sentimental interests.
Just how tall the tower will be remains to be seen. With any skyscraper, there is a certain amount of "fudge room" where the actual height of the construction may not be exactly what was anticipated. With a project as massive as this, more flexibility is called for in the design, planning, and execution. At this time, the tower is expected to be 2,683 feet tall (818 meters). However, those numbers have changed in the past and are likely to change again. There are estimates that it could go as high as 3,116 feet (950 meters) when all is said and done. It is also unclear how many stories will be in this tower. Early estimates were around 200, but those have been lowered to 189 as construction progresses.
Dubai is no stranger to monumental skyscrapers, but this one sets a new standard. Aesthetically, the Burj Dubai is a brilliant shard of glass piercing the Arabian sky. It is formed by three main shafts arranged in a Y shape. Their setbacks taper in a spiral pattern until the Burj Dubai is merely a spire in the sky. In any city, this would be a monumental structure. On the flat plain of Dubai, it is a shock to behold, likely to be visible for miles and miles. One can only imagine the views possible from those living and working inside. Floors one through 37 are expected to be a hotel. The 45th through 108th floors are expected to be residential, with the remaining 52 floors being offices, except for floors 123 and 124, which will hold the observation deck.
But this tower does not stand on its own. It is part of a planned 500-acre complex of offices, hotels, shops, lagoons, and public space that will be a technological, economic, and social oasis all on its own.
* Architect: Adrian Smith
* Developer: Emaar Properties
* The foundation is made up of 192 concrete and steel pilings more than 164 feet (50 meters) deep. They are joined by a 12-foot-thick raft upon which the skyscraper rests.
* 45,000 cubic meters of concrete was used in the foundation.
* The hotel in the Burj Dubai is going to be an Armani-branded hotel. In keeping with Islamic custom it will have separate hours for women and men at the pool.
* The footprint of this building is in the shape of a hymenocallis, a desert flower native to the area.
* This building has about 30 setbacks.
* Underground parking spaces: 16,000
* January, 2004: Construction begins.
* 20 September, 2004: The first concrete is poured for the foundation.
* 26 June, 2005: Gulf News reports that the estimated total cost for the Burj Dubai complex rises to US$5,500,000,000.
* 16 July, 2005: Construction Week magazine reports that the designers of the Burj Dubai are reconsidering their decision to use stainless steel on the exterior of the tower because prices have jumped from US$400 a ton to $2,200 in just two years.
* March 23, 2006: The Associated Press reports that 2,500 construction workers rioted because of low pay and poor treatment doing an estimated US$1,000,000 damage. Thousands of construction workers at other Dubai projects also went on a sympathy strike.
* April 16, 2006: AME Info reports that the Burj Dubai is going to be at least 200 stories tall, a number that turns out to be false.
* September 1, 2006: Construction reaches 70 stories.
* October 1, 2006: Construction reaches 75 stories.
* October 31, 2006: Construction reaches 80 stores and 850 feet / 259 meters. That height makes it taller than the tallest building in Europe.
* October 1, 2006: Construction reaches 75 stories.
* October 31, 2006: Construction reaches 80 stores and 850 feet / 259 meters. That height makes it taller than the tallest building in Europe.
* November 11, 2006: ITPBusiness reports that construction is being delayed by a shortage of exterior cladding material.
* April 6, 2007: The tower reaches a record-breaking 120 stories.
* July 21, 2007: This building passes Taipei 101 as the tallest building on Earth.
* August 29, 2007: Passes the CN Tower in Toronto to become the world's tallest free-standing structure.
* May, 2008: This building passes the KVLY Television tower in North Dakota to become the tallest man-made object on Earth.
* May 20, 2008: A worker is crushed to death by an exterior panel.
* May 24, 2008: A British man parachuted off of the Burj Dubai just days after it rose to a height making it the tallest man-made structure ever built. He managed to sneak past security guards and walk up more than 150 stories of stairs with all of his gear without being noticed.
* June 17, 2008: Arabian Business reports that the height of this building has been increased by planners, but remains secret.
* October, 2008: This building reached 2,257 feet.
* December 30, 2008: Original scheduled completion date.
* September, 2009: Anticipated completion date.
2.FREEDOM TOWER
Built: 2006-2013Cost: $2,000,000,000Designed by: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Type: Skyscraper
Stories: 82
Maximum Height: 1,776 feet / 541 meters
Maximum width: 200
Maximum length: 200
Location: World Trade Center, New York, United StatesWhen completed, this will be one of the most important buildings of the early 21st century. It is significant in stature, in design, in its politics, its symbolism, and for the reason it was built.
The Freedom Tower is the replacement for what was once New York's World Trade Center. In September, 2001 terrorists destroyed several of the Center's buildings, including the massive 110 -story twin towers. The stated reason for this action was to protest the United States' support of the nation of Israel and its people. The terrorist attack only served to solidify the bond between the U.S. and Israel, and caused wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the toppling of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Thousands died when the twin tower fell, and millions were emotionally and psychologically scarred.
The Freedom Tower is more than a real estate project. It is rehabilitation for those hurt by the terrorists and a way to heal the scar on a nation. Part of the healing process is new growth, which this tower represents. But it has been a painful process. The early designs were ridiculed. When the first cohesive plan came out of the pack it, too, found slews of detractors. New Yorkers are notoriously cranky people and they took aim at the design. Most had forgotten, or were too young to remember, that the original twin towers were also the subject of much vitriol for their design and expense. It was only after those towers were taken away that the city realized it had grown to love its pair of white albatrosses. But detractors stalled the project for more than a year, adopted celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump as their mouthpiece, and embarrassed the city and the nation by allowing the United Arab Emirates to begin work on what would become the world's tallest tower while New Yorkers were busy sticking their thumbs in each other's eyes.
