
The Rise of the Mile-High Building - Hooke
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/03/how-tall-can-tall-skyscrapers-be.html
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joe_the_user
I've been wondering why you couldn't have elevators built on the principles of
being vertical trams. They would be run on tracks rather than cables and
several could run in a single shaft in the same direction. Any experts know
why this isn't done (I'm sure someone's thought of it already). I suppose
synchronizing the movements might be a challenge.

The problems of ordinary elevators are serious for large buildings - without
express elevators, an ordinary elevators can take up a large percentage of the
floor space of a large building. Even with express elevators, the space used
is significant (I recall 25% for the old World Trade Center towers).

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airza
Having cables for the elevators means that they can have counterweights, which
I assume greatly decreases the amount of energy needed to raise and safely
lower them.

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stox
I wonder how the higher floors would be in a building like that? I'm on the
97th of the Sears Tower, and there are days when it is rather uncomfortable as
the building sways. Are the newer buildings, with mass dampers, immune to
this?

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nsxwolf
I've been to the observation deck several times, but I've never experienced
the sway. What's it like? How are you not terrified? All I would be thinking
about is the building toppling over, especially after 9/11.

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stox
It is only noticeable on very windy days. Not terrifying at all, but a little
uncomfortable at times. On a really bad day, you can end up feeling a bit sea
sick.

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rayiner
Apple should have built this in Cupertino instead of that horrible spaceship
monstrosity:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Tower).
It would have been a lot cheaper, too.

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davmre
Most things are cheaper when you're not paying first-world labor costs.

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namlem
Especially when the labor consists of indentured servants.

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benten10
~~indentured servants~~ Or slaves (sigh. I really don't want that world cup to
happen in Qatar. Related to the post because Gulf countries can afford tall
buildings because they can morally afford slavery.)

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zootar
"By welcoming migrant workers, the UAE and its neighbor Qatar do more than any
other rich country to reduce global inequality."
[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120179/how-reduce-
global-...](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120179/how-reduce-global-
income-inequality-open-immigration-policies)

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MarkPNeyer
could you use a gyroscope at the top of a building to keep it stable?

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NeutronBoy
Modern skyscrapers basically do this, with giant tanks of water at the top
that gets pumped around to act as a dampener.

