Factors And Ideas: The Ten-Story Montauk Skyscrapers

The human race has always wanted to reach for the sky. Constructing structures that would reach the stars has been a dream of men for many years. A building that could touch the sky first made an appearance in the late 1870’s, in Chicago. The ten-story Montauk building, completed in 1882, was the first building to be dubbed a skyscraper. Built in Chicago, and designed by John Wellborn Root, the Montauk building was the first of its kind. Back in that time, ten-stories was the edge of viability when it came to height. When using concrete, weight becomes a major issue above seven stories: “To distribute the weight of the then-massive building in the city’s soft soil, Root incorporated iron rails into the building’s foundation” (“John Wellborn Root”). As time wore on, architects in Chicago wanted to build skyscrapers higher than ever before. In 1891, the Monadnock building was built in Chicago, it took less than two
Weight is a problem that engineers continue to tussle with because it is hard to find the right combination of materials and building techniques. Structural engineers continue to struggle with the ever present challenge of transportation. Transporting people through a skyscraper continues to be a challenge because elevators were unsafe at first, and elevator shafts cannot be made as tall as skyscrapers. Wind is the ultimate challenge that engineers face when building skyscrapers. This is because of vortex shedding, and the exponential rise of lateral loads at immense heights. These three challenges are felt all over the world when building a skyscraper, and will most likely continue to be challenges for many years to come. With the ideas of electromagnetic elevators and carbon fiber buildings, man will continue to reach for the sky, and as they do this, they will continue to wrestle with the challenges of weight, transportation, and