The current design is much less flashy than the previous one. It is something like a large sloping block with the corners carved off, so it appears that the entire building twists as it gets higher. The building's faces will be huge triangles that taper toward the top and the bottom. At the center of the building, they will form an octagon. The skyscraper is symmetrical. Asymmetry was something in the last design that set a lot of people off. Some people also don't appreciate the spire at the top. They forget that the Twin Towers had a spire, too, and the mast is necessary for communications transmitters.
The new Freedom Tower will pay homage to the twin towers in several ways. The base of the Freedom Tower will be 200 feet square -- the same dimensions as the original towers. The observation deck will be at 1,362 feet: the heigh of World Trade Center Tower Two. The glass parapet will be at 1,368 feet: the height of World Trade Center Tower One.
That square base is a safety measure, not just an engineering method. Though it will be clad in glass prisms, the 186-foot-tall base will be a windowless concrete wall, intended to absorb and deflect the blast from car or truck bombs. The glass prisms will be coated with plastic like automobile safety glass to help absorb the impact. It is hoped that the prisms will refract light into color and make the monolithic security measure an eye-pleasing curiosity. The Twin Towers were targeted by Islamic terrorist truck bombs twice, once successfully in 1993, before they were destroyed by terrorists in jets in 2001. The corners of the base will taper inward, with small reflecting pools at ground level.
The Freedom tower is just one of several buildings that will be erected to compose the new World Trade Center. The design is officially known as "Memory Foundations" because it leaves room for several memorials in the 16-acre complex. One of those memorials is the slurry wall, more commonly known as "the bathtub." This structure was the basement of the World Trade Center and served to hold back the Hudson River to keep it from flooding the complex. It was here that the remains of thousands of dead were found, and hundreds more who were never found. People will be able to walk down a ramp from ground level all the way down to bedrock along the edge of this wall -- the last original remaining piece of the twin towers.
* Sculptor Kenneth Snelson is working on the spire at the top of the building.
* The glass prisms at the base will each be 13-feet tall.
* The base of the tower will be 186-feet tall.
* The base of the tower will be 200-feet by 200-feet.
* The top of the tower will be 145-feet by 145-feet.
* The shaft of the tower will be 1,182 feet tall.
* The main structure will be topped by a 408-foot-tall mast containing antennae. The base of the mast will be surrounded by a 145-foot wide ring containing more equipment.
* The trees surrounding the Freedom Tower will be sweetgum trees.
* The corner cutaways are each 186 feet tall. The Twin Towers also had chamfered corners.
* The building tapers inward at an angle of 3.8 degrees. The chamfers taper outward at the same angle, resulting in a 16-foot overhang.
* Floor space: 2,600,000 square feet.
* Height to roof: 1,368 feet -- the same as to the roof of the old 1 World Trade Center
* Height to tip of spire: 1,776 feet - the same as the year of the nation's declaration of independence.
* 29 May, 2003 - The New York Times reports that the Metropolitan Television Alliance has signed a deal to put as many as 22 antennae on top of Freedom Tower. The World Trade Center was home to many of New York's television and radio transmitters until the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Freedom Tower will be the new home to TV channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 28, 30, 31, 36, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 47, 53, 56, 61, and 68.
* 17 July, 2003 - Architect David Childs is chosen to design the Freedom Tower.
* 4 July, 2004 - Groundbreaking. A 20-ton granite slab is used as the cornerstone of the project. It is inscribed with the words "To honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom. - July Fourth, 2004."
* 9 November, 2004 - An architecture student sues the designers of the Freedom Tower. He claims the building was copied from his design for a skyscraper intended to be part of New York's 2012 Olympic bid.
* 16 December, 2004 - The World Trade Center victims memorial is revised. The new plan includes a Memorial Hall between the reflecting pools that will mark the footprints of the former World Trade Center. It will also include a grove of oak trees with a clearing for memorial services, and public access to the stumps of the columns that once held the Twin Towers aloft. The memorial is expected to cost US$500,000.00 and be completed by 2009.
* 3 May, 2005 - U.S. Senator Charles Schumer warns that the Freedom Tower project is in jeopardy. He notes that the steel has yet to be ordered, and claims that critics are being given too much attention, preventing the start of real construction. At the same time, the New York Timesreports that Kevin M. Rampe has quit as project leader.
* 29 June, 2005 - Amid much criticism from celebrity real estate moguls and the general public, a new design is released for the Freedom Tower.
* April 27, 2006 - 21 months after the cornerstone was laid, it is announced that construction has formally begun on the Freedom Tower. The work was delayed because of disputes between the developer, Larry Silverstein, and the land owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The New York Timesnotes, however, that work actually began quietly a few weeks earlier while the two sides were still hammering out the details. Those details include a total of five buildings to be erected on the site of the World Trade Center, all to be completed by 2011. Mr. Silverstein gives up control of the Freedom tower to the Port Authority in exchange for control of more lucrative property in the complex. He will also pay higher rent.
* June 27, 2006 - The design of the Freedom Tower is revised once again. The 186-foot-tall podium upon which the tower rests will now be covered by a screen of glass prisms, hiding the concrete base that has been often criticized for being too brutalist.
