Willis (Sears) Tower
The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower is the tallest building in Chicago and one of its most popular tourist attractions. This is not surprising since it is one of the tallest buildings in the world at an amazing 110 stories, or 1,730 ft including the antenna on top (1,450 ft without the antenna). In fact, it held the title as the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998. Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan can all be seen from the observation deck. Located on the 103rd floor, the Skydeck in the tower is the 7th highest in the world. There are around 25,000 people that flock to the tower daily just to catch a glance of these views and for some to face their fears of heights (History and
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decided that it wanted to combine all it’s Chicago employees into one building. On July 27, 1970, Sears announced to the world that they would be constructing a building that not only was the largest office building ever built at 4,500,000 square feet, but was also the tallest building ever built at that time at 110 stories tall. It was 100 feet taller than the World Trade Center in New York. The design of the building was a monumental task that was undertaken by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. It was originally built to accommodate the growth that the company was expected to have, with Sears only using around half of the space originally, but eventually, much of the space turned into residential, retail space, and office space for other companies (Kerch, 1991). In 2009, Willis Holdings agreed to list part of the buildings and receive naming rights, so the Sears Tower became the Willis …show more content…
The architecture and engineering firm hired with the task of designing and constructing the tower, SOM, assigned Bruce Graham and Fazlur Khan to the project. They implemented a bundled tube design that was the first of its kind on such a large project that paved the way for the design and construction of future skyscrapers. This design allowed for 4.5 million square feet of office space, more customization of the floor layouts, up to 3 foot of sway within the building, and the stiffness needed to stay standing at the height in which it was built. The tubular design also allowed Sears to save about $10,000,000 on steel alone compared to previously used steel frame designs. Additionally, SOM managed to save 95% of the time usually spent welding by using prefabricated parts referred to as Christmas trees. This not only majorly sped up the process, but allowed Sear to save on labor costs. In addition to 3 trussed layers in the building, there were trusses and spandrel beams designed into every floor to help the load distribute more evenly.
Works Cited
Ali, Mir M. Moon, Kyung Sun. “Structural Developments in Tall Buildings: Current Trends and Prospects” Architectural Science Review, Volume 50, Issue 3, 2007. Web. 27 Sept. 2017.
Gunel, M. Halis. Ilgin H. Emre. "A proposal for the classification of structural systems of tall buildings" Building
It could be argued that the greatest architectural structure ever created by Canadians is the CN Tower. Construction on the CN Tower first started on February 6, 1973 and finished on June 26, 1976. The CN Tower was considered to be a breakthrough when it was first created because it broke a record set previously. Once the CN Tower was complete it gained the title as the “world’s tallest free-standing structure” at 1815.4 feet. The creation of the CN Tower was a defining moment for Canada and still impacts Canadians today. One reason why the CN Tower was a defining moment is because it solved a communication problem that the city of Toronto was experiencing at that time. Another reason why the CN Tower is important is because it helps our economy by attracting many tourists every year. The most important reason why the CN Tower was a defining moment is because it gives Canadians a sense of inspiration and national pride.
However, the success of the building schemes relied on the construction methods and innovations that are now attributed as bei...
Before the end of the 19th century, a high-rise building was dependent on the strength of the walls to maintain the load. The taller the construction meant that more strain was added to the building. Due to the weight limitations “load-bearing“ walls could perpetuate, any large-scale construction at this time needed colossal size walls, therefore causing limitations on the overall height.
Attention: Have people ever realize when did the ideas of placing a window on the wall or to have tall buildings came from? Thanks to architecture, mankind has been able to play with these ideas. Using this source as a study of new ways of construction, we have been able to innovate and appreciate new technology, which is and has been used through time. Some types of architecture have been outstanding. One of them and the most important is Gothic style architecture.
Two models were created of the frame of the existing building. The first model was done in Revit and was created for the purpose of having a visual representation of the primary framing members of the building combined with the runway beams and columns for the crane system, Figure 14. The second model was done in RISA and was created for the purpose of analyzing the primary framing members for potential modifications.
The aim of this write up is to consider the style and function of each building as examples of their structure.
The Willis Tower has many information and cool things that you can learn about, is a unique building and has many fun things to do. The Willis Tower makes the Chicago skyline very beautiful and the building is a structure known to almost everyone. It is a famous building and it is a modern structure of our world and is very elegant inside. The Willis Tower is many things like a city, an attraction, and a big service place. If you want to see the Willis Tower, come to Chicago and check it out. It may be a great experience to go into Chicago’s tallest building.
The structural integrity of the World Trade Centre depends on the closely spaced columns around the perimeter. Lightweight steel trusses span between the central elevator core and the perimeter columns on each floor. These trusses support the concrete slab of each floor and tie the perimeter columns to the core, preventing the columns from buckling outwards.
One World Trade Center (WTC) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere measuring up at 1776 feet tall. The built output sets new standards of design, construction, and prestige. Its beauty in New York City’s magical skyline makes it an icon. It is the most recognised and desirable office address in the world. In this essay I plan to argue that the social, political and economic status of society has affected the built output of this building considerably, for the good. Making the building one of the best skyscrapers in the world.
Willis Tower. According to Willis tower “Willis Tower is the premier corporate office building in Chicago, more than 100 companies including prominent law, insurance, transportation and financial services”.Willis Tower is the tallest building in the western hemisphere and the 8th tallest building in the world standing at 1,450 feet tall. Willis tower has more than 4.5 million square feet. Willis Tower has a glass viewing platform on the 103 rd floor that extends almost four and a half feet off of the skyscraper it is all glass so you can look down and see the city of Chicago and four other states. More than one million seven hundred thousand people visit the platform each year. On a clear day, you can see up to 50 miles away.2. Magnificent
Fanella, D. (2011). Reinforced concrete structures: analysis and design / David A. Fanella. New York: McGraw-Hill, c2011.
But due to a number of factors, timber framing went into decline as the Georgian era moved to the Victorian era. Even though falling out of fashion during Victorian times, but thanks to certain architects make a point of studying how flexible is the materials was used during history and try to reproduce these traditional designs, timber frames have seen a resurgence in 1970s in the Western world. What made people returning to timber construction? Many of the most extraordinary medieval timber frames were still standing due to the durability of hardwood timbers – particularly oak, and this were much appreciated by all who came across them. Today, timber is used as a major structural material in a great variety of building and civil engineering applications. Steel and concrete has been took over by timber as the architectural wonder material of the 21st century, with its sustainability, quality and speed of construction is praise by the architects. Architects are allow to build bigger and higher with the new type of engineered timber because it considerably stronger and more stable than regular wood. This make timber skyscraper is not a real
Architecture is dependent on current trends. It was comparable with any other form of art, whether it is music, fashion design or painting. There is great demand for the incorporation of the latest and greatest advances in architectural design into the modern structures. Many people would want their structures to be at-per with the latest designs, but maintain a classic sense that will ensure the look is in, no matter what year it is (Burden, 2000).
This module broadens our understanding on the ways in which buildings are constructed and the purpose of choosing materials and structures for buildings. This module is divided into survey, structure, materials and construction. These are taught specifically through lectures, tutorial exercises, drawings and lab test workshops. The lectures were an explanation of the topics in which our knowledge was put into practice by solving and experimenting questions during tutorials and workshops. By the end of the year, we gained great knowledge on the contents of this module by taking part in this structured order of learning and understanding in workshops and tutorials.
Chua, Ian Y. H. Civil and Structural Engineering Resource Web. 29 Jan. 2000. 2 Mar.