Today a post about ‘the masterarchitect of the supertall’
Adrian D. Smith (born August 19, 1944) is an American architect. He was born in Chicago in 1944. He started working for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in 1967. Smith spent many years at SOM, and was a Design Partner from 1980 to 2003 and a Consulting Design Partner from 2003 to 2006. I added pictures of some of his projects during his SOM’ era. In 2006, he founded Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG). During his time at SOM he was involved In the masterplan for Canary Wharf in London.
Photo: Donaldytong
He designed the world’s tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower. The biggest similarity between the Burj Khalifa and the Jeddah Tower is that they both have a “Y”-shaped plan with three exterior walls instead of four.
Image source: Propterry.com
Through extensive wind-tunnel testing, Smith and his engineers figured out that the three-walled design was more aerodynamic and better able to withstand wind shear at dizzyingly high altitudes. While the Burj Khalifa tapers in stages as different sections of the tower top out, the design for the Jeddah Tower is one continuously tapering tower that pierces the clouds like a giant needle. It remains quite uncertain whether the Jeddah Tower will be finished.
Photo: Jakob Montrasio
I’d like to add a personal point of view with regard to this supertall structures in the desert. Do we really need them? Do we have the slightest idea about the working conditions for the construction workers? Why spend billions of dollars in building the tallest skyscraper in the world, when we face huge challenges in protecting our world against the consequences of climate change? I don’t have the answer but these questions are valid.
Photo: TonyTheTiger
About the Author:
Bruno Dursin – Managing Director at Believe in Steel. Bruno has more than 30 years of experience in promoting steel & steel solutions. His clients benefit from his extensive network within the building industry.
