Jun 14, 2020 18:00:00

What is the design inherited by skyscrapers for nearly 100 years?

Many of New York's Manhattan

skyscrapers have been built since the 1920s. British architect and designer Edwin Heathcourt explains the design common to most skyscrapers and how the Manhattan buildings have affected other skyscrapers.

Why skyscraper architects always return to Art Deco | FT Property Listings
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The skyscraper in Manhattan has been designed in the Art Deco style, which has been popular in America and Europe since the 1910s. Art Deco is a design that emphasizes functionality, with a straight line, a circle and a geometric pattern as a motif. 'There is no other art deco style that has robustness and delicacy that looks attractive in the city center. No,” says Heathcourt.

For example, the Chrysler Building , completed in 1930, also has the Art Deco style on the top and walls.

Manhattan skyscrapers began to be built in the late 19th century, and most of the skyscrapers built in the late 1920s and early 30s adopted the Art Deco style. The

Empire State Building , completed in 1931, also features the Art Deco style at the lower and top.

Not only the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, but the

Trump Building and Rockefeller Center are all built in Art Deco style.

In Manhattan, where high-rise buildings are lined up, the newly built building needed to have not only high durability but also a unique design. A design that is too wacky stands out, but it is poor in durability, but if durability is emphasized too much, it may have a simple and light appearance. What was handy there was the Art Deco style that was both beautiful and durable.

In its long history of design, the Art Deco style has been re-evaluated many times, although it was once abandoned as the American economy weakened under the influence of the Great Depression . Even after the epidemic of the 1930s, Art Deco has been incorporated into Manhattan's buildings in some form.

Some architects involved in skyscraper architecture take responsibility for maintaining the tradition of Art Deco. Robert Stern is one of them. Based on the architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Stern laid the foundation for modern American architectural style by merging Gothic, Art Deco and Beaux Arts styles. Central Park West by Stern is also based on the Art Deco style. The following buildings are Central Park West.

“The interesting thing about Art Deco's long survival is that it became synonymous with certain structures, such as skyscrapers,” Heathcourt said. Skyscrapers built after the Art Deco epidemic, such as the

Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, are also affected by Art Deco.

In movies such as Star Wars, Batman, Blade Runner, and Black Panther, the skyscrapers and arenas are so high that designers can't help but think about the future of the world in the 1930s Art Deco style. Deco ties are rooted in imagination, Heathcourt pointed out. 'Few modern buildings are masterpieces in their own right, but Art Deco has survived in our city's skyline and subconscious for nearly a century. 'Heathcourt says.