Are we obsessed with heights? The tallest man-made structure currently is a
By carpediem17
@carpediem17 (1315)
Singapore
August 17, 2010 5:03am CST
skyscraper in Dubai which stands at 828 m in height. The CN Tower in Toronto Canada was previously one of the highest at 553.3 m. Not too long ago we have heard that Taipei 101 at 509.2 m was one of the highest and prior to that Petronas Tower in Malaysia which stood at 452 m.
Seems like the governments of the world are obsessed with heights! Do you think we could go even higher (after considering all safety and security measures)?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
17 Aug 10
I'm an engineering student. I think we can get higher than the tallest building now, burj dubai. There are a lot of mechanisms that we can apply to a skyscraper like the one they implemented on taipei 101. Most of the problems you'll deal with on a skyscraper is the wind and taipei tower is a brilliant masterpiece to defense itself from strong winds. The main factor for a high rise structure to withstand those strong winds is structure bending. The structure should be able to bend with the direction of the wind.
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
18 Aug 10
hi frontvisions, spoken like a true engineer. But really, I think taking the lift up these buildings can be really quite a ride (not to mention eardrum bursting).
The point I am also trying to make is that at which point is the maximum height - maybe the height that intervenes with air travel - will we stop the building of these structures.
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
18 Aug 10
Whoah there, hehe.. Air travel? I think that's high enough. Don't you think? Well, if it comes to that, i'm sure air traffic authorities can make some deviations of the plane's route for the structure to stay clear from it.
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Aug 10
hi carpediem I would hope that at lest there in Califoronis common sense
would win out and nobody would built a super high strucuture that would
crumble to the ground in a six or seven on the richer scale earthquake.
Common sense should keep p eople from building too high and making unsafe
sky scrapers that could crumble due
to an earthquake.
to an earthquake. @carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
18 Aug 10
hi Hatley - how are you doing. Yup, safety and security concerns should be taken into consideration by the developers and owners of these super high structures (only appreciated by DC Comic's Superman haha).
Sometimes common sense is not too common and Men would like to do the almost impossible. I wonder if it is three steps forward and two steps back.
@bluemoonpavilion (4658)
• Singapore
17 Aug 10
Olympians are still seeking for higher, faster, stronger, and new records are being set and broken at every game, why should governments be any different? There is a lot of competition around the world, I suppose buildings are also one of the competition grounds.
*pardon me for the analogy, guess I'm still in the YOG mood* 
