Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 1, 2008 8:07:36 AM CST


skyscraper

skyscraper news stories

17 Stories

Architect: Crunch Will Topple 'Wow Factor' Buildings

Architect believes financial meltdown will cause building 'mood shift'

(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 »

More about:  Financial Crisis architecture skyscraper buildings architect

 Trump in Trouble 
 on Chicago Tower 

Bleak outloook makes financing a tall order for 92-story skyscraper

(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 »

More about:  Chicago housing market real estate Donald Trump skyscraper real estate development

Economy May Cripple Chicago Spire Project

Consultants file liens against world's tallest skyscraper

(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 »

More about:  Chicago credit market construction skyscraper Chicago Spire Santiago Calatrava

 Vertical Farming Puts 
 Pigs High in the Sky 

Urban planners take another look at raising animals, crops in skyscrapers

(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 »

More about:  environment farming skyscraper green home urban planning

Fed Agency Battles Tough
Post-9/11 Building Code

New safety rules safety 'too expensive,' officials complain

(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 »

More about:  skyscraper workplace safety building office buildings

 Fire Collapsed WTC 7: Report

Building was next to twin towers

(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 »

More about:  collapse World Trade Center 9/11 attacks fires skyscraper conspiracy theory

Proposed Philly Mega-Skyscraper Rivals US' Best

1,500-ft. tower would top Sears; Chicago, New York plan taller

(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 »

More about:  real estate Philadelphia mayor skyscraper development Michael Nutter

 Abu Dhabi
 to Buy
 Chrysler
 Building 

Sovereign wealth fund offers $800M for
NYC landmark

(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 »

More about:  New York City Abu Dhabi skyscraper New York real estate Chrysler Building skyline

 Peek at Perks in $2B Mansion 

Mumbai mogul plans 27-story abode

(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 »

More about:  Mumbai skyscraper billionaire rich luxury homes Mukesh Ambani

Chicago's Spire Condos May
Be a Tough Sell

Developer plunges pricey skyscraper into lousy housing market

(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 »

More about:  Chicago housing market housing crisis skyscraper condominium new construction Chicago Spire

Low-Rise Paris Mulls High-Rise Revolution

Mayor, president team up to advocate new skyline for capital

(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 »

More about:  France Nicolas Sarkozy Paris skyscraper Bertrand Delanoe

Chicago's Top 10 Contributions
to Science

Forget the ferris wheel: first controlled nuclear reaction tops list

(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 »

More about:  list cell phones malaria skyscraper scientific discoveries

SF Skyline Getting Big Upgrade

Proposed buildings will be second-tallest in US

(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 »

More about:  San Francisco Gavin Newsom skyscraper world's tallest building

2 More Injured at Ground Zero Building

Scaffolding falls from structure where firefighters perished

(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 »

More about:  New York City firefighters World Trade Center Ground Zero skyscraper scaffolding

(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 »

More about:  New York City firefighters Ground Zero Deutsche Bank fires skyscraper

Dubai Tower is World's Tallest

$1B skyscraper at 1,680 feet; final height will be over 2,200 with 160 floors and 56 elevators

(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 »

More about:  Dubai United Arab Emirates skyscraper buildings Al Jazeera Taipei 101 world's tallest building

JPMorgan Heads for Ground Zero

Bank gets $100M in incentives to build new skyscraper on WTC site