There have been a fair amount of threads that have started out talking about one thing, say Raleigh's future skyline, that have often divulged into talking about high rise buildings and city skylines. So I figured why not just have one central thread for such discussion.

One of the coolest high rise buildings I learned about today was the main building at Moscow State University. Standing at 787 ft. tall the main building when completed was the 7th-tallest building in the world, and the tallest outside New York City. It was the tallest building outside of North America until the KLI 63 building in Seoul was completed in 1985. It was also the tallest building in Europe until 1988. The building is the world's tallest dedicated educational establishment and surpassed the University of Pittsburgh's 535 ft. Cathedral of Learning which is also an awesome building and takes a shit on Duke University's Duke Chapel.

Moscow State University Main Building

may need to right click view image




Pitt's Cathedral of Learning




I figure it'd be nice to start out with some high rise buildings that you wouldn't normally think about.

[Edited on October 2, 2007 at 10:02 PM. Reason : ]

10/2/2007 9:58:22 PM

this thread has some good potential as i am a big fan of skyscrapers. unfortunately, i have nothing to contribute at the moment...

10/3/2007 7:36:13 AM

I recently visited the Cathedral in Lincoln, UK. It was the tallest building in the world from 1300-1549. Really an amazing sight.



I have also been up to the top of Taipei 101. The city really lacks a good skyline though it kind of stands out too much.

10/3/2007 7:55:47 AM

Taipei 101 looks like a bunch of chinese food cartons stacked on top of each other.

10/3/2007 9:31:47 AM

ironically, (or not), that was kinda the point, indirectly...

I like how some of these buildings claim "tallest" by virtue of "integrated structural antenna and masts" while the ones on the sears tower aren't ............

10/3/2007 9:34:47 AM

Watched a show on the Shanghai World Financial Center still under construction. Looks like a sweet building.

10/3/2007 10:32:06 AM

Quote :

"I like how some of these buildings claim "tallest" by virtue of "integrated structural antenna and masts" while the ones on the sears tower aren't ............"

Right. But the CTBUH sets the standards (or tries to at least) for the rankings.

101 has the record for
-ground to roof
-ground to highest occupied floor
Sears Tower holds the record for
-Greatest height from ground to pinnacle

now when the burj Dubai opens it'll blow away everything

10/3/2007 11:59:11 AM

sorry, i don't have anything to contribute - but these photos are fantastic.

10/3/2007 4:22:24 PM

It may not be the tallest, and it may be well known, but I still have to throw in a picture of NYC's Chrysler Building--in my humble opinion, the most beautiful skyscraper ever constructed.

10/3/2007 4:29:08 PM

Quote :

"Right. But the CTBUH sets the standards (or tries to at least) for the rankings. 101 has the record for -ground to roof -ground to highest occupied floor Sears Tower holds the record for -Greatest height from ground to pinnacle now when the burj Dubai opens it'll blow away everything"

Burj Dubai has already taken over all the 4 records, and is even taller now (for 2 weeks) than the CN Tower . In other words, it is the tallest unsupported structure ever built.

(yes, I realize it is unfinished, so the records are moot, but you know what I mean)

10/3/2007 5:15:16 PM

it is very niiiiiice. very symmetric.

10/3/2007 5:15:38 PM

^^^Wow, you read my mind. I was going to post the Chrysler Building when I got home from work. I agree it's one of the most prettiest skyscrapers out there, and it's so old too. They did an extensive renovation and cleanup of the building on the outside some years ago to restore it to it's former glory. Hopefully I get to go in it when I go back up to NY to visit my old roommate next week. It held the title of World's Tallest Building for one year from 1930-1931 when the Empire State Building opened. At 1,046 ft, it is still the tallest brick building in the world. I love it, especially when it's lit up at night. The eagle ornaments shooting out from the building and the unique top make it magnificent.








[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 5:30 PM. Reason : ^]

10/3/2007 5:28:35 PM

Did you guys know it is the tallest BRICK skyscraper?

I have a lot to contribute to this topic, but am a bit busy right now.

See these threads by me until then which contain many world records:

?topic=464598
?topic=452462

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 6:03 PM. Reason : ]

10/3/2007 5:40:08 PM

always reminds me of the unfulfilled drawings of hugh ferriss



here's some of his stuff (both realised and imaginary)

***http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/units/ldpd/avery/html/index.html

here's a link to the page where you can download a viewer cause they made it a non-traditional image file
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/avery/da/ferriss.html

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 5:50 PM. Reason : +]

10/3/2007 5:48:19 PM

Quote :

"Watched a show on the Shanghai World Financial Center still under construction. Looks like a sweet building."

While not anywhere near as tall the Wachovia South Tryon Project that is going up in Charlotte has a design similar to the Shanghai World Financial Center with the whole handle like design at the top. It will become Wachovia's Corporate Center. It will become Charlotte's second tallest skyscraper after the Bank of America Corporate Center.




