A skyscraper is a habitable tower that is characterized by its great height.
A skyscraper is a very tall, habitable tower . These buildings have a large number of floors or levels and stand out from neighbouring buildings due to their size.
For example: "My brother lives on the 30th floor of a skyscraper that faces the sea: it offers spectacular views" , "Every day I go down the twenty-five floors of the skyscraper by stairs, that's how I keep fit" , "Fire in the skyscraper: fifty people had to be evacuated" .
What is a skyscraper
There is no precise definition of a skyscraper in terms of height . Sometimes, a skyscraper is considered to be a building whose height exceeds 500 feet (equivalent to 152.5 meters ). In other cases, a skyscraper is considered to be a building that protrudes significantly vertically from its surroundings.
Nowadays, there are many skyscrapers that are over 400 metres high . The construction of this type of building is usually for promotional or advertising reasons , as such tall towers always attract attention. However, a skyscraper can also become a good business because it allows you to make the most of the land (many homes or offices are created on a small horizontal surface).
Several cities stand out for their abundant presence of skyscrapers.
Its advantages and disadvantages
Concentrating individuals and services in a relatively small space can contribute to greater economic efficiency. The cost of this type of construction and its maintenance, however, is very high.
Among the cities with the most skyscrapers are Hong Kong , Dubai , New York and Shanghai . Currently, the tallest skyscraper in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai , with a maximum height of almost 830 meters .
Since time immemorial, humans have wanted to rise above their environment, to conquer everything and everyone in their path on this planet. The construction of tall buildings (note that the word building is often used in some countries as a synonym for skyscraper , although the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) does not consider it to be a particularly tall construction ) was one of their most significant tactics in this search for power over other species, although it took many centuries to develop the technologies and materials necessary to achieve it.
Examples of skyscrapers
These are some of the skyscrapers that can be found:
ADNOC Headquarters, in Abu Dhabi
This is one of the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company , which was built with the aim of obtaining LEED Gold certification ( LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is an American system that certifies sustainable buildings). It is 342 metres high and has 76 floors.
OKO Tower, Moscow
This Russian tower, which measures 352 metres and has 85 floors, is part of the International Business Centre of the metropolis, a multi-use space that can be compared to La Défense in Paris or Canary Wharf in London . The architectural firm in charge of its design, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill , had worked on the One World Trade Center in New York and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai .
432 Park Avenue, New York
It was the tallest skyscraper in the West until 2015 , and the 22nd tallest in the world, at 425 metres and 85 floors. Penthouse 94 , with its six bedrooms and a surface area of 767 square metres, is the most expensive apartment on the market: it is sold for 82,500,000 dollars, which is equivalent to more than 107,000 dollars per square metre.
Shanghai Tower, Shanghai
Few skyscrapers in the world can surpass the 632 meters of this imposing Asian colossus, located in China . It has 128 floors and until 2015 was the tallest on its continent. As a curious fact, the so-called rooftoppers , people who climb high-rise buildings without safety equipment, have it among their favorite destinations.