Architect believes financial meltdown will cause building 'mood shift'
Bloomberg Nov 4, 08 9:09 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Attention-seeking skyscraper projects are likely to be early victims of the financial crisis, architect David Chipperfield predicts in a Bloomberg interview. "Wow-factor" buildings like London's "Shard of Glass" have proliferated during years when there's been plenty of money around, but a shift in mood is likely to see new projects taking a turn for the sensible, the architect argues.
More »
Bleak outloook makes financing a tall order for 92-story skyscraper
Wall Street Journal Oct 29, 08 6:16 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Donald Trump's 92-story Chicago tower has been hit by a triple-whammy of the credit crunch, the housing slump, and sagging retail sales, making foreclosure a real danger, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump, who developed the tower without partners, owes $1 billion on the project but has so far sold only $600 million in condo units and condo-hotel units. He's looking for an extension on a key loan due this Saturday.
More »
Consultants file liens against world's tallest skyscraper
Chicago Tribune Oct 19, 08 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The sputtering economy could topple plans to erect the nation’s tallest skyscraper, reports the Chicago Tribune. Consultants on the construction of the Chicago Spire have filed liens, with celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava seeking more than $11.3 million and a Chicago-based firm demanding $4.85 million. The developer’s spokesman acknowledged the economy’s effect on the project, calling the market “the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”
More »
Urban planners take another look at raising animals, crops in skyscrapers
Scientific American Sep 30, 08 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
They're not the most traditional tenants, but pigs, poultry, and crops might be reared in city skyscrapers of the future, drastically reducing environmental damage caused by traditional farms, Scientific American reports. Engineering airflow inside glass towers remains tricky, but the potential for a year-round growing season in the face of a booming world population has some urban developers looking to integrate skyscraper farms.
More »
New safety rules safety 'too expensive,' officials complain
New York Times Sep 8, 08 3:36 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
A federal agency is joining major landlords in fighting tough new building safety standards developed in the wake of 9/11, the New York Times reports. The requirements, added last year after a federal probe into the Twin Towers collapse, call for better fireproofing and extra stairwells. But the General Services Administration,which manages federal property, complains that the cost could outweigh safety benefits.
More »
Building was next to twin towers
Associated Press Aug 21, 08 12:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Fires, not explosives, caused the collapse of World Trade Center 7—a skyscraper near the twin towers—on Sept. 11, a 3-year US government investigation concludes. Scientists with the National Institute of Standards and Technology say the 47-story tower was destroyed by fires, made worse by a failed sprinkler system after the crumbling twin towers broke a city water main, the AP reports.
More »
1,500-ft. tower would top Sears; Chicago, New York plan taller
Philadelphia Daily News Jun 20, 08 4:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Philadelphia took a step toward entering America's mega-skyscraper club today, the Daily News reports, with a city councilman introducing zoning legislation for a building that, at 1,500 feet, would eclipse Chicago's Sears Tower. Plenty of bureaucratic hurdles remain for the proposed American Commerce Center, including retooling the city's planning commission.
More »
Sovereign wealth fund offers $800M for
NYC landmark
New York Post Jun 11, 08 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The Chrysler Building—a jewel of the New York City skyline since 1930—is poised to be sold to the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, reports the New York Post . The nation's oil-rich sovereign wealth fund is offering $800M for a 75% stake in the skyscraper.
More »
Mumbai mogul plans 27-story abode
Forbes May 3, 08 1:43 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The world's fifth-richest man, Mukesh Ambani, beat the competition with plans to build the first billion-dollar home to grace this earth, Forbes reports. In fact, his 27-story high-rise in India will cost $2 billion when it's done next year. Some of its frills: Nine elevators dot the lobby. 80% of the ballroom’s ceiling has crystal chandeliers. Indian accents keep the modern mansion true to its surroundings.
More »
Developer plunges pricey skyscraper into lousy housing market
Chicago Tribune Jan 14, 08 12:00 PM CST
(Newser)
-
The Chicago Spire residential tower isn't even under construction yet, but its luxury condos—slated to be sold for unprecedented prices—will come face-to-face with a lousy housing market when the sales office opens today. Prices for units in the twisting skyscraper start at $1,400 per square foot, but developers worry that buyers will be slow to snap them up.
More »
Mayor, president team up to advocate new skyline for capital
Times (UK) Nov 23, 07 2:05 PM CST
(Newser)
-
The mayor of Paris, Europe's most densely populated city, has unveiled an ambitious new plan to reinvent the city's skyline. Bertrand Delanoë wants to build a collection of skyscrapers in the north and east of the city, where a tall building hasn't been completed since 1977. Despite Delanoë's popularity, Parisians remain skeptical, so the Socialist mayor is teaming with a political opponent: Nicolas Sarkozy.
More »
Forget the ferris wheel: first controlled nuclear reaction tops list
Chicago Tribune Oct 4, 07 4:20 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
It's not all about heavy winds and deep-dish pizza. A bevy of scientists picked Chicago's 10 most important scientific achievements as a part of a week promoting science: World's first controlled nuclear reaction Invention of the cell phone Development of hormone treatments for prostate and breast cancer
More »
Proposed buildings will be second-tallest in US
Bloomberg Sep 20, 07 6:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
San Francisco officials are cementing deals to build a pair of skyscrapers that would challenge New York's 1,250-foot Empire State Building as the US' second tallest, Bloomberg reports. The city has selected a plan for a slender, 1,200-plus-foot obelisk to be built in the Market financial district, with a like-size complex of connected towers planned across the street.
More »
Scaffolding falls from structure where firefighters perished
Associated Press Aug 23, 07 3:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Two New York firefighters were injured today by scaffolding falling from the Deutsche Bank building near ground zero, the AP reports. The incident came less than a week after a fire at the skyscraper across the street from the World Trade Center site claimed the lives of two other firefighters. WNBC reports that today's victims sustained serious head injuries.
More »
Associated Press Aug 18, 07 9:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Two firefighters died in a blaze that broke out this afternoon in a skyscraper being demolished at the edge of ground zero in Lower Manhattan. The fire broke out in the partially dismantled Deutsche Bank building, which had been vacant since 9/11, condemned because health officials ruled that it was too contaminated with toxic dust and debris to be renovated.
More »
$1B skyscraper at 1,680 feet; final height will be over 2,200 with 160 floors and 56 elevators
Al Jazeera Jul 21, 07 3:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
An unfinished skyscraper in Dubai is now scraping the sky at 1,680 feet, surpassing Tawain's Taipei 101 as the world's tallest building. The Burj Dubai, which began construction in September 2004, will cost $1B and consist of more than 160 floors and 56 elevators when completed in 2008.
More »