Hip Young Things

Last month, in March of 2009, the Burj Dubai officially became the tallest building in the world, with 160 floors. The race for the tallest building title began over 200 years ago, with the first ‘skyscraper’ built in 1885. This was a ten story insurance building in Chicago. Innovation and technology that has the Burj Dubai standing today began with the designers and architects of the 1,800′s. At that time buildings were constructed with mortar and bricks, and in order to provide the strength necessary for the cement to hold a building up, it was necessary to construct very thick walls. But even then, the cement and stone could only take so much pressure and weight. What is necessary is a metal skeleton, and armature with the strength to support multi-levels. The man that invented this is William le Baron Jenney. He was the architect who designed and built the structure in Chicago.

Years later, another man Walter Chrysler, was searching for a way to increase the sales of another relatively new, and not yet widely used, invention. The automobile. And Chrysler had an idea based on what he was seeing in the world of architecture, the New York, USA hotel and businesses were moving into these ‘hi-rises’ and Chrysler wanted one. He wanted the tallest one, to house his company and bring attention to the wealth of the country. This was part of his advertising campaign. He hired an architect to create his vision, and while the Chrysler building no longer holds the title of the tallest structure in the world, standing at a mere 77 stories, the work of William van Alen, remains to be one of the most elaborate buildings in any city skyline. No building in San Francisco, nor Paris, nor even Dubai, can be compared in terms of the design, for it is at once timeless and nostalgic in the gilded Art Deco style. The building, as will as the spire atop it, remains to this day, a favorite and most admired structure by most architects and designers and the people walking by on the city streets.

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