History & Theory of Skyscraper Design

Oklahoma State University, ARCH 4173, Fall 2026

John P. Gaynor, Haughwout Building, New York, 1856-1857

Mies Van der Rohe, 860 & 880 North Lake Shore Drive Chicago, 1948-1951

William Le Baron Jenney, Home Insurance Building, Chicago, Illinois, 1884-1885

Gustave Eiffel, Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, 1887-1889

Boris Iofan, Palace of the Soviets (project), Moscow, Russia, c. 1934

William Strickland, Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1818-1824

Richard Upjohn, Trinity Church, New York, New York, 1839-1846

John McArthur, Jr., City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1871-1901

Thomas Ustick Walter, architect, with Montgomery Meigs and August Schoenborn, engineers: United States Capitol Dome, Washington, D.C., 1856-1864

James Bogardus, Laing Stores, New York, 1849 (demolished 1971) 

William Johnston Jayne Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1848-1850

Gilman and Kendall, First Equitable Building, New York, 1868-1870

Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895)

New York Tribune Building, New York, 1873-1875

George B. Post (1837-1913)

Western Union Building, New York, 1872-1875

George B. Post, Produce Exchange, New York, 1881-1884, (demo. 1957)

Jenney, First Leiter Building, Chicago, 1879-1880, Demolished 1972

Who is Francisco Mujica?

He wrote, “The History of the Skyscraper” in Paris, France 1929. The stock market crashed in 1929.

What was the only skyscraper built in 1931?

Empire State Building

What Mujica’s definition of a skyscraper?

It is a building of great height, has a steel skeleton, and a high speed elevator.

Who is Elisha Graves Otis?

He is the man that invented the elevator.

When Otis make the elevator, showed it, and patent it?

He made it 1851, shoed it in 1854 at Crystal Palace, and then waited seven years to patent it.

What type of store was the Haughwout Building?

It was a dry goods store.

What was the first building to utilize the Otis elevator and why?

Haughwout Building. It was installed to attract tourists.

Otis Hydraulic Elevators were powered by what?

Water, but they were operated by people.

What type of elevators did the Eiffel Tower use?

Hydraulic

Who made the Electric Elevator?

Morse-Williams

Why did push button elevators become popular?

Elevator operators went on strike.

Why do you need a curtain wall over a skeleton frame?

Because it covers all the steel construction. It also looks nice and because exposed steel is able to catch on fire easily.

What was the “first” skyscraper? Who agreed that the building was a skyscraper: architects or engineers?

The Home Insurance Building. Architects said yes, but engineers said no.

What is the theory of the Tower of Babel?

The minaret of the Great Mosque is the Tower of Babel.

The Amiens Cathedral is one of the last of what period?

The high gothic period.

How many floors does the Amiens Cathedral have, and what is the scale of the cathedral?

It has one floor, but it is equivalent to the size of a 14 story building. There is a second floor, but it is not meant for people to actually use.

How many floors does the Eiffel Tower have?

3 floors

What is the Eiffel Tower made out of and why?

It is made out of wrought iron because Gustave Eiffel didn’t trust steel.

Did the Parisians like the Eiffel Tower?

No. They said, “not even Americans would like it.”

Who said his favorite restaurant was in the Eiffel Tower?

Guy de Naupassant

Why was the Eiffel Tower built?

It was built for the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution.

What was the story about the Palace of the Soviets?

They had chosen a spot where the cathedral, Christ the Savior, stood. Stalin tore it down and dug the hole for it, but the completetion of the project wasn’t successful. The big hole ended up being a swimming pool. They rebuilt the cathedral in the 1970s.

What does soviet mean?

workers counsel

What does CTBUH stand for, and what is it called now?

It means Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. It is now called the CVU, which means Council on Vertical Urbanism.

Where was the former headquarters of the CTBUH?

Crown Hall, Mies van der Rohe

Where is the new home of the CTBUH?

Holabird & Roche, Monroe Building, Chicago, Illinois, 1910-1912

What did the plans of the Burj Khalifa resemble?

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mile-High Skyscraper.

Why did the Burj Khalifa’s plans change from a big plus sign?

They were concerned that people could see into their neighbor’s apartment. They felt that widening the angle would make it harder for them to see and upgrade their privacy.

Once finished, what should be the tallest skyscraper?

Jeddah Tower (Kingdom Tower)

Why did the construction of the Jeddah Tower come to a halt?

Ten years ago, their ruler was in a regime which led to their head constructor to be executed.

What does the Second Bank of the United States look like?

It looks like a Greek temple, with the exceptions that it has windows and it doesn’t have columns wrapping around the entire building.

What type of church is the Trinity Church?

It is an Episcopalian/Anglican church

What is the Beaux-Arts Classicism somtimes called?

Second Empire Style