Urban architecture has included high rise buildings as far back as the Tower of Babel in the Bible’s book of Genesis. “Its top in the sky” is the phrase used to describe the tower and was an idiom for impressive height. Another account mentions that the Tower reached a height of 695 feet, which was taller than any structure built in history until the Eiffel Tower in 1889, which is 1,063 feet in height.
In classical architecture, the landmark was an object set apart by its height, mass and silhouette. High rise buildings often served as accents to highlight the city center or to serve as dominant urban structures. They created a new visual identity and shaped the skylines of the city.
Modern High Rise Condos
Modern high rise condos try to incorporate the topographic features into the buildings and to have a unique expression inherent to the particular cities in which they are located. When a contractor or developer creates tall buildings in cities with century’s worth of history, it may be a challenge, but the past, present, and future should be able to live alongside each other in harmony. Architecture can successfully blend into a location when it is sensitive to the surroundings and the background of the property.
The imperative is to consider the impact on the surrounding city, improved space utilization, environmental strategies, and other factors that serve to increase the value of the building while providing the preferred living characteristics sought by potential tenants.
New high rise construction makes use of the latest technological advances. The advances are also a part of the renewal of unattractive industrial areas for updated purposes. Old industrial areas whose purpose has become lost become a potential place to develop high rise construction.
Urban Living Becomes More Attractive
After approximately 60 years of a single family house in the suburbs being the preferred living arrangement, numerous factors have made those arrangements not as livable. The high maintenance, taxes, insurance, gasoline costs for commuting, as well as other expenses, can make homeowners think longingly of the benefits of urban living.
People are thinking long and hard about living in the smaller and yet efficient atmosphere of a condo in a beautiful high rise building, owning property that needs no landscaping maintenance; an area that is pedestrian friendly and offers mass transit instead of having to bear the high costs of a motor vehicle.
Added to the above are the social assets of having areas and activities in the buildings that bring residents together to easily make new friends and to enjoy a variety of events and hobbies that make for happier living. Additionally, many upscale high rise buildings include fitness centers, a pool, outdoor recreational areas and other desirable amenities.
Some studies predict that by 2050 the population will have reached nine billion and that six to seven billion will be living in cities. There will be a need to continue increasing urban density, and well-built and well-designed high rise buildings are central to achieving that.