Arch2O.com

Arch2O.com - Architecture & Design Magazine
Looking at those soaring skyscrapers shaping the skylines of cities around the globe, have you ever wondered what started this" Well, it all started in Chicago; the small town that started with a mere population of 200, and grew to be a modern metropolis?home for over a million and a half Americans, by the end of the 19th century. A major reason why Chicago has tremendously flourished in those 70 years was its architecture, known as the Commercial Style, or the Chicago School.
The Industrial Revolution lead to many things; among which is Skyscrapers.
The Industrial Revolution started in the second half of the 18th century and changed the face of the world. It marked the end of the era of handcrafted products and introduced mass production using machinery powered by steam engines. Among the revolutionary products that highly benefited from mass production is steel. The availability of steel, in addition to the invention of the elevator, led construction and structure engineers to dream of a new world of possibilities, but we could sum it up in two words: ?Tall Buildings?. Elisha Otis introducing the elevator – Photography: Copie de gravure ancienne via Wikimedia Commons
World?s First Skyscraper was 10 Floors High!
Structural engineers dreamed, but architects were not as flexible. They liked their pediments, entablatures, and columns the way they were?classic by the book. However, this did not stop the flo...