Typology of Crowning of High-Rise Buildings

For centuries the spires have been the most logical crowning of any tall buildings. The broach spires formed the major visual unique image of cities and monastic ensembles in different parts of the world. As for the shape the spire crowned, it depended on many factors prevailing in the national artistic specificity of various cultural traditions. These traditions were honed and perfected over the centuries and relied on the customary materials and available technologies. What came to the architecture of modern times from the established forms and patterns of the past? Have the new traditions and types of crowns of high-rise structures been formed with the invention of elevators and massive construction of skyscrapers? How have the engineering and construction technologies of recent years influenced the variety of man-made crowns of the global skyline? Let us consistently gain insight into addressed matter.

Not going too far into the depths of history let us define the types of highrise crowns that today can be found in the real practice of high-rise construction. These two global trends are the traditional geometry within the conventional perceptions of the structural geology of the building that has clear hierarchy of horizontal and vertical lines and the new skyscrapers with elements of nonlinear architecture where the flow of surfaces creates complex contours of outlines, curved silhouettes and their parts.

1. Spires as Types of Crowns of Skyscrapers. Firstly, to install a spire is a way to increase the specified height of the building and at the same time to add complementary engineering functions to the structure; they are radio towers, broadcasting of certain signals, etc. Secondly, the spire plays a significant role in the logical completion of the structure growing from bottom to top. And, finally, the presence of a spire makes it possible to satisfy the ambitions of some customers who consider high-rise parameters of a building and the title of “the highest” in any category as the proof of status value; it increases the investment attractiveness of the project and amplifies the sense of satisfaction from owning a unique structure.

Today, there are a great many types of spires - from towers on the roof of high-rise buildings of practically any kind to full-fledged spire-buildings that rise from the ground as a single version of a needle. As an example we can use the project proposal of Norman Foster’s Tokyo Millennium Tower, a later draft of SOM spire towers in Riyadh and the project of Phoenix Towers in Wuhan. In these skyscrapers the spire seems to grow directly from the main structure into the steepleroofed crown. The spire as a type of crowning becomes more popular as it can be combined with a lot of other types of constructional crowning. Spires can be installed onto domes as well as pyramids and flat roofs and various structural elements of facades that turn into crowning. For example as in the building of Bank of America in New York, or in Zifeng Tower in Nanjing.

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Text by Marianna Maevskaya