© Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture; SPL
Today these Goliaths are often seen as symbols of national and civic pride, as well as being a key solution to urban overcrowding. Yet the skyscraper as we know it only came into being in the late-19th century, not through the ambition of architects but through a combination of contemporary engineering techniques and materials that finally triumphed over the builder’s age-old enemy: gravity.
For most of history the tallest human-made structure on Earth was the Great Pyramid of Giza at 147 metres - a height that would barely qualify as a skyscraper today. The reason was simple. Because all buildings were constructed from bricks and mortar, they were all built to the same principle: the higher the building, the bigger the base. However, all that changed with the Industrial Revolution and the ability to construct ever stronger and longer iron and steel girders. Suddenly buildings could be taller without having to take up so much space at ground level, sparking an international race that culminated in today’s tallest and most talked-about buildings.