The late 19th and early 20th century was a crucial time and turning point in the eventual development of skyscrapers (Priwer & Phillips 2014). It is during this time that various technological and design aspects that would eventually shape the future of skyscrapers started to gain root. Two important buildings developed between this time periods include the Empire State building, New York and Monadnock building, Chicago. Although they were built about 40 years apart, they are much more similar than one would imagine (Priwer & Phillips 2014).
The Monadnock Building, Chicago.
Christened the fountainhead of modern architecture, the Monadnock building is a skyscraper that is situated at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the south loop locale of Chicago City, Illinois (Leslie 2013).
Brief History.
After Chicago won the hosting rights to the 1893 world's Columbian exposition, real estate prices rose mercurially due to the excitement it generated. The Brooks brothers saw the opportunity and decided to come up with a new building to cash in on the euphoria. The task to design this building was given to architects Burnham and Root who also happened to be the builders of the Columbian Exposition (Leslie 2013; Roth & Clark 2016).
Construction on the northern part of the building commenced in 1884 but stopped in 1891 as Burhan was not able to continue as a result of the death of John Root. Design and building of the southern part of the tower were commissioned to Holabird & Roche who happened to be the second largest practice in the city at that time. Construction of the southern phase ultimately ended in 1893 to effectively make it the world’s largest office building. The building cost $2,500,000. (Leslie 2013; Roth & Clark 2016).
Leslie (2013), Roth and Clark (2016), however, note that, initially, the Monadnock was conceived as four separate office buildings with their own elevators, heating systems entrances, and names. These comprised of Monadnock, Katahdin, Kearsarge, and Wachusett all of which are mountains in New England.
Architecture.
While the iconic design of the Monadnock may look outdated right now, Leslie (2013) noted that it represents a building that was built with technologies and designs way beyond its time. It falls within the style called Chicago school which emphasized on the aim of breaking through to pure forms that would unite architecture and construction in an identical expression. The northern half of the building designed, by Root, represents his last and boldest design ever. It features no decadent ornamentation but rather resembles modern architecture due to its clean stripped down façade. It also features a flared base and parapet which historian Daniel Hoffman likened to the bell-shaped Egyptian columns derived from papyrus. The corners of the buildings are smoothly rounded from base to top with continuous bay window undulating its façade. (Leslie 2013; Roth & Clark 2016).
The southern half, on the other hand, features a much more traditional ornate look complete with vertical divisions of brickwork at the base and a larger copper cornice at the roof. All these represent the impressive early application of the predominant classical architectural principles to the successful design of tall buildings. The masonry wall is six feet thick at the ground level. Almost the entire southern half is built in this way save for the southern quarter which is supported entirely by steel frames which are known today as the curtain wall. Both halves tell the story of the transition from classical to modern architecture that was happening at this particular time (Leslie 2013)
Usage and occupancy.
The building is entirely an office block that has primarily served independent professional firms over the years. The building’s space is divided into offices from 23 m2 (250 sq. feet) to 560 m2 (6,000 sq. feet) in size. Upon completion, the Monadnock could comfortably accommodate about 6,000 tenants (Leslie 2013)
Pioneering Technologies.
The following are some of the pioneering technologies that were employed in the building of the Monadnock as documented by Leslie (2013), Roth and Clark (2016) and Priwer and Phillips (2014).
1. Cage Construction.
The building employs cage construction whereby a network of iron columns and girders were used to reinforce the masonry walling further so as to be stiff against lateral forces.
2. Floating Foundation.
The floating foundation invented by Root himself completely revolutionized how tall buildings were built on Chicago's spongy soil. An extensive layer of concrete, reinforced with steel beams is spread out under surrounding streets to spread the weight over a large area.
3. Cantilevered Bay Windows.
The continuous undulating bay windows that dot the façade of the Monadnock are not self-supporting in themselves. They are in fact hanging from cantilevered steel beams that run from the buildings internal structure through the building’s masonry piers.
