Skyscrapers or high-rise buildings are tall, continuously habitable buildings with multiple floors in a small plot of land. Aside from providing housing, skyscrapers help to reduce urban sprawl, add visual creativity to a skyline, and even impact the creativity and invention of those who live or work within the building. Now–a–days, all urban and suburban are filled, even recognised, with skyscrapers. They are becoming a way finder to the nearby destinations and a key feature of urban living, making up many cities’ skylines and architecture.
People act differently to skyscrapers. Some accept, some reject. However, in societies where living in a high-rise is the norm, local culture will be fine with adding new tall buildings. People born and living for a long time in tall buildings are usually comfortable continuing to live in that environment. But in deep, people in some traditional societies living for centuries in single-storey houses may initially feel uncomfortable with living in high-rises until they adjust to the new lifestyle. Indeed, the type of social community created in the high-rise differs from that found in the low-rise.
Skyscrapers in History
After the Chicago fire tragedy, there was a demand for space, so it was forced to build multi-level high-rise buildings, so built the world’s first steel structure 10-story skyscraper Home Insurance Building in 1885. As History continues, a group of tall buildings, relatively large at the time of their construction, were built at the bent of the new century. And the emergence of the invention of elevators and the cheap availability of steel made the dream comes true. This trend continued in New York with some skyscrapers, named the Flat Iron Building of 1903, continuing to the Chrysler Building of 1930, and the Empire State Building of 1931, which was popular during that time. After the Great Depression and World War II, tall building construction re-appeared in Chicago in the 1960s. Enormous progress was made in developing skyscrapers after World War II, first in the U.S., followed much later by some Pacific Rim countries, parts of Europe, and the Middle East. Technology has advanced, and the architectural style of skyscrapers has evolved; the architectural planning concept of vertically stacking a series of floors and achieving spatial efficiencies by increasing the net-to-gross floor area has remained almost the same. Rather than architectural thinking and technical and structural advancement, the primary focus remained on economic efficiency and technological and constructional limitations. Beginning with the last decade of the 20th century, this has changed, however, in favour of sustainability, innovative façade treatment, free-form massing, and iconic architectural vocabulary.]
Unnoticed benefits of skyscrapers
Skyscrapers reduce your travel and make us get home easily. If you secure an apartment on the upper floor, you’ll enjoy less traffic noise and some of the best views in the city. Living on higher floors also gives you more privacy and natural light. Skyscrapers will provide vast views of the city skyline, which will help calm your mind and helps to stimulate your senses. Being at a higher level gives you a sense of security from theft etc… Also, studies show that being on the top floor will bring a thought of leadership quality and luxury to your mind and eventually increase your values to yourself. Many high-rise buildings provide amenities in themselves or nearby places, reducing our time and money and improving our social interaction.
Apartments and social life
Residential tall buildings or skyscrapers, in particular, are directly associated with social effects. Many scholars have expressed concerns about the socio-psychological impacts of high-rise housing. While high-rise housing may be desirable for single people and couples, it may be less desirable for a family with children, elders or handicapped. Some sociologists argue that the environment of tall buildings can make being inside the skyscraper’s inhabitants feel claustrophobic by creating a rat-cage mentality. It is argued that low-rise living is closer to nature and facilitates a stronger community-oriented social life. As structures grow up, tenants lose touch with the city life below.
While luxury, peace, security and amazing views are some of the benefits of living on a raised floor, there are some disadvantages to it, such as pet issues, the difficulty of repairs and maintenance, and inconvenience in shifting. Also, the studies found that people living in skyscrapers or high-rise buildings will suffer from greater mental health problems, higher fear of crime, fewer positive social interactions, and more difficulty raising their children.
As urban populations continue to grow and space is limited, skyscrapers play an important role in urban development. However, specific studies on high-rise apartment buildings or skyscrapers conclude that they need to pay more attention to their residents’ needs and lifestyle habits. The buildings have created different problems, such as behaviour problems, helplessness, poor social relations, and mental health, and hindered child development. Crowding in skyscrapers makes it difficult to control social interaction, which may isolate people from each other. Therefore, people living in skyscrapers are considered to have weaker social relationships, either with their fellow neighbours and/or with outsiders. Comparing different social issues between skyscrapers and other housing typologies, and conclude that high-rise living has a high negative impact on residents. Therefore, along with other asinities, it is essential to provide opportunities and places for social interaction in high-rise, high-density residential areas to build community cohesion among residents.