* June 28, 2006 - The New York Timesreports that the Freedom Tower will have a sky lobby on the 64th floor. This is a controversial move because so many people died in the 78th-floor sky lobby waiting for elevators when 2 World Trade Center collapsed. The sky lobby in the Freedom Tower was necessitated by the June, 2005 design revision which decreased the building's footprint and restricted the amount of space available for elevator shafts.
* April 18, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI blesses the ground where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood.
* April 18, 2008 - WINSreports that a homeless man found two sets of confidential blueprints for the Freedom Tower in a trash can. He turned them over to the New York Post.
* May 17, 2008: Structural elements start to climb above street level.
* June 30, 2008: The Wall Street Journal reports that reconstruction of the World Trade Center could take 1-3 years longer and cost $1-$3 billion more than expected.
* July 24, 2008: Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church agrees to sell its property next to the World Trade Center to the Port Authority for $20 million. The sale will give construction crews more space to work in and help speed construction of the Freedom Tower and other parts of the World Trade Center. The church building was destroyed in the terrorist attacks.
* October, 2008: A report from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey indicated a revised completion date of 2013.
3.CHICAGO SPIRE
Formerly:The Fordham Spire
Built: 2007-2012Designed by: Santiago Calatrava
Type: Skyscraper
Stories: 150
Maximum Height: 2,000 feet / 610 meters
Maximum depth: 80 feet
Location: 400 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, United StatesThe city where the skyscraper was born just can't get enough of these supertowers. The Chicago Spire is the latest in a series of super-tall projects proposed and erected since the mid 1990's. Some, like the Trump International Hotel and Tower, come to fruition. Others, like 7 South Dearborn, do not. The opposition from NIMBY residents in Streeterville and scoffs from other parts of the city have mostly been quieted now that construction is well underway and proceeding swiftly.
This is the first Chicago project for Spanish architectural superstar Santiago Calatrava, though he has graced the shores of Lake Michigan before with the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion. Its position at the point where the Chicago River drains Lake Michigan puts it in the center of the city's skyline, and out in front of any of the thousands of photographs taken by tourists cruising the lake each day.
In its original form, this building lived up to its name. It was truly is a spire with a tapering form topped by a needle. The final design eliminated the needle piercing the sky and developed a more blunted, but still graceful, form. In a New York Times article about the building, it was compared to a drill bit, a blade of grass, and a tall twisting tree. Others have compared it to a lighthouse, which could end up being its nickname because of its location. The inability to quickly categorize the construction is what you come to expect from a Calatrava design -- something both geometric and organic. Something that take a simple form and twists it in the wind like so many of his other bridges and buildings. In this case, each of the building's floors are anchored to a central column, but offset. Then each floor is rotated slightly as the tower rises higher. The result is, indeed, something very much like a drill bit. The original plan called for the bottom 20 floors to be occupied by a hotel, while the rest of the building was to be filled with 1,200 luxury condominiums. The final configuration has this building entirely residential. Much to the disappointment of tourists and skyscraper fans, there are no plans for a public observation deck.
The biggest obstacle to completing this building was zoning. The parcel of land selected was only zoned for as 540-foot tall building and a 350-foot tall building. However, the developer managed to assuage the city, neighborhood groups, and local open space activists by developing a riverfront plaza with six stories of parking underneath. The developer is also going to put up $9 million to help create DuSable Park. The City of Chicago has wanted to create that park on a neighboring piece of disused industrial land for decades, but could never come up with the money. The developer will use the future parkland during construction, and then afterward turn it over to the city with the cash that will help it become public space.
* Designed by: Santiago Calatrava, who is also the lead architect and engineer on the project.
* Architect of record is Perkins + Will.
* Developer: Shelbourne Development Group
* The structural engineer of record is Thornton Tomasetti.
* This building was originally commissioned by the Fordham Company.
* The building is designed to be made primarily out of concrete.
* The twisting exterior is designed to deflect wind.
* The building is designed with two emergency stairwells, in response to the 9/11 attacks in New York.
* The spire rests on 34 caissons drilled into the bedrock 110 feet underground. 20 caissons support the middle of the structure while 14 are arranged in a ring around the perimeter.
* This plot of land was originally zoned for two towers: one 35 stories, and one 55 stories tall. Because of its height the Spire's density is less than the original zoning. It also appeals to bird rescue groups which say the single, taller, tower will have less of an impact on bird migration than two wider towers.
* The spire was originally planned with 250 hotel condominiums. This was reduced to 150 in order to reduce the impact on traffic in the area. The hotel was eventually removed from the plan in late 2006.
* The spire is expected to have up to 1,193 residences.
* The building's penthouse will be two-stories tall and have 10,293 square feet of space.
* The spire's penthouse will be the world's highest residence.
* Access to the tower will be from Lower Lake Shore Drive to reduce the impact on traffic in the neighborhood.
* Excluding hotel traffic, the tower is expected to add one car per minute to the local traffic pattern.
* As part of the development, riverwalks will be extended along the Chicago River and Ogden Slip. The developer plans to spend $500,000 on improving DuSable park.
* Within three months of its announcement, 800 people had contacted the developer wanting to buy condominiums in the building.
* A parking garage will be constructed to the building's north and will connect directly with Lake Shore Drive to reduce street level traffic congestion.
* Plans for townhouses to line the base of this building were scrapped in favor of a circular plaza and five-story glass atrium.