[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 6:44 PM. Reason : ]

10/3/2007 6:40:30 PM

I was always fascinated by the work of Albert Speer. He was the official architect of the Third Reich and designed a number of massive Romanesque buildings dreamed up by Hitler. Why the scale is absurd the engineering is impressive.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSrfp_uJiik

While the dome pictured doesn't fit most definitions of a skyscraper, it would have been 1,000 ft tall and had room for 150,000 people inside. Recently its been determined that the swampy ground in Berlin isn't solid enough to support such large stone structures.

Ultimately Speer went on to serve as Germany's armament minister and spent 20 years in jail after the war.

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 6:44 PM. Reason : . ]

10/3/2007 6:43:36 PM

I recently discovered the beautiful Shenzhen Special Zone Press Tower in Shenzhen, China. Currently the 77th tallest completed building in the world.

10/3/2007 7:02:31 PM

I give you London's 30 St Mary Axe aka The Gherkin. While a very young building, it has already obtained iconic status and has been featured in a couple of films such as Match Point and Basic Instinct 2.

10/3/2007 9:23:55 PM

just beautiful...

10/3/2007 9:56:59 PM

10/3/2007 10:17:45 PM

they said Albert Speer's design for the great hall is totally shoddy. They said there are so many things wrong with it and that it never would've worked. They said it was so large that when it was full of people, all the heat from the people at the top breathing would've caused it to pretty much rain inside that place. And, like you said, the ground could never hold anything that large. Germania

10/3/2007 10:24:05 PM

The great hall concept only popped up after Hitler visited the Pantheon, got turned onto domes, and then drew a sketch of the German dome that would put the Greeks to shame. Speer is just the poor guy who got stuck with making Hitler's sketch a workable design.

10/3/2007 10:40:21 PM

not really scraping the sky too much but marvelous to look at is The Ark in Hamersmith, London

10/3/2007 11:09:04 PM

^^^^ I wonder if they will ever complete the Ryugyong Hotel. They ceased working on it in 1992. It's one of the biggest White Elephants ever. You'd think the North Korean people would wise up and use this as an example of why their country is going nowhere under their current government. I guess organizing a revolt is harder than it seems.

10/3/2007 11:30:18 PM

The wikipedia article about the Ryugyong hotel mentions that (according to Emporis) they used substandard concrete so it would take a LOT of structural work to make it safe to finish it out...$$$

10/3/2007 11:54:35 PM

You'd think North Koreans would be pissed off that the government kept up construction during the famine.

10/4/2007 12:16:43 AM

Who wants to rate the best high rises in NC. I know there aren't a ton of outstanding ones, but it would be fun. Here's some of the best ones I can think of from each of the major cities in NC in no particular order

Charlotte
Bank of America Corporate Center (The Queen City's Crown)


Hearst Tower


One Wachovia Center


Bank of America Plaza (sorry it's the best pic I could find, even though it has the Emporis watermark)


Interstate Tower


Three Wachovia Center


201 North Tryon


Two Wachovia Center (this building is really cool looking when they light it up at night; it glows a bright white)


400 South Tryon


Carillon Tower


Charlotte Plaza aka the Grant Thornton building


525 North Tryon aka ODELL Plaza (sorry for the size, but it was the best pic that captured its essence)


The Arlington aka The Pink Building


The Westin (Charlotte's tallest hotel)



I'll get to W-S, G-boro, Raleigh, and Durham later. Gotta go to bed.

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 12:59 AM. Reason : may need to right click view image to see some of the pics]

10/4/2007 12:57:48 AM

winstonsalemskyscrapers.com or something along those lines is (or was, at least) a pretty neat site

winston has the wachovia building/giant weiner, the BB&T building -- i've always hated that building, the old wachovia building -- which i think was renovated for condos a few years ago, and the reynolds building, which looks pretty cool during christmas

everything else is under 20 stories or so

the GMAC building is pretty cool, dark glass and such

the nissen building on 4th street is really nice and really new, there's a pool on the roof

and there's another building on fourth street (one fourth st. maybe?) that isn't that tall but looks great

as far as gigantic sprawling complexes go, WF/bowman-gray is ridiculous

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 7:30 AM. Reason : GIS has shit for winston buildings]

10/4/2007 7:21:28 AM

aha, the london "suppository" skyscraper

10/4/2007 8:51:10 AM

10/4/2007 8:56:36 AM

Winston-Salem

Wachovia Center


Winston Tower


BB&T Financial Center


Reynolds Building (this art deco building was designed by the same architects that did the Empire State building)


Nissen Building (can you believe this building is 80 years old!)


One West Fourth Street

10/4/2007 6:09:02 PM

jesus, how can you actually post some of that shit in Winston and Charlotte in a skyscraper thread? Those things are fucking weak. My buddy used to live on the top floor of the Nissen building...the 19th floor!!

For fuck's sake, the Home Depot's corporate HQ is 22 stories and it's just a crappy little building

10/4/2007 6:44:47 PM

Look here is Hearst tower.