4. Hybrid Portal Wind Bracing.
The Monadnock was the first building to use a hybrid portal for wind bracing in the U.S. It has a complicated series of iron reinforcement to withstand against powerful winds and other lateral forces.
5. Structural use of Aluminum in Construction.
The various decorative staircases found in the building are a clear illustration of the early uses of Aluminum metal as far as construction is concerned.
6. Electric Lighting.
Due to the light limitations that were characteristic of buildings crafted out of thick masonry walls, there needed an innovative alternative to ensure enough light reaches the office block. Electric lighting, which was still a new development, was therefore installed on the Monadnock. Indeed, this building was the most extensively wired skyscraper in the whole of Chicago at that time.
Impact on Later Designs
As a bold building that challenged what was considered acceptable, Leslie (2013) notes the Monadnock is a building that has dramatically shaped the course of skyscrapers not only in Chicago but the world over. For instance, the clean façade employed on the Monadnock is now extensively used on most modern skyscrapers. The decadent ornamentation and protrusions of the previous era gave way to a more focused and functional building style. At one time the building was one of the tallest and biggest self-supporting building ever. This would not have been possible without the iron reinforcement cage support employed to add more reinforcement strength to the wall. People consequently discovered that steel was much better than iron and would make an excellent reinforcement as well as allow for taller skyscrapers (Sarkisian 2016)
Economics and Societal Impacts.
The Monadnock was of enormous economic and societal impact not just in South loop but also to the greater City of Chicago. The massive success of the building helped catalyze the construction of many more skyscrapers in the vicinity which led to the development of a new business center in the area. This rapid development of buildings and the renewed interest in Chicago as a business hub helped revitalize its economy only 22 years after the city was devastated by a destructive fire. The society also benefited due to the advent of taller buildings that could accommodate more enterprises as well as much more objectified and focused designs. (Leslie 2013; Priwer & Phillips 2014).
Empire State Building, New York.
Located in midtown Manhattan area of New York City, the Empire state building is an iconic skyscraper of epic proportions. Indeed, once, it was the tallest skyscraper in the world for 40 years after its completion in 1931 before the world trade center was constructed (Sacks & Partouche 2009; Ghosh & Robson 2015)
A Brief History.
Legend has it that, General Motor executive, John Raskob, was obsessed with besting the actions of Walter Chrysler, who, by this time, had opened ground to work on his famous Chrysler building that would be the tallest in the world. Consequently, Raskob commissioned this challenging task to Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates, who did an exceptional job by finishing the design in 2 weeks. The general contractors handed this project to implement were Starrett Brothers and Eken who were well known as the premier skyscraper builders during this time. (Roth & Clark 2016; Sacks & Partouche 2009).
Construction work commenced in January 1930. The building involved over 3400 workers. Due to excellent construction management practices, Ghosh and Robson (2015) write that the contractor was able to finish the building before schedule and within budget. The builder was able to complete the project in a record 15 months down to an estimation of 18 months! Due to the great depression which happened at around this period, the project cost about $24.7 million down from the initial estimate of $43 million. Because the building was officially opened during the great depression, when economic fortunes were at their all-time low, unfortunately, there were problems with occupancy. Consequently, Roth and Clark (2016) write that this led the locals to christen the project as the “empty building.”
Architecture.
When one looks at how the Empire state building is constructed, they can see that it perfectly fits into a style that was influential between 1920 and 1939: The Art Moderne style of the Art Deco. Firstly, Art Deco refers to a modernistic style that mainly focused on 20th-century stylistic traits rather than on the classical traditions of the past (Sarkisian 2016). It also plays around with modern materials such as glass, reinforced concrete, and steel. Finally, buildings built with the Art Deco display pomp and flair such as high-level ornamentation, metallic colors, dramatic shapes and sunbursts. The Art Moderne style of Art Deco emphasizes more of projecting the building a symbol of progress rather than an obsession with ornamentation (Sarkisian 2016). Many buildings done using the Art Moderne style feature a simple, streamlined exterior and vertical projections that create the impression of a building racing towards the sky.