* The lobby atrium will have a ceiling 53-feet high.
* There is no sky lobby -- 14 passenger elevators connect directly from the main lobby to the residential floors.
* This property formerly had the address 410-450 North Lake Shore Drive.
* This property formerly had the address 420 East North Water Street.
* The cost of the project is unknown. It was originally estimated at $2,400,000,000.00, however in May 2008 a representative of the developer said that figure is inaccurate. However, she refused to provide a corrected number to the Chicago Tribune.
* There are structural transition floors every 30 to 40 stories to transfer stress to the core and help keep the building rigid.
* In an unusual move the parking garage is being built from the top down instead of from the bottom up. This will help speed construction of the tower.
* At the time of its completion, this building will be the world's tallest all-residential building.
* At the time of its completion, this building will have the world's highest occupied floor; even higher than the highest occupied floor in Dubai's Burj Dubai, which will retain the overall title of world's tallest building.
* Residences: 1,194
* Levels above ground: 150
* Levels below ground: 7
* Building caissons: 34
* Parking garage caissons: 98
* Parking spaces: 1,500
* Foundation concrete: 200,000 cubic yards
* Foundation steel: 70,000 tons
* January, 2006: In revised documents filed with the City of Chicago, the roof height of this building was raised from 1,458 feet / 444 meters to 1,550 feet / 472 meters the top of the roof, and 1,600 feet / 488 meters to the top of the water tank.
* March 16, 2006 - Chicago's city planning commission approves the construction of the Fordham Spire.
* May 22, 2006: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that buyers put $20,000 deposits down on 92 of the building's 300 condominiums in two weeks of promotion.
* July 20, 2006: Following reports that the building's developer was having trouble securing financing, the property is sold to Garrett Kelleher, chairman of Shelbourne Development, for $64,000,000. Kelleher immediately doubled the building's cost estimate, and proposed groundbreaking for Spring of 2007. Kelleher's interest in Chicago goes back to his youth. He lived in the city for ten years after college.
* November 15, 2006: It is announced that Shelbourne Development Group is taking over the project, and the building's name is changed to the Chicago Spire.
* March 15, 2007: The latest version of the spire plan is presented to people who live in the neighborhood. It includes the development of an abandoned plot of land east of Lake Shore Drive into a manicured public space, and a potential bicycle and pedestrian bridge spanning the Chicago River east of Lake Shore Drive. The developers stated that they hope to have the project completed 40 months after construction begins.
* April 19, 2007: The City of Chicago's Plan Commission recommends that this building be approved for construction by the city's zoning committee. The Chicago Tribune claims construction costs could top $2.4 billion.
* April 26, 2007: The city zoning committee approved this building.
* May 9, 2007: The Chicago city council approved the construction of this building. When completed, it will be the tallest building in North America. As part of the deal, the developer will kick in $9 million of the $12 million needed to construct DuSable Park.
* June 25, 2007: Crain's Chicago Business reports that the contract for caisson work has been awarded to Case Foundation Company. This puts hope into backers of the project, and quiets some of its critics who didn't believe it would happen. The Crain's article states that Case will build 34 caissons 120 feet deep by the first quarter of 2008.
* July, 2007: Construction of his building begins. There is no formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, just the arrival of crews and machinery on the site which are now busy working on the project.
* October 1, 2007: Portions of Lake Shore Drive are closed while exit and entrance ramps are built to connect the Chicago Spire with the highway.
* November 7, 2007: Crain's Chicago Business reports that neighboring townhomes will sink about two inches by the time the Spire is completed. The developer calls the damage cosmetic, but homeowners plan to sue.
* June 4, 2008: The Chicago Tribune reports this building will be completed in 2012. The same day, the lead engineer on the construction site told WGN Television 2011.
* September 19, 2008: The Chicago Sun-Times reports that construction work on the Spire is expected to slow down, but still continue, because of recent economic turmoil in the American and global credit markets.
* September 20, 2008: A group of people who purchased homes in this building signed their names on the foundation support rings deep below ground.
* September 25, 2008: WGN-TV incorrectly reports that construction of this building is on hold. The television station cites a Chicago Tribune article. The Tribune article actually says that sales efforts are on hold during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and reiterates that construction has slowed, which was reported by the Sun-Times the week before.
* September 30, 2008: WGN Television reported that the 10,000 square foot two-level penthouse on floors 141 and 142 was sold to Ty Warner, the man who invented Beanie Babies. No selling price was disclosed, but the asking price was $40 million.
* October 8, 2008: According to Crain's Chicago Business, architect of record Perkins & Will, filed a $4,850,000 lien against the developer for unpaid work.
* October 17, 2008: Crain's Chicago Business reports that architect Santiago Calatrava stopped working on this project and filed a lien in the ammount of $11,340,000 against the developer for unpaid work.
4.HYDROPOLIS
Official name: The Crescent Hydropolis ResortBuilt: 2004-2010Cost: $500,000,000Designed by: Joachim HauserType: HotelMaximum depth: 66 feetDubai, United Arab EmiratesThe early part of the 21st century quickly became known as The Age of Dubai. Many of the world's most spectacular, breathtaking, and startling architectural projects were erected in a city that was little more than a desert outpost a decade earlier. Its leaders had the foresight to know that that its primary natural resource, oil, was in limited supply and chose to embark on a program to rapidly transform the emirate into a world capital in order to continue its prosperity beyond the time when the world relies on fossil fuels.
