How High Can Buildings Go? How can we measure them? SAFELY!!

How High How High Can Buildings Go?Can Buildings Go?

How can we measure them?

SAFELY!!

Safe Measuring Safe Measuring EstimateEstimate

5 ft

9 ft

1191 ft

X

Solving the ProportionSolving the ProportionWoman’s Height

Woman’s Shadow=

Building Height

Building Shadow

5

9= X

1191

9X = 5*1191

9X = 5955

9X = 59559 9

X = 662 Feet

Actual Structure & Actual Structure & HeightHeight

• Space Needle (Seattle Center)

• Built 1961 for ’62 World’s Fair

• Seattle, Washington

• Edward E. Carlson, designer

• 605 feet high (184 meter)

• Picture and information from

http://architecture.about.com/

library/blspaceneedle.htm

(Our estimate: 662 ft, included the antennae)

Teachable Moments Teachable Moments Begin:Begin:

1191 ft

How will you measure the structure’s shadow?

Teacher Responds:Teacher Responds:

1191 ft

You pace it out.

Pacing It OutPacing It Out

• Count your average steps in 100 feet

• Count steps as you walk shadow’s length

• Then use a proportion

1191 ft

Pacing It OutPacing It Out

1191 ft

33 steps

100 feet=

393 steps

X feet

33 X = 39,300

X = 1,190.9 feet

More Teachable More Teachable MomentsMoments

So what are the ACTUAL tallest buildings in the world??

The Tallest “Building”?The Tallest “Building”?• CN Tower was the

tallest “structure” until September of 2007

• Toronto, Ontario• 1,815 ft, 5 in height• Guinness World

Record for 31 yrs!• But many argued that

this was not a building

CN Tower: Deck ViewCN Tower: Deck View

Still More Teachable Still More Teachable MomentsMoments

What about the World Trade Center?

World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center• Terrorists destroyed

the old “Twin Towers” on 09/11/2001– Built in 1973– 110 stories high– 1,368 feet high

• New “Freedom tower”– Completion Year

2013?– 1,368 feet high– 1,776 feet with spire

Tallest Buildings Tallest Buildings (2007)(2007)

1. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan 2004 101 508 1,667

2. Petronas Tower 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1998 88 452 1,483

3. Petronas Tower 2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1998 88 452 1,483

4. Sears Tower, Chicago 1974 110 442 1,451

5. Jin Mao Building, Shanghai 1999 88 421 1,381

6. (Under Construction) Freedom Tower, New York City 2013 ? 417 1,368

(7.) Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong 2003 88 415 1,362

(8.) CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou, China 1996 80 391 1,283

(9.) Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, China 1996 69 384 1,260

(10.) Empire State Building, New York 1931 102 381 1,250

Year Stories Meters Feet

Recent New Record SetRecent New Record Set

Building & Location Year Stories

Height

ChiefArchitect M. Ft.

Burj Khalifa,Dubai, UAE

1/4/2010

160 828 2,717Skidmore, Owings

& Merrill

• Nobody really knows the answer

• Records are made to be broken

How Tall Can Buildings How Tall Can Buildings Go?Go?