Supertall: How the World's Tallest Buildings Are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives

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Stefan Al

Supertall

Name: Supertall
Price: 49.95 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781324006411

How the World's Tallest Buildings Are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives

Stefan Al

$49.95

Hardback

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English

Norton
01 July 2022

Architecture; Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial; History of architecture; General & world history; Construction & heavy industry; Building construction & materials

We are living in a new urban age, and its most tangible expression is the ""supertall"": megastructures that are dramatically bigger, higher, and more ambitious than any in history.

Cities around the world are racing to build the first mile-high building, stretching the limits of engineering and design as never before.

In this fascinating work of urban history and design, TED resident Stefan Al-himself an experienced architect-explores the factors that have led to this worldwide boom. He reveals the marvelous and underappreciated feats of engineering that make today's supertalls a reality, from double-decker elevators that silently move up to 50 miles per hour to the sophisticated blend of polymers and steel fibers that enables concrete to withstand 8,000 tons of pressure per square meter. Taking readers behind the scenes of the building and design of remarkable megastructures, both from the past (the Empire State Building, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower) and the present (Dubai's Burj Khalifa, London's Shard, Shanghai Tower), Al demonstrates the impact of these innovations.

Yet while the supertall is undoubtedly a testament to great technological victories, it can come at an environmental and social cost. Focusing on four global cities-London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore-Al examines the risks of wealth inequality, carbon emissions, and contagion that stem from supertalls. And he uncovers the latest innovations in sustainable building, from skyscrapers made of wood to tree-covered buildings, that promise to yield a better urban future.

Featuring more than thirty architectural drawings, Supertall is both a fascinating exploration of our greatest accomplishments and a powerful argument for a more equitable way forward.

By: Stefan Al
Imprint: Norton
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 239mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 555g
ISBN: 9781324006411
ISBN 10: 1324006412
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 July 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Stefan Al is the author of The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream, among other works of architectural history, and he holds a PhD in urban planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in New York.

Reviews for Supertall: How the World's Tallest Buildings Are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives

In Supertall, Stefan Al turns the jumbled skylines of our biggest cities into a powerful story of human possibility. Looking to both past and future, this astonishing synthesis reveals how skyscrapers have made us who we are and can help us become who we want to be. -- Andrew Blum, best-selling author of Tubes and The Weather Machine Lighter concrete, faster elevators, and even faster-growing cities are part of the formula architect Stefan Al lays out in this foundational book. Rather than describing the latest supertall skyscrapers, he shows us what makes them possible and why cities and companies think they are necessary. Mixing personal experience, history lessons, and explanations of technology that are clear and simple, Al's book shows how and why a new generation of skyscrapers is now under construction around the world. -- Aaron Betsky, author of Architecture Matters