Skyscrapers


Book Description

Looks at the history of skyscrapers, describes fifty notable structures from around the world, and looks at the technology necessary to build such tall structures




The World's Most Amazing Skyscrapers


Book Description

This book highlights ten of the world's skyscrapers.




Building the Skyline


Book Description

The Manhattan skyline is one of the great wonders of the modern world. But how and why did it form? Much has been written about the city's architecture and its general history, but little work has explored the economic forces that created the skyline. In Building the Skyline, Jason Barr chronicles the economic history of the Manhattan skyline. In the process, he debunks some widely held misconceptions about the city's history. Starting with Manhattan's natural and geological history, Barr moves on to how these formations influenced early land use and the development of neighborhoods, including the dense tenement neighborhoods of Five Points and the Lower East Side, and how these early decisions eventually impacted the location of skyscrapers built during the Skyscraper Revolution at the end of the 19th century. Barr then explores the economic history of skyscrapers and the skyline, investigating the reasons for their heights, frequencies, locations, and shapes. He discusses why skyscrapers emerged downtown and why they appeared three miles to the north in midtown-but not in between the two areas. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to the depths of Manhattan's bedrock, nor the presence of Grand Central Station. Rather, midtown's emergence was a response to the economic and demographic forces that were taking place north of 14th Street after the Civil War. Building the Skyline also presents the first rigorous investigation of the causes of the building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the boom was largely a rational response to the economic growth of the nation and city. The last chapter investigates the value of Manhattan Island and the relationship between skyscrapers and land prices. Finally, an Epilogue offers policy recommendations for a resilient and robust future skyline.




Skyscrapers


Book Description

An investigation of thirty skyscrapers from around the world—both recently built and under construction—that explains the structural principles behind their creation




National Geographic Readers: Skyscrapers (Level 3)


Book Description

Learn all about the world's most amazing skyscrapers – from the first, to the tallest, to how they're built, and everything in between – in this new National Geographic Kids Reader. The Level 3 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging, information for fluent readers.




Petronas Twin Towers


Book Description




Skyscrapers


Book Description

Read this book to find the answers to all these questions, and more. It is packed with information, facts, photos, charts, and diagrams to help you find out all there is to know about skyscrapers. Book jacket.




Skyscrapers


Book Description

Soaring high into the sky, giants of glass, metal, steel, and mortar revolutionized urban architecture in the twentieth century. From classics (the Empire State Building) to more recent constructions such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, nearly fifty world-class skyscrapers--including the World Trade Center--are celebrated in a vertical volume that emulates its subject matter. Led by an expert on architecture and urban development, travel around the world from Hong Kong to Moscow, and dozens of destinations in between to pay tribute to such imposing structures as San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid, Riyadh's Kingdom Center, Tokyo's Town Hall, Paris's Tour de Montparnasse, and Frankfurt's Messe Turm. Photographed in crisp color, these architectural icons are captured from every angle: distant shots establish stature within a skyline; breathtaking views from the ground skyward emphasize the awesome height; and artistic close-up shots reveal an elegant, abstract, geometric beauty. Take your place on the observation deck of the Sears Tower. Marvel at the Rialto Towers in Melbourne. Watch as death-defying workers navigate beams high above the city to construct these modern wonders. Imagine what skyscrapers of the future might be like. From the comfort of your armchair, you'll enjoy an unsupassed view.




Who Built That? Modern Houses


Book Description

Who Built That? Modern Houses takes readers on a fun-filled tour through ten of the most important houses by the greatest architects of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Beginning with a brief biographical sketch of each architect, illustrator Didier Cornille uses a light touch to depict the various stages of construction, paying special attention to key design innovations and signature details. Cornille's charming drawings and accessible text unlock the secrets of modern classic houses, ranging from Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye (1931) and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (1939) to Shigeru Ban's Cardboard House (1995) and Rem Koolhaas's Bordeaux House (1998). Readers of all ages will delight in this colorful introduction to modern architecture's most extraordinary homes.




The Heights


Book Description

A gorgeous graphic tour of the inner workings of skyscrapers—from the author of The Works Indispensable and unforgettable, The Heights is the ultimate guide to the way skyscrapers work—from the bases of their foundations to the peaks of their spires. With skyscrapers becoming essential elements of urban life, there has never been a greater need for understanding and embracing these complex structures. Using innovative illustrations to tackle the vast complexity of these buildings, The Heights explores with remarkable insight every aspect of designing, building, and maintaining a modern skyscraper, as well as the individuals who build and maintain these architectural cathedrals. In the process, The Heights provides a remarkable snapshot of urban life at the dawn of the twenty-first century.