Throughout modern history, architecture has been soaring to new heights - quite literally as well! The race to build the tallest building has been unparalleled. Many of you may know the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, or even the Shanghai Tower for their heights, but many skyscrapers and their designs are left out of the spotlight. Thus, we have created a top 3 compilation of the most underrated skyscrapers in the world!
What is a “skyscraper”?
Although there is no specified height for a building to be classified as a skyscraper, it is often assumed that it is a building with height over 100m (330ft) tall. The word first originated in late 19th century America, where steel-framed buildings of at least 10 stories tall started appearing in major cities - New York, Chicago, Boston, and more. Since then, over 14 cities have over 100 skyscrapers of over 150m, with Hong Kong as the number 1 home to 552 skyscrapers.
No. 1 - The Clock Towers (Abraj Al Bait), Saudi Arabia
Located only 300m from the Grand Mosque of Mecca, the most sacred site of Islamic faith, the Clock Towers consists of 7 skyscraper hotels. The tallest and most famous is the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, which is the 4th tallest building and tallest clock tower in the world, standing at 601 meters (1,972 feet). It is also the largest hotel complex in the world, welcoming over 20 million visitors a year.
After being proposed by the Saudi government as part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project with the aim to provide accommodation for Islamic pilgrims - Muslims must pilgrim to Mecca at least once in their lifetime during the last month of the Islamic calendar - construction of the 7 buildings began in 2002 and was completed in 2012. The Clock Tower is beautifully designed both structurally and architecturally.
Composites of steel were chosen over concrete as the primary structural material, as the tower top was not to weigh over 82,000 tons. The tower features 25x25m clocks on all four sides of the tower, covered with custom-made Islamic glass mosaic tiles. A carbon-fiber, 24k-plated gold crescent moon also sits atop the tower, which can be seen from 25km away.
The 7 hotel buildings - Hajar, Zamzam, Maqam Ibrahim, Qibla, Safa, Marwah and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower - are all christened with names referencing the Koran or Mecca.
No. 2 - 8 Spruce Street (New York by Gehry), New York City
Completed in May of 2011 as the Beekman Tower, 8 Spruce Street stands at 265m tall (870 feet), the 28th tallest building in New York City. Designed by Frank Gehry, one of the most famous contemporary architects of the 21st century, 8 Spruce Street is not only an architectural masterpiece, but a community center - it houses a public school on the 5th floor, medical offices for the New York Downtown Hospital and residential amenities for the local community.
Sitting on a 6-story terracotta brick podium, designed to blend in with the surrounding architecture, the building - nicknamed New York by Gehry - is built of all concrete, but sheathed in stainless steel curtain walls and glass windows, forming the wavy facade. The cresting waves are designed to mould around the offset floors which allow unparalleled and unobstructed views of almost all of Manhattan, from the Hudson and East Rivers to the Empire State Building. The wavy metallic drapery on all 3 sides of the 8 Spruce Street (except for the South side), custom-made in Japan, creates a “ripple effect”, reflecting light from the East River nearby and the sun, catching the glow of the New York sunrise and sunset.
8 Spruce Street’s metallic wavy structure reflecting the hues of the New York sunset.
No. 3 - Zifeng Tower, Nanjing
With its unique triangular shape, the Zifeng Tower, also known as the Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, is the 11th tallest building in China, and 17th tallest in Asia, classified as a ‘supertall’ skyscraper in Mainland China (>100m) at 450m (1480 ft). The lower portion of the building acts as a shopping mall and office space, the center being the InterContinental Hotel and the upper levels housing restaurants and an observatory deck.
As the building is triangular in shape, this maximizes the views of the mountains and rivers nearby. The structure is made using a steel-concrete composite, and due to its location in the seismic region, an enhanced lateral system was designed to ensure the skyscraper is able to withstand earthquake forces. Additionally, the architecture is designed to mimic and reflect the beauty of Nanjing and Chinese culture - the offset, angular glass panels are reflective of dragon scales, and the flat, ladder-shaped planes resemble the calmness and clarity of the Yangtze River, which flows through Jiangsu Province. Sky gardens are designed around the facade, to add green spaces and reduce the heat island effect. The spire and tower atria also lights up at night, making it an integral part of the Nanjing skyline.
Now that we’ve shared our top 3 underrated skyscrapers, what skyscrapers would be in your top 3?
Works Cited
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