Built from top to bottom, the Empire state stands a majestic 1453 feet including the broadcasting pinnacle at the top. If you get a chance to strip down this building, Sacks and Partouche (2009) write that you will encounter 62, 000 cubic yards of concrete, 57,000 tonnes of steel beams and columns, 6,400 windows and seven miles of strip featuring 67 elevators! The Empire state building is predominantly built using a framed steel construction as evidenced by its majestic height. This framed steel is however not visible as it is concealed by limestone and granite cover, accented with aluminum to enhance its shine and luster. Evidently, the exterior of this building is very easy to notice since there isn’t much ornamentation, typical of Art Moderne (Sacks & Partouche 2009).
The tower also contributes to the Art Deco style mainly in the lobby area, which is nothing short of spectacular. It rises about five stories and is finished with the most exquisite Art Deco stylings such as granite and marble which are then highlighted by polished steel. The metal mosaic that depicts the tower as the center of the universe, and the bronze medallions on the walls, meant to honor the hard-working laborers who helped make the dream a reality, are both impressive (Sacks & Partouche 2009).
Uses and Occupancy.
The Empire state building sits on a two-acre base and holds about 2 million square feet of office space. While the building is also used as a tourist's destination, it still has all the bells and whistles of a modern skyscraper. It currently houses over 1,000 businesses with an average of 2700 persons coming to work there which makes it America's second-biggest single office complex. The building also has its own Zip code (Sacks & Partouche 2009).
Pioneering Technologies.
Ghosh and Robson (2015) as well as Sacks and Partouche (2009) document the following:
1. Use of Structural Steel.
While the use of structural steel may have been quite widespread before the Empire state building was constructed, it completely changed how people viewed it. By then, structural steel had not been used for very high skyscrapers like the Empire. Its use in the Empire ignited the race to use structural steel as the primary element in extremely tall towers.
2. Fire Response System.
Due to the vast number of floors and rooms in the tower, an innovative solution in case of fire had to be found. The designers of the tower designed a state of the art fire response system that consisted of call boxes on every floor which one could activate manually in case of a fire incident. This loud bong sounds equivalent to the floor level where the fire is happening.
3. Fire Protection.
Fire protection measures on the Empire state building are second to none. The steel frames were fireproofed using iron oxide and linseed oil upon delivery from the steel mill. It was then immersed in asphalt to prevent breaking down when it came into contact with cement. Additionally, all the steel columns on the Empire are fireproofed using cinder concrete.
4. Water Distribution System.
The Empire state building features arguably the most innovative water delivery and supply systems of all tall buildings in New York. While most building's water tanks exist at the very top of the building, those of the Empire happen to be inside of the building itself. These are connected to about 70 miles worth of pipes to deliver water all around the building and serve the firefighting system too.
Impacts on Later Design, Economy and Society.
One of the most significant design impacts that the Empire state building brought about is the predominant use of steel construction to construct skyscrapers in later years (Sacks & Partouche 2009). Again, when the Empire state building was coming up, there was a lot of competition to come up with the tallest building. This led to the sprouting up of numerous skyscrapers not only in New York but also in other cities around the world (Priwer and Phillips 2014). This effectively increased the supply of office spaces and was sure to have brought prices down to the benefit of tenants.
Indeed, the two buildings bespeak of archetypes which have had profound impacts in the field of construction and architecture.
References
Ghosh, S. and Robson, K.F., 2015. Analyzing the Empire State Building Project from the Perspective of Lean Delivery System—A Descriptive Case Study. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 11(4), pp.257-267.
Leslie, T., 2013. History, Theory & Criticism: The Monadnock Building, Technically Reconsidered. CTBUH Journal, (4), pp.26-31.
Priwer, S. and Phillips, C., 2014. Skyscrapers and High Rises. Routledge.
Roth, L.M. and Clark, A.C.R., 2016. American Architecture: A History. Hachette UK.
Sacks, R. and Partouche, R., 2009. Empire state building project: archetype of “mass construction”. Journal of construction engineering and management, 136(6), pp.702-710.
Sarkisian, M., 2016. Designing tall buildings: structure as architecture. Routledge.