Projects in Dubai are constantly searching for distinction through superlatives. For years, architecture enthusiasts watched breathlessly as the Burj Dubai climbed into the clouds. While that high-profile project reached for the sky, another probed the depths of the Persian Gulf.
Hyrdropolis is a fantasy hotel beneath the waves. This submarine hotel is inspired by the Jules Verne tale 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It is an underwater oasis where visitors can marvel at the architecture surrounding them, and the sea beyond.
The project is divided into three sections. The "land station" is the complex where visitors are first greeted. It is a large building with a roof that dips and rolls like the crest of a wave. From there, people enter a tunnel to begin their journey to the hotel, itself. The tunnel is 1,700 feet long and carries a train beneath both the land and the sea. The destination, of course, is the hotel itself. Mimicking natural forms, it is shaped like a collection of bubbles and curves designed to provide maximum resistance against the pressures of the sea water as well as the occasional typhoon that may stray into this area. It has already been compared to both a jellyfish and a sea turtle. The hotel features a pair of observation domes which allow an expansive view of the water and the creatures that live in it. They are large enough to emerge above the waves, and one has a retractable roof allowing people to be surrounded by the ocean while looking directly into the sky.
From the surface, the hotel has the appearance of a futuristic artificial circular atoll with a low barrier barely rising above the waves. On the inside of that perimeter are the main structures with curving shell-like surfaces at home in the sea.
Evidently, projects like this don't come easy. Construction has been moving in fits and starts and is currently on hold. It is unknown what the difficulty is or when the project may finally get started.
* This is not the world's first underwater hotel. There is a smaller underwater hotel in Florida, and more underwater hotels are being designed and built around the world.
* The train is supposed to be able to transport 1,000 people at a time.
* August, 2003: Hydropolis is announced.
5.AT&T BUILDING(NashVille)
known as: The Batman BuildingFormerly: BellSouth BuildingFormerly: South Central Bell BuildingBuilt: 1991-1994Designed by: Earl Swensson AssociatesType: SkyscraperStories: 33Maximum Height: 617 feet / 188 metersLocation: 333 Commerce Street, Nashville, United StatesIf you're looking for a warm, fuzzy image for your corporation -- this isn't it. This building was intended to look like a telephone at the top. And the decorative bridge that supports the company's logo does in some way resemble the receiver of a telephone in its cradle. But the addition of a pair of illuminated spires ruins the image. You can imagine bolts of electricity arcing between them on a stormy night. But most people just call it the "Batman Building" because it resembles the helmet worn by the comic book hero. When South Central Bell commissioned the building, they wanted a landmark, and for better or worse – mission accomplished. In spite of the criticism, this skyscraper was exactly what Nashville needed: a signature piece to make it look at home in the international community. The tower would look perfectly normal in Luala Lumpur, or Frankfurt; in fact, it might even be lost in those cities. But in Nashville it elevates the whole city and its skyline by saying, "Yes, we are modern" to a world that associates Tennessee more with twang than technology. And while the upper reaches of the building reinforce that modern image, the lower levels of glass and stone grid blend in with the rest of the city at the pedestrian level. When viewed looming over the city's main drag in the small hours of the morning, the building is a reminder to the people stumbling out of the honky-tonks that the future is near, and they'd better go home and rest up.
* At the time of its completion, this was the tallest building in Tennessee.
6.TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER(Chicago)
Also known as: Trump Tower ChicagoBuilt: 2005-2009Cost: $750,000,000Designed by: Skidmore, Owings, and MerrillType: SkyscraperStories: 92Maximum Height: 1,362 feet / 415 metersLocation: 401 North Wabash, Chicago, United StatesChicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower marked the end of a long drought in the city's super tower scene. The 1960's saw the Hancock Center rise into the sky. In the 1970's it was the Sears Tower and the Aon Center. Then... nothing. Several proposals, including ones for what would have been the world's tallest buildings, failed to come to fruition. The Chicago skyline as seen in the 1980's film Ferris Beuller's Day Off would remain much the same decades later as a new century dawned.
I was real estate mogul and international showman, Donald Trump who eventually stepped up to the plate with a plan to replace the grandiose 1950's metal shed that was the Chicago Sun-Times building with a glittering tower bearing his name. At first there was much excitement as The Donald's organization made the announcement. But that evaporated into disappointment in 2001 when the first sketches came out of revered local architecture powerhouse SOM. It showed a multi-tiered silver-glass giant that didn't so much soar into the sky as squat along the Chicago River. Simply put, it was too wide, not majestic, and made a mockery of the architectural wonders next door -- the Wrigley Building, the Jewelers Building, and the Tribune Tower.
A subsequent revision in 2002 by SOM's Adrian Smith was a significant improvement. It definitely fit in with the city's then-architectural trend of putting illuminated spires on everything. But alas, it looked a lot like the beloved, yet time-worn Sears Tower. This was primarily because of the use of stacked boxes. Even though they were not square, but octagons and hexagons, the design seemed too familiar.
The third time was the charm. The final edition of the plan dropped the angles in favor of curves, and massed the sections in such a way as to evoke a ship of commerce steaming through the city. It's the same sense one gets from looking at the Wrigley Building next door from the correct angles. Prow and prowess.
The Trump Tower Chicago makes great use of its available space while creating another icon in the city's skyline. Also important, its setbacks pay homage to the Art Deco-era skyscrapers that made Chicago a living architectural museum. And it manages to reach for the stars without stepping on the feet of other buildings in the area. To its neighbors, it appears as an equal. That's because the first setback is at the same height as the cornice on the Wrigley Building, the second is the same height as Marina City, and the third is at the top of the former IBM Building across the street.
