Empire State Building | All the Secrets of the Engineering Wonder
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates the remarkable history and construction of the Empire State Building, highlighting its resilience after a 1945 aircraft crash. It details the innovative steel structure, the 'sky boys' who assembled it, and the building's unique design, which contributed to its record as the world's tallest at the time. The script also touches on the fierce competition with the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building's impressive 13-month construction timeline, showcasing the ingenuity and teamwork behind this architectural marvel.
Takeaways
- 🏙️ The Empire State Building is an iconic structure in the United States, known for its incredible strength, which was tested when a bomber aircraft crashed into it in 1945.
- 👷♂️ The 'sky boys', or steel workers, were instrumental in constructing the building's impressive steel framework at a height of 443 meters, showcasing their skill and courage.
- 🔩 The building's backbone consists of 210 steel columns, with 12 uninterrupted columns reaching the top, and millions of rivets were used in its construction.
- 🏗️ The construction process involved complex logistics, such as the use of derricks to lift materials to great heights and innovative methods for aligning the columns vertically.
- 📏 The building's design underwent 15 modifications during construction, influenced by competition with the nearby Chrysler Building for the title of the world's tallest tower.
- 🏢 The Empire State Building was completed with 102 floors, starting with a plan for only 50, due to the intense rivalry with the Chrysler Building.
- 📈 The building's design features a 'pencil' shape to give the appearance of height, with no change in width from the 29th to the 71st floor.
- 🧱 The exterior of the building was initially unpolished, with visible columns, but the introduction of spandrel beams and limestone cladding created the distinctive curtain wall design.
- ⏳ The construction of the Empire State Building was remarkably fast, taking only 13 months from start to finish, a testament to perfect engineering and planning.
- 🚇 The building's foundation is strong, laid at a depth of 17 meters to support its weight of approximately 365,000 tons, which is possible due to the solid underground stone of New York.
- 🛗 The Empire State Building features 73 elevators, with a system designed to reach the top floor with the least number of stops, divided into seven parts.
Q & A
What significant event occurred at the Empire State Building in 1945?
-In 1945, a speeding bomber aircraft accidentally crashed into the Empire State Building, causing significant damage but the building remained standing.
Who were the 'sky boys' and what was their role in the construction of the Empire State Building?
-The 'sky boys' were steel workers who were responsible for aligning and riveting the steel structure of the Empire State Building at a height of 443 meters.
How many steel columns were erected for the Empire State Building and how many of them reach the top?
-A total of 210 steel columns were erected for the Empire State Building, with 12 of them being uninterrupted, reaching the very top.
What was the method used to lift the prefabricated columns to the current floor during construction?
-Huge Derricks were used to lift the prefabricated columns to the current floor, which was a challenging task due to the height of the building.
How were the columns aligned vertically after being lifted horizontally?
-The columns were aligned vertically using an interesting string trick, which involved removing one string and shifting the other to the other end to lift the column vertically.
What is a girder and how does it contribute to the strength of the Empire State Building?
-A girder is a structure that connects the columns and provides immense strength to the building's structure, allowing for the placement of floor beams.
Why was the design of the Empire State Building modified 15 times during its construction?
-The design was modified 15 times due to the fierce competition with the nearby Chrysler Building for the title of the world's tallest tower.
What material was used for the floor of the Empire State Building and how was it secured?
-Terracotta was used for the floor, consisting of individual blocks that lock perfectly between two floor beams, with a concrete layer added for reinforcement.
How did the construction of the Empire State Building achieve such a fast completion time of 13 months?
-The construction was achieved in 13 months through perfect engineering, planning, prefabrication of structures, parallel execution of different construction activities, and employing a large workforce of 3,400 workers.
What is the significance of the spandrel beam in the exterior wall construction of the Empire State Building?
-The spandrel beam was introduced as a new support structure to hide the columns, giving a more polished and aesthetically pleasing appearance to the exterior walls.
How was the Empire State Building able to withstand the impact of the 1945 bomber aircraft crash?
-The Empire State Building's strength came from its robust steel structure, which allowed it to withstand the impact and only require one week of repair work before reopening.
Outlines
🏙️ The Resilience and Construction of the Empire State Building
This paragraph details the remarkable event in 1945 when a bomber aircraft crashed into the Empire State Building, highlighting the building's incredible strength and the secret behind it—the hard work of steelworkers, known as 'sky boys.' The summary explains how the building's impressive steel structure, standing at 443 meters, was erected with 210 steel columns, 12 of which reach the top uninterrupted. It describes the process of lifting, aligning, and riveting the columns, as well as the architectural progression involving girders and floor beams. The building's design, inspired by a pencil, aimed to achieve the title of the world's tallest building, a competition that led to multiple design modifications during construction. The paragraph also touches on the building's Art Deco floors, the highest observatory, and the record-breaking speed of its construction.
