Download The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe

The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe,
habitable spaces in very tall buildings. The buildings must support their
weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire. Yet
they must also be conveniently accessible, even on the upper floors, and
provide utilities and a comfortable climate for the occupants. The problems
posed in skyscraper design are considered among the most complex
encountered given the balances required between economics, engineering,
and construction management.
One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework from
which curtain walls are suspended, rather than load-bearing walls of
conventional construction. Most skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables
to build taller than load-bearing walls of reinforced concrete. Skyscrapers
usually have particularly small surface area of what are conventionally
thought of as walls, because the walls are not load-bearing and therefore
most skyscrapers are characterized by large surface areas of windows made
possible by the concept of steel frame and curtain walls.
One Worldwide Plaza is part of a three building, mixed use commercial
and residential complex completed in 1989, in the New York
City borough of Manhattan, known collectively as Worldwide Plaza. One
Worldwide Plaza is a commercial office tower on Eighth Avenue. Two
Worldwide Plaza is a residential condominium tower west of the center of the
block, and Three Worldwide Plaza is a low rise condominium residential
building with street level stores on Ninth Avenue, to the west of the
towers. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was the designer for the office complex
and the residential complex was designed by Frank Williams.
The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is located at
175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, and is
considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902, it
was one of the tallest buildings in the city and one of only two skyscrapers
north of 14th Street the other being the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Tower, one block east. The building sits on a triangular island block formed
by Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 22nd Street, with 23rd Street grazing the
triangle's northern (uptown) peak. As with numerous other wedge shaped
buildings, the name Flatiron derives from its resemblance to a castiron clothes iron.
Willis Tower (formerly named and still commonly referred to as Sears
Tower) 1,451foot skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its completion
in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade
Center towers in New York, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years. Willis
Tower is the second tallest building in the United States and the eighth tallest
freestanding structure in the world. The skyscraper is one of the most popular
tourist destinations in Chicago, and over one million people visit its
observation deck each year. Named the Sears Tower throughout its history,
in 2009 the Willis Group obtained the right to rename the building, as part of
their lease on a portion of its offices. On July 16, 2009, the building was
officially renamed Willis Tower.