America Loses its Construction Dominance

America’s economic crisis is hurting all of its industries, except that of the firearms industry, which has been left unharmed. The construction industry that once made the past few generations of Americans proud not only lost its glamour, but has also become the industry that has caused America the most shame and heartache. The construction of the 150-story Chicago Spire, originally planned for completion in 2012, was halted due to financing problems encountered by the developer, and has now became a world-renowned unfinished project. This is not just a shame for the American people, but is also a great cause of dismay for the global construction industry. At present, more than 2 million American builders are unemployed. It can be said that the economic crisis has stifled the American construction industry.

America was the first country in the world to have skyscrapers. The Empire State Building, 375m high and with 102 stories, stands in the center of New York City and has been the pride and joy of Americans. Building a skyscraper involves a huge amount of money and complicated architectural techniques, and is thus seen as a symbol of the owner’s and the nation’s economic strength. Things have changed and building skyscrapers is now China’s forte. The “king of skyscrapers” moniker has been taken over by China, whose strength is getting unprecedented world attention.

The Economic Crisis Caused the Unfinished Project

Since 1973, Chicago’s Sears Tower, with a height of 527m, has been America’s pride. The people of Chicago have always wanted to recreate this glory and build an environmentally friendly spire tower. To put this plan into action, they invited Calatrava, the architect renowned for designing the 2004 Olympic Stadium in Athens, to design the building. Calatrava lived up to their expectations and created a building with a strong water theme. Rainwater is used to irrigate the outer layer of the building, an ingenious way to cool it down. The park attached to the building not only provides a place to relax, but also shade for the cars in the parking structure built under the park. Due to the design’s ingenuity in terms of protecting and utilizing the environment, the Spire has become a classic in contemporary environmentally friendly architecture.

Due to its design technology, not long after work started on the building, 500 of the total 1200 apartments in the Spire were sold. Because of the economic crisis, this famous design has become the most famous unfinished project. The total construction cost of the Spire was not that high. Even taking into account inflation, it would not exceed $2.5 billion, a mere fraction of a percentage point of America’s expenditure on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this $2.5 billion is the cause of America’s heartache. At present, the Chicago Spire’s developer, Fordham Co., is negotiating between China and America, hoping to save this project with China’s strength in construction engineering.

Recently, whether it is building skyscrapers or large bridges, China has made its way into the most advanced circle in world architecture, and is watched by its global industry peers. China has welcomed the building fever of skyscrapers. Amongst the world’s 100 tallest buildings, 28 are in China. Amongst the world’s 10 tallest, China owns seven. China now has more skyscrapers than America, and has become the country that has the most super skyscrapers. Apart from tall buildings, world-class construction projects such as the Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel has made the world look at China differently.