🛠️ The Empire State Building's Construction Techniques and Efficiency
The second paragraph delves into the construction techniques and efficiency that allowed the Empire State Building to be completed in just 13 months. It discusses the prefabrication of structures, the daily delivery of materials by 500 trucks, and the use of railroad tracks for internal material transport. The parallel execution of different construction activities, such as excavation beginning before the previous building's demolition and facade work on lower floors before the completion of upper columns, contributed to the project's swift completion. The paragraph also addresses the innovative elevator system, which was divided into seven parts to minimize stops, and the building's foundation, which was laid 17 meters deep to support its massive weight. Additionally, it mentions the 1945 accident as an example of the building's strength, the quick repair, and the channel's plea for support on Patreon.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Empire State Building
💡Sky boys
💡Steel columns
💡Girders
💡Riveting
💡Prefabrication
💡Terracotta
💡Curtain wall
💡Elevator system
💡Foundation
💡Construction timeline
Highlights
In 1945, a bomber aircraft crashed into the Empire State Building, but the iconic structure withstood the impact, showcasing its incredible strength.
The strength of the Empire State Building is attributed to the hard work of steel workers, known as sky boys, who aligned and riveted the steel structure at a height of 443 meters.
The building features 210 steel columns, with 12 uninterrupted columns reaching the top, forming the backbone of the structure.
Girders connect the steel columns, providing immense strength to the building's structure.
Prefabricated columns were lifted using Derricks, requiring precise alignment and vertical placement, achieved with a string trick.
A group of four skyboys coordinated to rivet or bolt the columns, with millions of rivets used in the construction.
The Empire State Building's design was modified 15 times during construction due to competition with the Chrysler Building.
The building's design resembles a pencil, with a consistent width from the 29th to the 71st floor to give the appearance of height.
The Empire State Building held the title of the tallest tower for 40 years until the World Trade Center surpassed it in 1971.
The building's floor is made of terracotta blocks that lock perfectly between floor beams, reinforced with a concrete layer.
Spandrel beams were introduced to hide columns and improve the exterior wall's appearance.
Indiana limestone and glass windows create the building's characteristic curtain wall design.
Construction of the Empire State Building was completed in just 13 months, an impressive feat even by modern standards.
Prefabricated structures and parallel execution of construction activities contributed to the rapid completion of the building.
The building's foundation was laid at a depth of 17 meters to support its massive weight of approximately 365,000 tons.
The Empire State Building's elevator system is divided into seven parts, each covering a portion of the building's height.
The building features 73 elevators, which take up a significant portion of the floor space, reducing office area.
The Empire State Building's strength was demonstrated in 1945 when it was hit by a bomber aircraft and reopened within a week after repairs.
Transcripts
in 1945 a speeding bomber aircraft
accidentally crashed into the most
iconic building of the United States the
Empire State Building you might be
expecting something like this huge fire
impact Force damage the engines
destroying the lift system and portion
of the building despite all these the
Empire State Building stood strong the
secret behind its Incredible strength
lies in the hard work of these Steel
Workers known as the sky boys aligning
and riveting this impressive steel
structure at a height of 443 meters
itself required a mind and nerves of
Steel as well as great skill all these
heavy pieces were moved by now primitive
looking basic Derricks their 13 months
of hard work long ago resulted in this
beautiful steel structure that still
proudly stands today
the backbone of this building is the
steel columns a total of 210 steel
columns were erected for this building
12 of those columns are uninterrupted
reaching the very top of the building
let's take a closer look at the
progression of the columns a structure
called a girder connects the columns and
provides immense strength on this
structure floor beams are connected now
it's time to go up huge Derricks were
used to lift the prefabricated columns
to the current floor however this is not
an easy task material lifting maximum up
to a height of 30-story buildings was
possible by the Derricks of those days
this means if you wanted to lift the
material from the ground floor to the
70th floor there should be two
intermediate Derricks in between this
was such a beautiful operation that the
bypassers used to watch it with awe
while the columns were lifted
horizontally it was a challenge to then
align them vertically before fixing them
in place this was achieved with the help
of an interesting string trick just
remove one string and shift the other
string to the other end if you lift the
column now it will stand vertically The
Columns were then immediately riveted or
bolted with the previous columns a group
of four skyboys worked in perfect
coordination to accomplish this riveting
operation it's fun to know that even the
catcher guy plays an important role here
millions of rivets were used for this
Mega project but nobody knows the exact
number once all the columns were fitted
they started placing girders between
them you can see that as we go up some
columns abruptly stop in between as a
result the size of the building floor
shrank after reaching this height you
can see that the Empire State Building
has five major floor area reductions the
building looks quite striking after it's
