“If you can’t build out, build up”
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, while extremely detrimental to the municipality, offered a blank canvas on which architects and engineers could design revolutionary urban marketplaces, leading to the construction of the Home Insurance Building in 1885. This new class of edifice was deemed a “skyscraper”, a high - rise structure with literal capability of cutting through clouds.
Skyscrapers were seen as a means to offer consolidated office spaces with close connections to city centers, or prime residential real estate with premier access to downtown amenities. They promote heightened economic advancement due to increased population density.
Some countries saw the structures as a means to break records, while others viewed them as an obligation to progress urban development. No matter who you side with, they are a means to announce the prominence of a nation on the world stage and quickly became a monument of financial prosperity.
Despite these overwhelmingly positive effects, many cities around the world have begun to shy away from the gargantuan structures, some even outlawing them altogether. Join us, along with The B1M, as we seek to understand the rise and fall of the modern - day skyscraper.
London: The Jetstream Meets the Streets
London Skyline: EMAP CDA CN
Despite London not being planned out as a large city from the beginning, it has become a financial titan on the world stage. A short drive around the city provides all insight necessary regarding the outdated infrastructure of the area. Streets are extremely narrow and randomly laid out, unlike the more efficient grid designs we see on a daily basis.
During my trip to London a few years ago, we got stuck behind a delivery van unloading merchandise… For half an hour!
Growing the skyline was paramount to keep up with the demand for space in the most densely populated sector of the United Kingdom, leading to the planning of several skyscrapers. With that being said, London holds great value in its historical architecture and has enforced strict regulations on construction. Skyscrapers can in no way harm the city’s past, and can’t block sightlines to major historical landmarks.
So where did they go wrong?
Regulations failed to account for skyscraper density and modern architectural design mantras.
The sheer amount of skyscrapers concentrated in the financial district coupled with the sharper and more angular designs the industry has shifted towards created an artificial valley of sorts, directing cold and fast winds onto the streets below. Windspeeds have become so severe that pedestrians and cyclists alike have been knocked over while transiting the area. This has negatively affected the precinct, isolating the area, especially during the winter months, an oddity when compared with the bustling and vibrant life seen throughout the rest of the city year - round.
London has sprung into action, implementing “wind guidelines” into planning practices, but it may already be too late. Fred from The B1M has done an outstanding publication on the issue, and I encourage viewing below!
China: The Sky is no Longer the Limit
China’s international economical influence has grown exponentially in recent decades, creating a breeding ground for thousands of skyscraper developments. More skyscrapers have been built on Chinese soil in the last 30 years than in the United States of America during the entire 20th century.
Despite this boom, the nation has elected to place strict regulations on skyscraper construction for a multitude of reasons. Many feel the architectural mantra of new skyscraper projects isn’t very representative of Chinese culture. There have also been quite a few “plagiarized” developments receiving heavily negative international press. Skyscrapers also come with astronomical building costs, making them very uncertain investments. Factoring in that many real estate development companies are partially held by the state, big bailouts to these projects are frowned upon.
The chief reason for regulations? China sees skyscrapers as vanity developments, vessels meant to break records, rather than edifices that offer a clear benefit to the state.
New buildings over 500 m (1640 ft) are prohibited from construction. In reality, any building over 250 m (820 ft) in height is targeted, and nothing above this height will be built unless absolutely necessary. Even if they qualify, projects will be subject to heavy scrutiny by firefighting, energy - saving, and earthquake committees.
Once again, The B1M has done a stellar segment on the issue, have a look!
What Comes Next?
Dubai Sustainable City: Citygreen
“Maybe we build outwards after all”
China’s mantra going forward is a focus on creating economical, sustainable, and beautiful cities, a focus on deriving a city plan from scratch and getting it right the first time, rather than molding existing infrastructure into something it clearly isn’t, and Hugo Render agrees! There needs to be an emphasis on inhabitants and practicality.
COVID 19 has shown us the viability of remote work in most cases, which I believe will lessen demand for central city offices, therefore, skyscrapers. Companies will begin to realize that productivity holds more value than location, and will divert budgets accordingly.
This does not call for the death of brick and mortar locations, but instead their reimagination, potentially through investments in satellite cities and standalone communities. We’re talking offices in locations that significantly lessen commute times, or even full - on company campuses, which we’ll explore in another piece in the near future.
Whether skyscrapers are here to stay is heavily debated, but regardless of how futuristic urban architectural development unfolds, Hugo Render is more than equipped for the challenge. Whether it’s conceiving a skyscraper that better integrates into existing cityscapes or reimagining how we construct an entirely new type of city, we are excited to help builders and developers visualize urban centers of the future.