Hearst tower from the top





[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 7:27 PM. Reason : a]

10/4/2007 7:19:27 PM

10/4/2007 7:28:25 PM

Durham

University Tower


SunTrust Bank Building formerly Central Carolina Bank (CCB) Building (like W-S's Reynold's Building, this was also designed by the same architects that designed the Empire State Building)


Durham Centre

10/4/2007 8:41:11 PM

theres something about its presence that gives me chills. probably the fact that it sticks out off the grid like its in the street and the fact that it has grand central right there.

10/4/2007 9:16:40 PM

The most amazing thing about this picture is when those buildings were built.

Burj - not done
Taipei 101 - 2004
Sears Tower - 1973
Petronas - 1998
Empire State - 1931

It's just amazing to me that they could build a 450m tall building in the 1920s that is still strong and standing today....

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 10:11 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2007 10:09:03 PM

Quote :

"jesus, how can you actually post some of that shit in Winston and Charlotte in a skyscraper thread?"

I posed the question that we should perhaps rank the high rises of North Carolina. So I just posted some pics of some of the more notable ones as a guide. Besides it's not all about how many stories a building has, it needs to have an attractive design as well. Take the ODELL Plaza in Charlotte. While it does not have many floors the building looks great. If it was all about height, we'd just have a bunch of thin, rectangular buildings. Besides the Reynolds Building holds some importance considering it was used as a model when designing the Empire State Building. What do you have against Charlotte anyways. It is one of the premier skylines not just in the South, but in the country as well. I've looked on skyscraper forums and topics concerning best skylines for mid-major cities (Baltimore, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, etc.) usually had Charlotte at or near the top of the rankings. It's a beautiful skyline and I'm not just saying that b/c I grew up there.

10/4/2007 10:10:10 PM

charlotte does have a beautiful skyline

anyway my vote for NC goes to either the westin, BOA Center, or the hearst tower. can't decide on which is my favorite though

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 10:25 PM. Reason : ,]

10/4/2007 10:25:02 PM

Raleigh

Two Hanover Square



Wachovia Capitol Center


Two Progress Plaza


Quorum Center


Clarion Hotel

10/4/2007 10:47:02 PM

Greensboro

Wachovia Tower


Renaissance Plaza


Jefferson Standard Building


Jefferson Pilot Building


[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 11:03 PM. Reason : ]

10/4/2007 11:02:10 PM

Being from Greensboro originally, I've gotta give some love to the Jefferson Standard and Jefferson Pilot buildings (they're connected). The Standard building is an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture, even though it's not particuarly tall. And the JP building is a very successful sympathetic addition, that blends very well with its 60 year older neighbor/conjoined twin.

(One odd note about the Standard building--as beatiful as the east and south facades of the building are, the north side (and I think the west) were left without the elaborate terracotta/stone ornament because of the builders' confidence that more tall buildings would sprout up around it in no time. The west side is no longer visible since that's where the newer JP building connects, but the north face of the building has been an austere brick wall (though at least it does have windows) for 70 years now. That's what you get for expecting anything big in Greensboro.)

Also, you forgot the Guilford building, which I've always liked. It gets forgotten because it's on the southern edge of downtown and it's not that tall, but it's an attractive 1920's building and worthy of mention...

(You may have to right-click and view image, emporis doesn't like linking...)


[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 10:34 AM. Reason : d]

10/5/2007 10:32:31 AM

I think the Hearst tower takes the cake on coolest NC skyscraper. Followed by the Westin in Charlotte.

Oh, and ignore the haters who are all "why do you post charlotte in a skyscraper thread?". Idiots. We know there are much larger ones. But for once, get it through your head that bigger does not automatically mean better.

10/5/2007 10:44:10 AM

^

The Westin is cool as well. Though not quite as fun as the Hearst.

[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 11:46 AM. Reason : a]

10/5/2007 11:45:32 AM

I like how the Hearst Tower looks like it's getting wider as it goes up. The floors actually get taller as it goes up.


The Burj Al Arab (The World's Tallest Hotel and billed as the World's Only 7-star Hotel)It looks like a sail on a boat. I guess they don't have to worry about oceanfront and oceanview rooms.











[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 4:26 PM. Reason : ]

10/5/2007 4:25:28 PM

Two International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, currently the 7th tallest building in the world

10/5/2007 10:14:56 PM

nothing to contribute, but keep up the good work, i am thoroughly enjoying this thread!

10/6/2007 1:52:45 AM

^^That thing gives the Winston-Salem Wachovia building some competition in the "most phallic building" category...

10/6/2007 11:12:51 AM

Going back to Hong Kong we have the Bank of China Tower, a beautiful building and currently the 12th tallest building in the world. I love how it looks at night.









[Edited on October 6, 2007 at 2:59 PM. Reason : ]

10/6/2007 2:58:56 PM

remember when you got to all the weird future shit in sim city

thats what this looks like to me




i like Hearst tower the best in NC


wachovia and boa are both building new buildings

they're sort of in a battle to be Charlotte's golden child right now.
trying to out donate, out employ out salary one another kinda cool.

10/7/2007 2:39:15 AM