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The Skyscraper Index, has been published annually since 1999 and the latest report, published late last year, shows some cause for concern. There is, said the bank’s analysts, an “unhealthy correlation” between the building of skyscrapers and subsequent financial crashes. It cites a number of examples. The Empire State Building and the Great Depression. Now, the Burj Khalifa, presently the tallest building in the world, was built in Dubai just as the emirate almost went broke ... »»»
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released a study on the world's 20 tallest buildings projected to be built by 2020. The Council introduced the term 'megatall' to describe buildings over 600 meters (1,968 feet) tall, which is twice the height of the previous superlative 'supertall' buildings. Buildings that have been stalled and do not have a predictable completion date have been excluded from the study ... »»»
Top-tier buildings have been redesigned to prevent that kind of collapse. These skyscrapers have steel connections capable of redirecting the path of the upper floors’ load downward through other structural members if one should fail. And sprinkler supply lines have been located within an impact-resistant core--a major difference from the Twin Towers. Both innovations are now part of New York City building codes ... »»»
Green roofs. Living walls. Stormwater collection. Daylighting. Renewable energy. All these things and more, are a welcome and necessary change from the days when an office building was simply a lifeless rectangular box standing on end. An Australian design firm, is planning to build a vertical street in Melbourne, Australia. The vertical street will be 35 storeys tall, with shops and offices occupying the first four floors, and 154 apartment and five community gardens — one every six storeys — taking up the rest of the space ... »»»
Using steel with long-span concrete floor planks or metal decks for clear spans in cast-in-place concrete residential towers up to 25-30 storeys high is proving to speed up projects and reduce costs. But, the innovative steel technology has been slow to catch on in Canada, even though it has gained acceptance in the ... »»»