![\"Chengdu\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Chengdu.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nSkyscraper heights are rising so significantly that the word \u201csupertall,” used to describe buildings of at least 984 feet in height, at times seems inadequate when trying to capture what is being built today.<\/p>\n
One World Trade Center rises 1,776 feet into the sky. West 57th Street is becoming a corridor for incredible skyscraper heights with Nordstrom Tower set to reach 1,775 feet.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has now adopted the term \u201cmegatall<\/a>\u201d to describe buildings over 1,969 feet (over 600 meters) tall.<\/p>\n As you would expect, supertall and megatall skyscrapers require serious structural engineering. Wired reporter Sophia Chen recently published a feature<\/a> exploring this topic focusing on the 1,535-foot Chengdu Tower, which is set to become China\u2019s fourth tallest skyscraper.<\/p>\n Chengdu Tower riffs on the exoskeleton architectural technique to marry design with engineering.<\/p>\n “In addition to the concrete core and steel frames that make up the interior skeleton of many modern skyscrapers, the Chengdu Tower has an exoskeleton\u2014a weight-bearing structure constructed on the outside of the building,” wrote Chen.<\/p>\n Dennis Poon, a structural engineer who led the tower’s engineering design, explained how the exoskeleton was created.<\/p>\n \u201cYou basically put a big \u2018X\u2019 on the building\u2026 It\u2019s an efficient structural system because you use the entire width of the building to resist wind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This results in a skyscraper that is not only sturdy, but visually appealing. The exoskeleton becomes a design feature — while being a cost-effective way to ensure stability.<\/p>\n The Tower Verre<\/a> in New York\u00a0will employ the same exoskeleton technique and is scheduled for completion in 2018. Jean Nouvel<\/a>, the project\u2019s architect, is also behind the city’s 53W53<\/a>, another exoskeleton structure that will rise to 82 stories.<\/p>\n