The Sears Tower itself is much like the idea behind San Gimignano, but unlike most tall buildings in New York, it is a tower of the people, not the palace of a bank." ![]() Sears is very direct in its structural solution, a new concept of cluster tubes, originally fifteen, reduced to nine when the hotel was eliminated from the plan. So the Sears Tower, one more mountain, was created for this city on the plains. Towers have historically been not only the pride of their temporary owners, but of their cities as well. A system of double-deck express elevators provides effective vertical transportation, carrying passengers to either of two skylobbies where transfer to single local elevators serving individual floors occurs." Floor sizes are then reduced by eliminating 75 x 75 foot increments at varying levels as the tower rises. The building plan consists of nine 75 x 75 foot column-free squares at the base. The configuration incorporates the unusually large office floors necessary to Sears' operation along with a variety of smaller floors. The stepback geometry of the 110-story tower was developed in response to the interior space requirements of Sears, Roebuck and Company. The policy prescription that follows from this is that environmentalists should be championing the growth of more and taller skyscrapers."The Sears Tower the world's tallest building. Living surrounded by concrete is actually pretty green. All told, we estimate a seven-ton difference in carbon emissions between the residents of Manhattan’s urban aeries and the good burghers of Westchester County. The gap in emissions from home heating is almost three tons. The gap in electricity usage between New York City and its suburbs is also about two tons. But cars represent only one-third of the gap in carbon emissions between New Yorkers and their suburbanites. In New York and San Francisco, driving less accounted for a two-ton difference per family (the average American emits about 20 tons of CO2 annually). He and UCLA economist Matthew Kahn found that those living in urban centers emitted less carbon than those living in the 'burbs, partly because they tend to drive less. Writing this past March for The New York Times's Economix blog, Harvard urban economist Edward Glaeser remarked on a study that he coauthored of carbon emissions across different metropolitan areas in the US. But it turns out that these icons of industrialization, to the extent that they increase population density, tend to be far more energy efficient than suburban office parks. To many, the concept of a "green skyscraper" may seem like an oxymoron. The New York Times reports that money for the project will be raised from "private equity investment, grants, debt financing, and government funds."Īdditionally, the owners also are planning to build a 50-story luxury hotel next door, which would be powered entirely by energy generated by the skyscraper, whose name is slated to be changed to the Willis Tower this summer. The project will create 3,600 jobs, building officials said. The goal is to reduce the building's electricity consumption by 80 percent and save 24 million gallons of water each year. The $350 million, five-year project also includes plans to modernize the tower's 104 elevators, improve the insulation of the exterior walls, upgrade the plumbing, and even add more bike racks for commuters. Wind turbines, a solar water heater, and the world's highest green roof are just a few of the proposed improvements that the building's owners and architects announced Wednesday for the 110-story, 1,450-foot skyscraper. Chicago's Sears Tower – which, from 1974 to 1998, stood as the world's tallest building – is getting a green makeover.
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