Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft)^[1] or 150 meters (490 ft)^[2] in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.

One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel frame that supports curtain walls. This idea was invented by Viollet le Duc in his discourses on architecture.^[3] 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 of those made of reinforced concrete.

Modern skyscraper walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers 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. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, which in some cases is also structurally required.

As of September 2023^[update], fifteen cities in the world have more than 100 skyscrapers that are 150 m (492 ft) or taller: Hong Kong with 552 skyscrapers; Shenzhen, China with 373 skyscrapers; New York City, US with 314 skyscrapers; Dubai, UAE with 252 skyscrapers; Guangzhou, China with 188 skyscrapers; Shanghai, China with 183 skyscrapers; Tokyo, Japan with 168 skyscrapers; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 156 skyscrapers; Wuhan, China with 149 skyscrapers; Chongqing, China, with 144 skyscrapers; Chicago, US, with 137 skyscrapers; Chengdu, China with 117 skyscrapers; Jakarta, Indonesia, with 112 skyscrapers; Bangkok, Thailand, with 111 skyscrapers, and Mumbai, India with 102.^[4] As of 2024, there are over 7 thousand skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) in height worldwide.^[5]