* The tower was originally planned to have 461 condominiums and 227 combination hotel rooms and condominiums.
* According to the Chicago Tribune, SOM built about 50 models of the building before getting the design they wanted.
* The residents of this tower have their own private dog run.
* At the time of its completion, this was the largest reinforced concrete building in North America.
* This building is made of concrete instead of steel to reduce sway and maximize window space.
* Height to roof: 1,125 feet.
* Height to penthouse roof: 1,170 feet
* Height to top of spire: 1,362 feet
* Floor area: 2,600,000 square feet
* Retail space: 80,000 square feet
* Residences: 472
* Hotel rooms:339
* Parking spaces: 1,000
* Land cost: $73,000,000
* Concrete: 720,000,000 pounds
* Concrete: 180,000 cubic yards
* December, 2001: The initial artists sketch of the Trump Tower Chicago is unveiled. People find it bland.
* July, 2002: A revised plan is presented to the public. It receives better reviews.
* 22 January, 2004: In a plan to adjust to changing economic realities, the design is changed so that floors 17 through 26 are converted from offices to condominiums and hotel rooms.
* 15 October, 2004:- The last of the Chicago Sun-Times employees move out of the old Sun-Times building to make way for the new Trump Towe Chicago.
* 15 October, 2004: Donald Trump purchases the last piece of the property he needs to move forward with the project. The total paid for the land is $73,000,000.
* February, 2005: Mayor Daley convinces Donald Trump to put the spire back into plans for the tower.
* February, 2005: WGN Television reports that the top floor condominium in the Trump International Hotel and Tower sold for $28 million.
* 23 February, 2005: WGN Television reports that Donald Trump has decided to increase the height of the spire to make this the tallest skyscraper in North America. The Chicago Tribune carries a more complete story the next day, stating that the new Trump spire design could top 1,484 feet, taking the world's second-tallest title away from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
* 17 March, 2005:- Construction officially begins on the Trump Tower.
* 2 October, 2005: The concrete for the foundation mat arrives in what is called the "Big Pour." Dozens of truck work continuously for almost 24 hours to pour 5,000 cubic yards of wet concrete into an area 66 feet wide, 200 feet long, and 10 feet deep. This creates an underground anchor for the building. The concrete is mixed to withstand 10,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.
* January 30, 2008 - The hotel portion of this building opened for business.
* February 1, 2008: Construction reached the 60th floor.
* April 28, 2008: The official opening ceremony was held.
* August 16, 2008: This building is topped out.
* September 23, 2008: Donald Trump and his immediate family participate in a topping out ceremony for this building.
* April, 2009: Anticipated completion date.
7.TAIPEI101
Built: 1997-2004Cost: $TWD59,400,000,000.00Designed by: CY LeeType: SkyscraperStories: 91Maximum Height: 1,667 feet / 508 metersLocation: Sung-Chih Road, Taipei, TaiwanThis is the building that in the early 21st century put all the other buildings in their place. There was a rivalry between several buildings over who had the right to call themselves the tallest in the world. When the Petronas Towers were erected in Kuala Lumpur they claimed to be the world’s tallest. Some disputed this claim because Petronas compared the height of its decorative spire to the flat roof of the Sears Tower in Chicago, excluding its antennae. If the buildings were next to each other, one could stand on the top floor of the Sears Tower and look down at the top floor of the Petronas Towers. Since the Petronas spires serve no purpose, many discounted them, and relegated Malaysia’s magnificent twin towers to the status of “also-rans.” Then, along came Taipei 101, completely blowing the Petronas Towers out of the race. Taipei 101 is taller to both its roof and its spire than the buildings in Luala Lumpur. Taipei 101 is a wonderful structure. It proudly shows its Asian influence through both its structure and its decorative flourishes, and it is massed in the traditional way skyscrapers have been since the 19th century. It starts at the square base with a gentile slope inwards and upwards. The division between base and shaft is denoted by a belt running around the perimeter of the structure. This is adorned with something resembling a belt buckle in the center of each side. This is actually a representation of an ancient coin. The notion of center ornamentation is repeated up the shaft at the top of each flaring section. Think of it as a series of Chinese food take-out boxes stacked one upon the other, eight high, each eight stories tall (Eight is considered a lucky number locally). The designers, however, prefer to think of it as a bamboo shoot instead of fast food containers. To each his own. The crown of the building also sports this form, but much smaller, and there are only two – one very short, the other very narrow. The whole thing is finished off the way any good skyscraper is – with a mast/antenna/spire complex. Taipei 101 has earned its place among the great towers of the world, and its presence is even more stunning in its home town, where at the time of its completion, it was more than twice the height of the next-tallest building.
So, where does that leave the Sears Tower? The “world’s tallest” title can still be challenged on the fact that the Sears Tower television masts are still more than 60 feet taller than the spire on Taipei 101. But at least T101’s roof is still 20 feet higher than the Sears Tower. Still, neither of them should brag too much since they are both surpassed by a number of communications antennae; most notably the 1,815 foot tall CN Tower in Toronto.
* There is a fault line just 660 feet from this tower, but the designers aren’t worried about it, saying it hasn’t been active in 45,000 years.
* The building’s spire is 60 feet tall.
