Description
This lecture traces the development of tall structures from ancient times to the presents and briefly looks into the future as portrayed in fiction. The ancient world had a number of tall structures from the pyramids in Egypt and ziggurats Mesopotamia to pyramids in Meso-America, and various very tall temples in the Far East. The Middle Ages saw the development in Europe of the Gothic Cathedral, still among some of the tallest structures in Europe. In the 19th century revolution in materials such as iron, steel, and concrete along with technological developments of the elevator, electricity, and heating and cooling made the skyscraper possible. The lecture examines the reactions to those developments, the rivalries and races to be the tallest in the period up to the Depression. Then we examine what happened following World War, looking at the new technologies and materials that led to new heights and styles but also new demands of infrastructure, utilities and changing environmental considerations and requirements. The lecture concludes with an overview of the current race for the tallest in Asia, the Mideast, and the supertall condominiums in Manhattan.