covered with the Limestone and glass
does this design resemble something it's
inspired from the shape of an ordinary
pencil The Architects behind this
building wanted to achieve the tag of
tallest building in the world for the
Empire State Building an easy way to
achieve this is by making the building
like this even though officially this
design is the tallest no spectator would
truly call it a tall building instead
they would say that it's wide to give
the appearance of height they opted for
a pencil design you can see that from
the 29th to the 71st floor there is no
change in the width for the building the
topmost office space is on the 85th
floor floors 86 to 102 are Art Deco
floors the highest Observatory is
situated on the 102nd floor another
interesting fact about the Empire State
Building is that its design was modified
15 times during its construction
initially they planned to construct 50
stories but eventually ended up
constructing 102 floors the reason for
this drastic design change was
competition with the nearby Chrysler
Building the competition between these
two towers for the title of the world's
tallest tower was so Fierce that the
design of the Chrysler Building was also
modified many times the Chrysler
Building was completed first and held
the record as the tallest tower in the
world for 11 short months until the
Empire State Building was inaugurated
although Chrysler lost the coveted title
of the tallest building one must admit
that it wins in terms of beauty
especially at night
the Empire State Building held the title
of the tallest tower for 40 years until
1971 when the World Trade Center
overtook the record by a whopping 83
meters
now straight into the construction
achievements of the Empire State
Building for example can you believe the
floor of such a massive building is made
up of simple terracotta the beauty of
the Terracotta floor is that it consists
of plain individual blocks that lock
perfectly between two floor beams the
details of their connection is
Illustrated even if somebody stands on
it this geometrical lock will prevent
any failure a concrete layer was added
to reinforce the Terracotta here's an
interesting challenge for you let's
construct the exterior walls of the
Empire State Building here we're using
the girder as the support for this brick
wall after completing the construction
let's quickly zoom out and see what it
looks like
what an ugly building you've constructed
The Columns are visible giving it an
unpolished look
so what's the solution here introduce a
new support structure called a spandrel
beam if you arrange the bricks on the
newly installed spandrel beam it will
hide all the columns
now it's time to attach the skin of the
building the facade work nearly half of
the wall remains uncovered by Brick
aluminum framed glass windows will
occupy this empty space next we can lay
down some stunning Indiana limestones
they were hooked using a concrete brick
the alternating pattern of limestone and
glass gives the building its
characteristic curtain wall design
after witnessing the sheer scope of the
effort involved in the building's
construction you may be wondering how
they were even able to accomplish such
an enormous task in just 13 months just
to produce this video about the Empire
State Building took three months the
company behind the construction of the
Empire State Building managed only the
planning part of the construction
directly they completely contracted the
execution part of the construction next
Comes The Art of perfectly prefabricated
structures the position of the holes
their size and dimensions of the
structures had to be perfectly planned
and cut at the factory a total of 500
trucks brought materials to the site
every day if a truck was delayed it had
to deliver the material the next day now
the American idea to transport the
material within a floor use railroad
tracks the major reason for the super
fast completion of this project was the
parallel execution of different
construction activities you'll be amazed
to know that the excavation for the
empire state began even before
demolition of the previous building was
complete they began facade work on the
lower floors without completing the
column erection of the upper floors the
office interior and floor work also went
parallel with these activities
to complete this project on time a
whopping number of 3 400 workers were
employed that is perfect engineering
planning and such a massive building got
done in just 13 months something unheard
of even during modern times a tricky
issue to overcome was figuring out how
to reach the top floor via elevator with
the least number of stops the way a
person reaches the topmost floor of this
building starting from the ground floor
is Illustrated in the left side of this
video this was achieved by dividing the
elevator system into seven Parts each
part covered only a portion of the
building height
in fact the elevators take up a large
chunk of floor space in the Empire State
Building sadly the offices are left with
a reduced area this building features a
total of 73 elevators now let's take a
look at the foundation of the world's
most photographed building the total
weight of the building is estimated to
be approximately 365
000 tons thus the concrete foundation
was laid at a depth of 17 meters thanks
to the strong underground Stone of New
York this Foundation was able to Bear
such a huge weight
this is the reason there are so many
skyscrapers in this area
the 1945 bomber aircraft accident is a
perfect example of Empire State Building
strength
the impact of the accident was huge
however the authorities were able to
reopen the building after just one week
of repair work
you might be aware that lezix is
undergoing financial trouble and we're
at the brim of shutting down please
support us at patreon and help us save
our Channel as a bonus you'll also be
able to access exclusive videos thank
you
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