Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 metres (330 ft)^[1] or 150 metres (490 ft)^[2] in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.

One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel frame that supports curtain walls. These curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete.

Modern skyscraper walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a small surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic, and other lateral loads. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, which in some cases is also structurally required.

As of September 2023^[update], fifteen cities in the world have more than 100 skyscrapers that are 150 m (492 ft) or taller.^[a] As of 2024, there are over 7 thousand skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) in height worldwide.^[4]

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