Skyscrapers very tall buildings are a familiar sight in many of the world’s large cities. Ordinary buildings are constructed in such a way that the walls provide support for the whole structure. A skyscraper is so tall, and the weight of the building is so great, that a frame of steel or concrete is needed to support it. The foundations of the skyscraper are also important. Beams (piles), also made of steel or concrete, and are driven into the ground with a powerful machine called a pile-driver.
A skyscraper is a continuously habitable high-rise building that has over 40 floors and is taller than approximately 150 m (492 ft.). Historically, the term first referred to buildings with 10 to 20 floors in the 1880s. The definition shifted with advancing construction technology during the 20th century. Skyscrapers may host offices, residential spaces, and retail spaces. For buildings above a height of 300 m (984 ft), the term supertall skyscrapers can be used, while skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m (1,969 ft) are classified as megatall skyscrapers.
One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework that supports curtain walls. These curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete.
Modern skyscrapers’ walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterised by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a small surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic, and other lateral loads. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, which in some cases is also structurally required.
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