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Arquitetura do ImpossívelImpossible Architecture
Topic · 05 structures

Skyscrapers

Raising a building means beating weight, wind and the deadline. In Cincinnati, the Ingalls Building (1902–1904) reached 64 m without a single steel beam, only concrete with twisted bars inside, while respected engineers swore it would never reach the roof. In São Paulo, the Martinelli rose to 30 stories in a city where almost no building went beyond five, and the work was even halted by the authorities in 1928.

The Empire State put up 86 stories of steel and stone in 410 days, at 4.5 stories a week, starting just a few months after the stock market crash of 1929. In Dubai, the Burj Khalifa reached 828 m with a Y-shaped plan designed against the wind. And in New York, 111 West 57th Street raised 435 m on a footprint about 18 m wide, the most slender skyscraper in the world.

Each page shows how the tower came to stand, what it cost and how many people worked on it, and says where the sources disagree or where nobody kept a record.

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Structures on this topic

  • The Empire State Building seen from above, with the antenna on top, among the buildings of Manhattan on a hazy morning 02 Premieres Oct 15, 2026

    Empire State Building

    Manhattan, New York, United States · 1930–1931

    How the Empire State Building rose 4.5 floors a week in 1930, what it cost, how many died, and why nobody wrote down the names of the men who built it.

    WorldRead the story →
  • Aerial view of a very tall tower under construction, still without cladding at the top, casting a long shadow over a district of new buildings, building sites and the desert beyond 16 Premieres Jan 21, 2027

    Burj Khalifa

    Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates · 2004–2010

    How Dubai raised the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower: a Y-shaped plan against the wind, concrete at 600 m and workers the press barely counted.

    WorldRead the story →
  • Tall, wide building with a pinkish facade, four stepped blocks and a pale crown with pinnacles, seen from below on a pedestrian street with palm trees and a street clock 19 Premieres Feb 11, 2027

    Martinelli Building

    Rua São Bento, Avenida São João and Rua Líbero Badaró, downtown São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil · 1924–1934

    How an Italian immigrant pushed the Martinelli from 12 or 14 to 30 stories, fought a stop-work order, lived at the top and lost it all to his debts.

    BrazilRead the story →
  • Tall, narrow building with a light-colored facade, seen from below at the corner, with a stone base, regular rows of windows and a projecting cornice at the top, against a blue sky 23 Premieres Mar 11, 2027

    Ingalls Building

    Corner of Fourth and Vine streets, downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States · 1902–1904

    How Cincinnati built the Ingalls Building from 1902 to 1904, the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper, while engineers doubted it would stand.

    WorldRead the story →
  • Very thin, tall tower with glass faces that narrow in steps up to the tip, rising above the trees of Central Park under a cloudy sky, with the Essex House hotel sign on a building to the right 33 Premieres May 20, 2027

    111 West 57th Street

    West 57th Street, Midtown, Manhattan, New York, United States · 2014–2021

    How New York raised 111 West 57th Street, the world's most slender skyscraper, 435 m tall on 18 m, and the crisis that halted work at the 20th floor.

    WorldRead the story →
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Other topics

The structures grouped by the problem they solved: bridges, skyscrapers, tunnels, stadiums, water.