How Buildings Changed After the Eiffel Tower

**Correction** The CCTV Tower is in Beijing, not Shanghai.

Fazlur Rahman Khan was a pioneer in the structural engineering of tall buildings. After buildings exceed sixty stories height, gravity loads account for a smaller proportion of structural weight than wind loads. Khan developed the tubed truss tower design which helped stiffen the building without adding significant weight. The tube design had the added consequence of pushing the structure out to the exterior of the building to become part of its architectural expression. However, the acceptance of visible steel trusses was a slow process that parallels the acceptance of engineering infrastructure like bridges as aesthetic productions. This video traces a lineage of this process from Eiffel — who’s pylon designs look much like the Hancock Tower — to today. This is how we learned to see structural engineering as architectural.

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__About the Channel__
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.

__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.

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[colinmcivor]

As an individual with almost 0 architectural experience, I never really thought as the exterior of the Hancock tower had anything to do with the structural integrity of the building. We have something similar here in Canada in The Bow Tower, where the crisscross pattern extends the full length of the building despite the tower being shaped as a semi-circle. Very cool video!

[oafkad]

This channel is one of the only times the algorithm did me a solid.

[twells]

I love exposing the structure of the building even on the interior. Brace frames are one of the few steel elements not normally requiring fire proofing, so can easily become a part of the design strategy, providing delight and insight into how the building functions for both the studious and casual onbserver.

[BellaBellaElla]

Since moving to Chicago, I have gained a greater appreciation for architecture and urban design. I love so many things about your content! I appreciate your strong enunciation, it makes it easy for me to watch at higher speeds. I respect your ability to be both thorough and succinct. And last (but most importantly) I love how you highlight Chicago in your videos, for being such a 'world class city' we are majorly underrepresented; never leave, PLEASE!!!

[jerrtann]

Back in the 1950's one of my joys was discovering the art in architecture, and the discovery was made in Chicago! As a young musician and composer I also discovered the close kinship between architecture and music through looking at those beautiful, remarkable buildings. The two arts seem worlds apart but for me not at all after spending some productive time in Chicago's downtown. To this day I see symphonies in buildings and hear grand spaces in symphonic sound. A real joy to see some of those glorious buildings again in this video. Much thanks.

[franciscogamez]

As an architecture student I love it when you include the plans of the building you´re talking about, even if it´s just for a second, so I can pause and take a deeper look.

[padonker]

The ultimate and most iconic "inside-out" building is the Centre Pompidou, IMO. And it was often used to illustrate this concept. It is taking the outside structure one step further by taking the services outside, too. Well worth a shout-out I think. And boy, was it controversial ...

[grundewa]

Thank you Stewart for this great video. As someone who lives in Vancouver, the architectural value of a building’s facade has almost entirely disappeared over the last 3 decades, with almost all new buildings being facades of nothing but glass. The truss tube design is elegant and interesting and I appreciate the time you’ve taken to discuss the different ways a facade can be either a part of the form or a part of the function of a building. Your elegant way of structuring these video essays creates a story that’s both entertaining and informative. Thank you!

[vonsassy]

Another home run, Stewart. You are a great teacher.

[Ozymandi_as]

You bring scholarship and passion to curating the architecture of a city you clearly love.

[ferahgotheassasin]

Love 875 North Michigan... worked there a few years ago at Jack Morton on the 27th floor. We got free access to the observation deck. There was a mini-cardboard cut-out of the building in the office haha. Never got tired of the view, I miss working there now.

[AyeCarumba]

One of the most fascinating discussions of modern building design (to me) was the Citicorp Tower in Manhattan. They built it, but then it turned out that they had not calculated wind loads coming in at the corners of the building, I believe for a 100-year windstorm. I'm a bit hazy on the details at this point, but it was a graduate student made the discovery that the building likely would not hold up to such a storm, so they planned for some retrofits, and then tricked building users out of the building for a period of time long enough to make the alterations which included interior diagonal bracing. Years ago, there was a lengthy article in the New Yorker magazine. And they completed the work just in time for just such a storm. Totally fascinating.

[chronicmango]

I’ve always preferred buildings with structural components as an essential part of the aesthetic. Exposed rafter ceilings, timber framed homes, etc.

Appreciate this video a ton!

[TheBlueScience]

I can’t get over how well (and simply) the thumbnail displays the content of the video

Edit: it also just looks super fucking cool

[xavier]

Lived in Chicago for 8 years, then Paris for 4. Both are some of my favorite structures! Great comparison and history!

[charleskummerer]

It's absurd how high quality your channel is

[sleeplessstu]

A more recent and perhaps ultimate example of this “exoskeleton” approach would be the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas. The encasing structure allows soaring spaces inside with free expression of the crisscrossing ramped floor inside. It creates a gentle and interesting vertical journey for the library patrons as they ascend the ramp to explore books, find a quite corner to study, or contemplate the unimpeded views of the sky or cityscape outside.

[gratefulot]

I’m a real fan of your channel and I’m fascinated with the role that architecture plays in society. As an art student I have a strong memory of visiting the John Hancock Tower as it it was nearing completion. I parked my brand new Mustang on a street next to the tower to get out and look at the building. When I returned back to my car it was dotted with wet cement that fell from the building. I was legally parked but, I guess, the construction workers didn’t get the message about my legal position;-)

[corrinflakes]

I feel there's an element that speaks "strength". Seeing something holding up a magnificent structure adds an element of ensuring safety under its humbling scale.

[alexanderlove]

This channel. Just now. Just this very video. Convinced me to major in structural engineering and get a minor in architecture. Thanks, I appreciate it. this video shows the art in engineering. I love it.