* Like many buildings its size, Taipei 101 has a tuned mass dampener to counteract swaying caused by earthquakes, wind, typhoons, and other causes. It is a massive solid steel ball about 60 feet tall, hanging from cables on the 87th floor of the building.
* The foundation of the building is more than 250 feet deep.
* September, 2002 – Five people are killed when an earthquake shakes two cranes loose from the building.
* 18 October, 2003 – The spire is raised into place, making this the tallest building in the world.
* 21 November, 2003 – Pieces of metal fall from the roof of the skyscraper, hitting two people walking below, smashing car windshields, and littering an elementary school playground.
* 25 December, 2004 - The daredevil known as "Spiderman" climbs the outside of the building. Alain Robert scaled the building as a publicity stunt during the building's official opening week. He normally is arrested for doing such stunts illegally, but this time he was recruited. He also normally doesn't have any safety gear. This time he had a rope.
* 20 November, 2005 - An Australian man, Paul Crake, becomes the first to win a race up the stairs to the top of Taipei 101. He completes the run in ten minutes, 29 seconds.
8.WORLD TRADE CENTER(NEW YORK)
Built: 1969-1974Cost: $800,000,000Designed by: Minoru Yamasaki, Yamasaki and Associates, with Emery Roth and SonsType: SkyscraperStories: 110Maximum Height: 1,727 feet / 526 metersMaximum width: 208Maximum length: 208Location: World Trade Center, New York, United StatesT he World Trade Center is a collection of buildings in lower Manhattan. Towers number one and two (the "Twin Towers") were considered the tallest in the world by some people. It depends on how you define "tallest." Including the antenna, tower number one was 521 meters tall. However, including the antenna may also bring building-less antennae and towers into the running, which really mucks things up. The center was constructed on the site of the old Hudson and Manhattan rail terminal. The original plan called for a single 150-story tower, but this design was abandoned as impractical.
The twin towers were unusual in that the outer cladding of the building actually carried a large part of the load for the structure. Each floor was suspended from the external walls, rather than the other way around, which is common in most skyscrapers where internal pillars provide the strength, and the walls merely keep the wind out. While intended to provide strength while maximizing rentable office space, this actually proved to be a lifesaving innovation. When each tower was hit by hijacked jumbo jets in 2001 the planes punched holes in the side and did extensive damage inside. But the buildings stayed standing for some time. It was actually the heat from the fire that caused the buildings to collapse. The jets were fully loaded with fuel for transcontinental flight, providing a massive amount of fuel to feed the fire. When the heat inside exceeded 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit the steel holding the floors to the walls weakened, causing each floor to collapse onto the one below. The result was the buildings imploded upon themselves, rather than fell over knocking over countless other buildings in a literal domino-effect.
The following buildings were partially or completely destroyed in the attack:
* One World Trade Center (north tower)
* Two World Trade Center (south tower)
* Four World Trade Center
* Five World Trade Center
* Six World Trade Center
* Seven World Trade Center
* The Marriott Hotel
* One Liberty Plaza
* Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
The following buildings suffered major damage:
* The Millennium Hilton Hotel
* One World Financial Center
* Two World Financial Center
* Three World Financial Center
* The Federal Building
* Banker's Trust Building
* Engineers: Worthington, Skilling, Helle and Jackson
* There was a cafeteria on the 44th floor called The Sky Dive.
* Each tower had postal workers stationed every eight floors to handle incoming and outgoing mail.
* It is estimated that the jets hit the buildings going between 470 and 590 miles per hour.
* It takes 99 days to put out the fire.
* 18 people are pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center still alive.
* The city of New York loses 13,000,000 square feet of office space -- more than all the office space in Miami, and more than the entire space of downtown Houston.
* 83,000 people lose their jobs in the ensuing economic turmoil.
* 105 children never see their fathers because they were conceived before, and born after the terrorist attacks.
* Height to tip of Tower One television mast: 1,727 feet
* Height to roof of Tower One: 1,368 feet
* Height to roof of Tower Two: 1,362 feet
* Steel used in construction: 181,400 metric tons
* Windows: 43,600
* Elevators: 198
* Doorknobs: 40,000+
* Floor space: 10,000,000 square feet
* Parking spaces: 2,000
* June 9, 1965: Demolition work begins to make way for the World Trade Center.
* August 5, 1966: Groundbreaking
* December, 1970: The first tower (One World Trade Center) is completed.
* July 19, 1971: Two World Trade Center is topped out.
* April 4, 1973: A ribbon cutting ceremony is held to open the twin towers.
* 1974: Construction is completed.
* December 15, 1975: The observatory opens to the public.
* February 26, 1993: A truck bomb is detonated in the garage beneath Tower One. Six people are killed and more than 1,000 hurt.
* September 11, 2001: The Twin Towers are destroyed by terrorists. They hijacked two jumbo jets from Boston and slammed one into each of the towers, killing thousands of people. A third hijacked jet was rammed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and a fourth, believed to be headed to the White House, crashed in a rural area 80 miles east southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
o 8:45am - Hijacked American Airlines Boeing 767 hits the north tower.
o 9:03am - Hijacked United Airlines Boeing 767 hits south tower.
o 9:50am - South tower collapses.
o 10:30am - North tower collapses.
o 11:40am - New York Fire Department pulls out of Seven World Trade Center as fire rages uncontrolled through the skyscraper.
o 5:25pm - Seven World Trade Center collapses.
* September 14, 2001: There is serious talk among politicians and New York City leaders about rebuilding the Twin Towers better, and possibly bigger, than before.
