Building of 100 Stories.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 12, 1 October 1906, Page 351

Building of 100 Stories.

Concrete is the building material of the future — that is. concrete reinforced with steel rods and small rails. Not destructible by fire, and defying the disintegrating powers of other elements, the compound is easily worked and is cheap, and these things make the ideal material for modern construction. There are predictions that an office and general mercantile building, as illustrated on this page, will rear itself in lower New York in the not-far-distant future to a height of one hundred stories — close on a thousand feet high. American engineers began the study of concrete and the uses to which it might be put many years ago, and it is believed they have mastered its problems. There is no steel framework, strictly speaking, in the modern concrete building ; there is neither brick nor wood. The foundations are generally of concrete laid on the same base that foundations for other buildings of like dimensions are laid upon, and on these concrete foundations the concrete superstructure is raised. On the concrete foundations, instead of the erection of heavy steel posts and pillars, four or five small steel rails of perhaps the weight of light railroad rails are placed on end where there is to be a pillar, and around these a mould is built, and into this the concrete is poured and tamped. This mixture dries, and if properly made is harder and more enduring than granite. It will not crack under heat, no matter how great, nor crumble under the beating of the weather. The longer it stands, the harder it seems to become. Stone of most kinds will crack, and steel will warp under stress of extreme heat, but concrete will do neither. Another thing that gives value to concrete in the eyes of builders, and also in those of the owners of the structures, is its comparative cheapness. For one thing, there are no excessive profits. It is as well known as mortar, has been used as long and is nearly as easily mixed, although more care must be taken. For ordinary concrete the formula is one part of Portland cement, two or three parts of sand and four or five parts of well- broken stone. The mixing is done by machinery and at a speed which m some cases keeps a steady procession of men with wheelbarrows carrying the mixed product from the machine. The cement is the most expensive ingredient of the mass, and the greatest danger m handling the concrete is in not having the pieces of stone properly distributed in the mould. The question of the proper preparation is one that must be answered by the man in charge of the mixing. As an illustration of what can be done with fireproof materials, Mr. Starrett, a New York contractor, referred to a building which his company is now finishing for the United States Express Company in New York. From basement to roof there is not an ounce of wood or other inflammable material. Most of the fittings are of metal These things are required by the building laws of the American city, which provide that any structure more than one hundred and fifty feet hi^h must be fireproof. E:\perience has shown the architects that to be fireoioof, a building must be as free from inflammable materials within as without.