Steel is a material widely used in construction, and the most famous buildings are no exception.
However, as they are large buildings, the amount of steel used is multiplied in comparison with a normal residential building in any city in Spain.
Do you want to know which buildings they are?
In today’s article we tell you some interesting facts about the steel used in three of the world’s most famous buildings.
Burj Khalifa
The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, is located in Dubai.
This 828-metre-high building has a hotel, offices, luxury flats and even a shopping centre.
Its structure is steel-based and made of steel-reinforced concrete up to the 156th floor..
And from 156 onwards, the floors of the building are made of steel because it is a lightweight material with a high-pressure bearing capacity (https://hierrosmoraanton.com/acero-para-la-construccion/).
In total, some 39,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement and some 15,500 square metres of embossed stainless steel were used.
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building, with a total height of 443 metres and 102 floors, is a skyscraper that was built in New York City in 1931.
It is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It was designated a national historic monument in 1986.
It was even the then US President Herbert Hoover who inaugurated this famous skyscraper that we have seen in so many films.
60,000 tons of steel were used to build the Empire State Building.
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 is a skyscraper in the city of Taiwan with a height of 508 metres..
The building, which is shaped like a bamboo cane, is as stable as it is elastic. To achieve this, 557 steel pillars had to be installed at a depth of 80 metres.
A steel platform weighing 9,000 tonnes rests on these pillars
At each of the corners of this huge building, two equally large columns were erected to support the main load.
These columns contain 8 cm thick steel plates.
According to technicians, it can withstand earthquakes of up to 7 on the Richter scale and winds of over 450kph.
This is due to a mass damper located between the 88th and 92nd floors, consisting of a large golden steel ball weighing 680 tonnes, made of 41 steel plates and suspended from eight steel cables..
The giant steel modules were assembled in the south of the country and transported to Taipei by special vehicles.
What do you think of these curious facts about the steel in these three well-known buildings?