* September 25, 2001: One of the last remaining large sections of the building's exoskeleton is demolished. Part of it is saved by the city for possible use in a memorial, museum, or monument.
9.FLATIRON BUILDING
Also known as: Fuller BuildingBuilt: 1902Designed by: Daniel H. BurnhamType: SkyscraperMaximum Height: 285 feet / 87 metersLocation: Fifth avenue between 22nd and 23rd streets, New York, United StatesN ot well known among those not from the area, or not into historic architecture, the Flatiron Building is a favorite of New Yorkers and admirers around the world. Perhaps because it symbolizes so much of how New Yorkers see themselves -- Defiant, bold, sophisticated, and interesting. With just enough embedded grime and soot to highlight its details. The Flatiron's most interesting feature is its shape -- a slender hull plowing up the streets of commerce as the bow off a great ocean liner plows through the waves of its domain. The apex of the building is just six feet wide, and expands into a limestone wedge adorned with Gothic and Renaissance details of Greek faces and terra cotta flowers. The building has two claims to fame -- one architectural, the other cultural. Some consider the Flatiron Building to be New York City's first skyscraper. It certainly was one of the first buildings in the city to employ a steel frame to hold up its 285-foot tall facade, but not the first. Some felt its shape (like a flatiron) was less artistic and more dangerous. They thought it would fall over, and during construction the Flatiron Building was nicknamed "Burnham's Folly." The building's cultural legacy is a little more interesting and has passed into the local social consciousness as a fable. It is said that the building created unusual eddies in the wind which would cause women's skirts to fly around as they walked on 23rd street. This attracted throngs of young men who gathered to view the barelegged spectacle. Police would try to disperse these knots of heavy-breathers by calling to them, "23 Skidoo." This phrase has passed out of common usage, but its descendant, the word "scram" remains in a back corner of the American lexicon.
10.TIME WARNER CENTER
Formerly: AOL Time Warner CenterFormerly: Columbus CentreFormerly: New ColiseumBuilt: 2000-2004Cost: US$1,700,000,000.00Designed by: Skidmore, Owings & MerrillType: SkyscraperStories: 69Maximum Height: 750 feet / 229 metersLocation: 10 Columbus Circle, New York, United StatesO rientation is everything when it comes to this building. Its two towers are massed at the rear of the complex, with a lower structures known as the "podium" in front that engages the street-level observer and directs his gaze upward. The combination gives the illusion of a mountain. At the same time, the towers mass is felt by the observer because of their angles, embracing the viewer allowing them to become overwhelmed by the building's presence. The construction of such a huge complex was necessitated by what was the largest media merger of its time. By the late 1990's, America Online had shed its Quantum Link heritage and become the leading internet provider in the United States. It leveraged its power to buy the Time Warner media company, known for its magazines, cable television stations, and movies. At the time it was heralded as the wave of the future, and the logical place to consolidate all that power was New York City. Times Square was already undergoing a massive revitalization thanks to rival media company Disney, so AOL needed another place to stake its claim. It chose Columbus Circle, which had become run down, but not so notorious as Times Square. The AOL Time Warner Center was intended to spark the rebirth of the area, the way the Renaissance Center helped downtown Detroit. To make that happen, the area needed a critical mass of businesses. So the complex includes a luxury hotel, luxury condominiums, shops, restaurants, and a concert hall. Following the lead of broadcast television networks NBC, and CBS, AOL Time Warner's cable network CNN built a studio at street level so people can see in and viewers at home can see out. In a sense, this building represents the AOL Time Warner company coming full-circle. AOL got its start by transmitting games over telephone lines into Atari 2600 machines in the 1980's. The symbol of Atari was the fuji. Now AOL has constructed a massive edifice with similar properties as the fuji that gave AOL its start.
* There is some confusion about the number of floors in this building. According to a May, 2003 article in the New York Times, the building actually has 69 floors, though it was marketed to potential home buyers as having 80 floors.
* The complex is designed to allow cellular telephones to work anywhere, including inside the elevators.
* There is a special communication system inside the complex that allows police are firefighters to communicate in an emergency.
* The foundation of the complex is 434 feet deep.
* The north end of the podium is 315 feet tall (20 stories).
* The south end of the podium is 349 feet tall (24 stories).
* The complex incorporates One Central Park, a group of 198 luxury condominiums.
* At the time of the building's completion, the four penthouses sold for between US$25 and US$35,000,000.00.
* This was the site of the 26-story New York Coliseum, which was demolished in 2000.
* 27 February, 2003 - A topping-out ceremony is held for the podium of the AOL Time Warner Center.
* 9 April, 2003 - A dozen firefighters are hurt when flames swept through several floors of the as-yet-unfinished tower. The cause is believed to be a space heater, or a portable device used to dry concrete. The New York Times reports there have been a number of unfortunate incidents at the tower, including two deaths, three OSHA fines, and a number of falls.
* 11 July, 2003 - It is announced that a British man is paying record US$45,000,000.00 for one of the ten penthouses at the still-not-quite-finished AOLTimeWarner Center in Manhattan. The 12,600-square-foot penthouse is two-stories tall and will have 25-foot-tall glass walls wrapping all the way around, giving spectacular views. The terrace also goes all the way around and has views rivaled only by the observation deck at the Empire State Building.
* 6 April, 2003 - Mayor Bloomberg temporarily halts construction at the building after a man is grazed by a 22-inch piece of metal that fell off the building.
