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A skyscraper is a very tall building or otherwise permanently habitable structure, typically defined as reaching a minimum height of either 100 metres (328 ft) or 150 metres (492 ft) in height; however, there remains no universally accepted definition of a skyscraper, other than being a high-rise.

The majority of skyscrapers are designed with a steel frame and sheer walls that support curtain walls. These curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscraper walls are not load-bearing, and are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a small surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic, and other lateral loads. Skyscrapers first emerged in the United States towards the end of the 19th century, especially in the cities of Chicago and New York City. Early 20th‑century skyscraper construction expanded to several other countries, but slowed sharply during the Great Depression of the 1930s and did not fully resume until the 1950s. A new wave of skyscraper building occurred in many United States cities from the 1960s through the 1980s. From the late 20th century onward, a significant acceleration of skyscraper development took place, with a notable boom in East Asia and Southeast Asia, in the 1990s. China has since built more skyscrapers than any other country. There are over seven thousand skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) in height worldwide, most of which were built in the 21st century. The city with the most skyscrapers in the world is Hong Kong, with a total of 569 skyscrapers, followed by Shenzhen, China with 465, New York City, United States with 324, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates with 269. The tallest skyscraper in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, with a height of 828 m (2,717 ft).

The term "skyscraper" was first applied to buildings of steel-framed construction of at least 10 stories in the late 19th century, a result of public amazement at the tall buildings being built in major United States cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and St. The first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building, originally 10 stories with a height of 42 m or 138 ft, in Chicago in 1885; two additional stories were added. The structural definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-story buildings.

In 1930, the Chrysler Building surpassed the Eiffel Tower by pinnacle height, becoming the tallest structure built until then and the first supertall skyscraper by pinnacle height, only to be surpassed a year later in every regard by the Empire State Building as the first supertall skyscraper also by roof height.

His central innovation in skyscraper design and construction was the concept of the "tube" structural system, including the "framed tube", "trussed tube", and "bundled tube".

In the lower levels of a skyscraper a larger percentage of the building floor area must be devoted to the building structure and services than is required for lower buildings:

The Chrysler Building in New York City took the lead in late May 1930 as the tallest building in the world, reaching 1,046 feet (319 m). It is currently the third tallest building in the United States, after One World Trade Center (which was built following 9/11), and Central Park Tower in New York City.

Quick Facts

• Modern skyscraper walls are not load-bearing, and are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls.
• Skyscrapers first emerged in the United States towards the end of the 19th century, especially in the cities of Chicago and New York City.
• A new wave of skyscraper building occurred in many United States cities from the 1960s through the 1980s.
• The tallest skyscraper in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, with a height of 828 m (2,717 ft).
• Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than those made of reinforced concrete.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Skyscraper". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.