Plane Surfaces In AMERICA

• American architecture has devoloped a major

transformation starting from the COLONIAL
ARCHITETCURE in 16th century to THE LATEST
MODERN ARCHITETCURE in today world
• A lot of styles like
European,Columbian,Georgian,Spanish,Vernacular,Gr
eek, Gothic, ect., have been introduced into america
in the times of devolopment during colonization.
• A lot of practiced and self learnt architects have
evolved in times who made major transformations in
architeture and made a remarakable presence.
•
Plane surfaces
Plane surfaces have evolved in america in the form of
high-rise buildings ,i.e { skyscrapers} in the pre-20th
century.

A skyscraper is a
continuously habitable
high-rise building that
has over 40 floors and is
taller than approximately
150 m. Historically, the
term first referred to
buildings with 10 to 20
floors in the 1880s. The
definition shifted with
advancing construction
technology during the
20th century.
History of Skyscraper Architecture (c.1850-1970)
But Schuyler was primarily an architectural critic and not a historian, and, therefore, he apparently
missed the signs of where his thoughts and remarks were leading. He saw the changes taking
place but, perhaps because he was too close to the scene, he seems to have not been able to see it
in historical perspective. In this article we investigate whether a new view of skyscraper history
can be conceived which would take into account both the influence of technology and the role of
revival and more modern modes. The approach used here is based primarily on architectural form
as dictated by the ever-growing size and height of skyscrapers responding to broad cultural forces
operating in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Such a view of skyscraper history might be divided into seven chapters or phases.
Phase 1
A pre-skyscraper phase, dated roughly between 1849 and 1870, composed of buildings containing
the essential elements of the skyscraper but not as yet assembled into a single structure.
Phase 2
Starting with the Equitable Life Assurance Building, of 1868-70, which contains the necessary
ingredients for the early skyscraper but where the compositional features of Phase 1 still persist.
Phase 3
Beginning about 1878, when the French mansardic mode gives way to a flat-roofed formula
involving a free and varied grouping of stories producing, in Schuyler's words, much "wild work."
Seagram Building, NY (1954-8)
Designed by ex-Bauhaus architect
Mies van der Rohe, one of the key
figures in 20th century architecture,
in both Europe and America
Phase 4
Starting in the late 1880s and characterized by a tripartite system of composition
corresponding to the parts of a classic column with its base, shaft, and capital.
Phase 5
Dealing with the skyscraper in tower form. In this category three variants are
recognized: the "isolated" tower, conceived as early as 1888 but not realized until
1894-95; a "mounted" tower, dating about 1911, as exemplified by the Woolworth
Building; and a "set-back" tower, resulting from the rights provided by the revision of
the zoning codes from 1916 onward.
Phase 6
Associated with the "setback" form of skyscraper, dictated by the zoning-code
revisions effective after 1916.
Phase 7
Dating from 1930 and represented by Rockefeller Center, features a solution with
limited space development, park-like setting, and often of multiblock dimensions.
The first four phases can be assigned terminal dates because the compositional
formulas employed rarely appear in present-day solutions. However, the last three
continue in use and promise to do so for some time in the future.
How Skyscraper Design Evolved
If architecture is one of the most exciting types of art, nothing quite compares to the
art and ingenuity of designing supertall buildings. Nothing compares with this
inspirational form of public art, that can be viewed and appreciated by anyone.
In 1899, Montgomery Schuyler, the eminent critic of the Architectural Record, wrote an
article on the subject of progressive American Architecture called "The Skyscraper
Up-to-Date," in which he lamented that the element of experiment seemed to have
disappeared from the design of the skyscraper. He recalled the early days, especially
in the first half of the 1880s, when much "wild work" was done. But now, he said,
architects seemed to have settled down to a tripartite formula involving a base, shaft,
and capital composed of certain groupings of stories. This formula, he went on to say,
may be clothed in a variety of historic styles. Schuyler claimed the first example for
George B. Post (1837-1913), in his Union Trust Building, of 1889-90, which he
described as Richardsonian Romanesque. He said this was soon followed by others in
classical garb, such as the American Surety Building, of 1894-95, designed by Bruce
Price (1845-1903).
Evolution of high rise buildings with plane surfaces as elevations.
The Tallest Building in America (1900-present)
Traditionally, New York City and Chicago compete for the title of
tallest building in America. For example, the eight tallest
buildings in the United States are either in New York or Chicago,
and out of America's top 25 supertall buildings, eight are in
Chicago and seven are in New York City. Here is a chronological
list of the tallest buildings in the United States, including all ten
structures that held the title of tallest building in America,
during the 20th and 21st centuries.
 Here are few examples of buildings with
plain elevations:

• Park Row Building (15 Park Row), • Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower
New York City
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company • Empire State Building, New York City
Tower, New York City
• One World Trade Center (North tower)
• Woolworth Building, New York City
• Trump Building (40 Wall Street), New
York City
• Chrysler Building, New York City
Park row building:

15 Park Row
location
Manhattan, New York City

Land area 1,400 m2

Built 1896-99

Architect R. H. Robertson

Architectural style Classical Revival

No of floors 26

Significant dates

Added to NRHP November 16, 2005

Designated NYCL June 15, 1999

Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company Tower
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1909 to 1913[I]
Preceded by Singer Building

