First Skyscrapers | Skyscraper Firsts

The text explains the evolution of skyscrapers and their importance as symbols of corporate power, wealth, and technological progress. It highlights how many buildings claim to be the “first skyscraper” because of different architectural, technological, or historical achievements.

The book First Skyscrapers | Skyscraper Firsts explores these competing claims by examining the key innovations and developments that made modern skyscrapers possible over more than 100 years. Rather than identifying one definitive first skyscraper, it presents a broader history of the building type.

The book is a collaboration between the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), bringing together leading experts to provide valuable historical research for scholars and the general public.

Main idea: The history of skyscrapers is not about identifying a single first building, but understanding the many architectural and technological innovations that shaped their development.

Editors: Lee Gray, Antony Wood & Daniel Safarik
Layout: Annan Shehadi
Publisher: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Chicago
Year: 2020
Type: Softcover
Pages: 248
Dimensions: 7"W x 10"H
ISBN: 978-0-939493-75-3