Today, skyscrapers can be found in almost every big city, but it hasn’t always been that way. The first skyscraper was built in the 1880s. It was only ten stories tall.
Before the mid-1800s, most buildings were made of wood or stone. This limited their heights. But soon, cities began to run out of room. Buildings needed to be taller to make room for the people that lived and worked in the cities. Engineers began to use iron to make the buildings taller. Iron is a metal. It was used as a frame. But even iron could only support the weight of so many floors.
Soon engineers invented a process to produce large amounts of steel. Engineers began to use steel beams to frame the buildings. Steel is a very strong metal that could support the weight of many floors. With steel, the sky was the limit!
Engineers continued to develop new methods and tools that allowed them to build up. They invented elevators. They made the bases and frames stronger. Today, engineers continue to develop new skyscraper designs.
What Do You Think? How would you design a skyscraper?
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