Surpassed by Woolworth Building

General information

Hotel
Type
Commercial offices (originally)

1 Madison Avenue
Location
Manhattan, New York City

Construction
1905
started

Completed 1909

Owner Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

Height
Roof 213.4 m (700 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 50
Design and construction
Architect Napoleon LeBrun & Sons
Woolworth Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1913 to 1930
Metropolitan Life Insurance
Preceded by
Company Tower
Surpassed by 40 Wall Street
General information
233 Broadway
Location
Manhattan, New York City
Construction started November 4, 1910
Topped-out July 1, 1912[1]
Completed 1912
Opening April 24, 1913
Renovated 1977–1981
US$13.5 million (equivalent to
Cost
$349,000,000 in 2019)
Witkoff Group, Cammeby's
International (bottom 30 floors)
Owner
Alchemy Properties (top 30
floors)
Height
Roof 792 ft (241 m)
Technical details
Floor count 55
Lifts/elevators 34
Design and construction
Architect Cass Gilbert
Developer F. W. Woolworth
Trump Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from April 1930 to May 27, 1930
Preceded by Woolworth Building
Surpassed by Chrysler Building
General information
Architectural style Neo-Gothic
40 Wall Street, New York,
Location
NY 10005

Construction started May 1929

Completed May 1, 1930
Opening May 26, 1930
Landlord Donald Trump
Height
Architectural 927 ft (283 m)
Top floor 836 ft (255 m)
Technical details
Floor count 70 (+2 below ground)
1,111,675 sq ft
Floor area
(103,278.0 m2)
Lifts/elevators 36
Design and construction
H. Craig Severance (main
architect), Yasuo Matsui
Architect (associate architect),
Shreve & Lamb (consulting
architect)
Chrysler Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from May 27, 1930 to May 1, 1931
Preceded by 40 Wall Street
Surpassed by Empire State Building
General information
Type Office
Architectural style Art Deco
405 Lexington Avenue,
Location
Manhattan, New York 10174

Groundbreaking September 18, 1928]

Completed May 27, 1930
Land: Cooper Union
Owner Building: SIGNA Group
and RFR Holding LLC
Height
Antenna spire 1,046 ft (318.9 m)
Roof 925 ft (282 m)
Top floor 899 ft (274 m)
Technical details
Floor count 77
Floor area 1,196,958 sq ft (111,201.0 m2)
Lifts/elevators 32
Design and construction
Architect William Van Alen
Willis Tower
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1973 to 1998
Preceded by World Trade Center (1970)
Surpassed by Petronas Twin Towers
General information
Status Complete
Type Office, observation, communication
Architectural style International
233 S. Wacker Drive
Location Chicago, Illinois 60606
United States

Current tenants United Airlines

Willis Towers Watson
Named for
Sears (1973–2009)
Construction started 1970; 50 years ago
Completed 1973; 47 years ago
Owner Blackstone Group
Height
Architectural 1,450 ft (442 m)
Tip 1,729 ft (527 m)
Top floor 1,354 ft (413 m)
Technical details
Floor count 110 (+3 basement floors)
Floor area 4,477,800 sq ft (416,000 m2)
104,[2] with 16 double-decker
Lifts/elevators elevators, made by Westinghouse,
modernized by Schindler Group
Design and construction
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Architect Fazlur Rahman Khan
Bruce Graham
Empire State Building
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1931 to 1970

General information
Status Complete
Type Office building; observation deck
Architectural style Art Deco
350 Fifth Avenue
Location
Manhattan, New York 10118
Construction started March 17, 1930
Completed April 11, 1931
Opening May 1, 1931; 89 years ago
$40,948,900]
Cost
($555 million in 2018 dollars)
Owner Empire State Realty Trust
Height
Tip 1,454 ft (443.2 m)
Roof 1,250 ft (381.0 m)
Top floor 1,224 ft (373.1 m)
Observatory 80th, 86th, and 102nd (top) floor
Dimensions
424 ft (129.2 m) east–west by 187 ft (57.0 m)
Other dimensions
north–south
Technical details
Floor count 102
Floor area 2,248,355 sq ft (208,879 m2)
Lifts/elevators 73
Design and construction
Architect Shreve, Lamb and Harmon
One World Trade Center
Record height
Tallest in North America and the Western Hemisphere since 2013
Preceded by Willis Towr
General information
Status Completed
•Office
Type •Observation
•Communication
Architectural style Contemporary modern
285 Fulton Street
Location
Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Construction started April 27, 2006; 14 years ago

Topped-out May 10, 2013; 6 years ago
November 3, 2014; 5 years ago
Opened May 29, 2015; 4 years ago (One World
Observatory)
Cost US$3.9 billion
Height
Architectural 1,776 ft (541.3 m)
Tip 1,792 ft (546.2 m)
Roof 1,368 ft (417.0 m)
Top floor 1,268 ft (386.5 m)
Observatory 1,268 ft (386.5 m)
Technical details
Floor count 94 (+5 below ground)
Floor area 3,501,274 sq ft (325,279 m2
Lifts/elevators 73, made by ThyssenKrupp
Design and construction
Architect •David Childs
Thank you