Top 35 modern buildings in the world!
The first commercial building with modern AC, the first solar building ever build, the tallest constructions, remarkable sports stadiums, some architectural masterpieces and many more. This is a list with 35 modern buildings that were groundbreaking for the construction industry and made ways for new opportunities. We go on a journey, starting from 1851, and we stop at the most important buildings throughout the years. Are you with us? Lets start!
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#1 Crystal Palace, London / 1851
World’s first grand glass structure.
The founder of all grand glass structured buildings! Joseph Paxton was set for the task to design a building for The Great Exhibition held in London’s Hyde Park. This Exhibition was meant to impress the world with Britain’s industrial achievements. Eventually, it was more the building that caught the people’s attention…
#2 Savoy Theatre, London / 1881
The first public building to be lit entirely by electricity.
The Savoy Theatre was very remarkable at its time. It was not only regarded as one of the most beautifully fitted theatre’s of Europe, it was mainly famous because of being world’s first public building to be lit entirely by electricity. The first show in the Savoy Theatre was a show called ”Patience”. Read an article of the critics of The Times the day after the show.
#3 La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona / 1882
Masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi.
Antoni Gaudi took the quote ”there’s no rush to greatness” very serious. 聽Once someone asked him about the extreme long construction period of the La Sagrada Familia. His reply was: ”My client is not in a hurry”. The question is if the building will ever be finished…
#4 Home Insurance Building, Chicago / 1885
World’s first skyscraper.
Besides being the world’s first skyscraper, this building set the standard for various other modern building innovations, including rapid, safe elevators, wind bracing and modern plumbing. The Home Insurance Building is the founder of the way we design cities nowadays.
#5 Paris, Eiffel Tower / 1889
World’s tallest structure until 1930.
For 41 years, the Eiffel Tower held the title of being the tallest structure in the world. It was designed as the entrance of the 1889’s World Fair. Initially, there was a lot of critics from many leading artist and intellectuals for its design. Nevertheless the construction of the Eiffel Tower, led by Gustavo Eiffel, went on and now it’s probably the most recognizable global cultural icon of France.
#6 Sea Lion Park, New York / 1895
First commercial amusements park.
Sea Lion Park was founded by the famous showman, Captain Paul Boyton. He came up with the idea to charge admission fees to enter his amusements park with multiple rides and activities. Because of this idea, amusements parks were now seen as new business opportunities. Big amusements parks like Disneyland and Six Flags would never have existed without the idea of Captain Paul Boyton.
#7 Ingalls Building, Cincinnati / 1902
The first reinforced concrete high rise building.
Despite the fear from detractors that the building would not withstand wind and a big battle to get the necessary permits, Melville E. Ingalls and W.P. Anderson fought on to get this massive structure build and with that being the world’s first reinforced concrete skyscraper. Once it was build, people were so sure the building would collapse, that a local reporter once stayed up all night next to the building waiting for it to fall down…
#8 Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company, New York / 1903
First building with modern AC.
Airconditioning was a big change in construction industry. The first building to use AC was the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company. With this AC system, they managed to keep a humidity of 55 percent inside the building – the equivalent of using 108,000 pounds of ice daily to cool the plant. The modern air conditioner was born.
#9 Ford Plant, Highland Park / 1909
First moving assembly line.
The moving assembly line changed the way plants were constructed. This sort of modern building line made it possible to implement mass production techniques within a company. It was a game-changer. Typical for this new form of assembly line was Henry Ford’s famous quote on his cars assembled in the Ford Plant: ‘”You can have it in any color you want, as long as it’s black.”
#10 Hotel La Salle Garage, Chicago / 1918
First multi-storey parking garage.
The idea of making a multi-storey car park was revolutionary in the construction area. As the amount of cars in cities began to rise, the lacking of space to park the car became bigger and bigger. The invention of the multi-storey parking garage solved this problem.
#11 Chrysler Building, New York / 1930
World’s tallest until 1931.
Walter P. Chrysler set in 1930 the new standard with creating the tallest skyscraper in the world, The Chrysler Building. In 2005, New York’s skyscraper museum did a survey and asked 100 architects, builders, critics, engineers and historians to choose their ten favorite New York towers. The Chrysler building was the convincing winner with 90% of people ranking it as number one. However the fact that the design of the building was breathtaking, the success of being world’s tallest was very short-lived…
#12 Empire State Building, New York / 1931
World’s tallest until 1974.
The ‘tallest building competition’ in New York got a new competitor once the Empire State Building stepped into the game. Upon its completion on April 11, the Empire State surpassed the Chrysler by taking over the title of being world’s tallest building. The competition had a huge impact on the construction industry in New York, and with that, on the construction industry in the rest of the world.
#13 Pentagon, Arlington / 1943
One of the world’s most secured offices.
The building process of The Pentagon began on September 11, 1941. Exactly 60 years before the 9/11 terrorists attacks. The building were build in record time, with more than 15 000 workers on site working around the clock. The demand of office space at that time was so big, that people already started working in the office without it being completely finished.
Check out also: Coolest Offices Around The World
#14 Bridgers and Paxton Solar Buildings, Albuquerque / 1956
First solar building ever build.
The Bridgers and Paxton Solar Buildings were the world’s first commercial alternative energy buildings. The buildings were heated primarily by solar energy. This new way of heating a building was a big step in making constructions more environmental-friendly. Since then, other business owners saw it as an opportunity to let their business go green or save money.
#15 Civil Arena, Pittsburgh / 1961
First ever sports venue build with a retractable roof.
The first ever retractable roof for a sports stadium was build on the Civil Arena, primarily the home base of the. The roof covered 170 000 sq. feet and was constructed with 3000 tons of Pittsburgh steel. Despite a lot of people who were against it because of the historic value, the stadium got demolished in 2011. Nevertheless, the Civil Arena in Pittsburgh will forever be the founder of retractable roof stadiums all over the world.
#16 Astrodome, Houston / 1965
First sports venue with a dome.
The Astrodome was home to the for over three decades until they moved to a more modern stadium right next to the Astrodome. Being still one of the icons of the big city Houston, the Astrodome was a real eye-catcher by its completion in 1965. It was even dubbed as the ”Eight Wonder of the World”. The first ever sports venue with a dome was born and soon there were a lot more to come.
#17 World Trade Center, New York / 1973
World’s tallest twin towers until 1998.
Of course there’s a lot to tell about the World Trade Center, or the Twin Towers as most people liked to call them. The completion of the building was a triumph for human imagination and a symbol for the devotion to progress and future of the American construction industry. The building set a new record of the tallest twin towers in the world. On a clear day, people could see wide views over the the five New York City boroughs, New Jersey and Connecticut.