![]() The International Style with its total simplicity seemed ideally suited to skyscraper design, and, during the decades following World War II, it dominated the field, notable early examples being the Seagram Building (1958) in New York City and the Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1951) in Chicago. Even the Art Deco carvings on such towers as the Chrysler Building (1930), the Empire State Building (1931), and the RCA Building (1931) in New York City, which were then considered as modern as the new technology, are now viewed as more related to the old ornate decorations than to truly modern lines. Mark’s in Venice, and the Woolworth Building (1913), by Cass Gilbert, is a prime example of neo-Gothic decoration. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Building in New York City (1909) was modeled by Napoleon Le Brun after the Campanile of St. As part of the Neoclassical revival, for instance, skyscrapers such as those designed by the firm of McKim, Mead, and White were modeled after Classical Greek columns. There was, however, some retention of, and regression to, earlier styles as well. Jenney and his protégé Louis Sullivan styled their buildings to accentuate verticality, with delineated columns rising from base to cornice. The design and decoration of skyscrapers have passed through several stages. Structurally, skyscrapers consist of a substructure of piers beneath the ground, a superstructure of columns and girders above the ground, and a curtain wall hung on the girders. Jenney’s skyscrapers also first employed the curtain wall, an outer covering of masonry or other material that bears only its own weight and is affixed to and supported by the steel skeleton. William Le Baron Jenney’s 10-story Home Insurance Company Building (1884–85) in Chicago was the first to use steel-girder construction. As steel is stronger and lighter in weight than iron, the use of a steel frame made possible the construction of truly tall buildings. It was, however, the refinement of the Bessemer process, first used in the United States in the 1860s, that allowed for the major advance in skyscraper construction. James Bogardus built the Cast Iron Building (1848, New York City) with a rigid frame of iron providing the main support for upper-floor and roof loads.ĭiscover real estate attorney Owen Aldis's formula for the profitable management of tall multistory office buildings, which informed the design of early skyscrapers See all videos for this article Although the earliest skyscrapers rested on extremely thick masonry walls at the ground level, architects soon turned to the use of a cast- iron and wrought-iron framework to support the weight of the upper floors, allowing for more floor space on the lower stories. The increase in urban commerce in the United States in the second half of the 19th century augmented the need for city business space, and the installation of the first safe passenger elevator (in the Haughwout Department Store, New York City) in 1857 made practical the erection of buildings more than four or five stories tall. The term skyscraper originally applied to buildings of 10 to 20 stories, but by the late 20th century the term was used to describe high-rise buildings of unusual height, generally greater than 40 or 50 stories. The development of skyscrapers came as a result of the coincidence of several technological and social developments. ![]() The name first came into use during the 1880s, shortly after the first skyscrapers were built, in the United States. Skyscraper, a very tall multistoried building. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
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