Two professors of structural engineering and historic preservation who have researched and published extensively on the beginnings of metal-frame construction in New York and Chicago revisit the partisan debate over definitions of the “first skyscrapers.” Donald Friedman, New Yorker and author of Historical Building Construction, and Thomas Leslie, author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, will discuss the introduction and adoption of steel skeletons in the practice of construction in the 19th century’s two leading skyscraper cities.
The session is framed as a mock “debate” only to emphasize the historiography of the bi-city competition. The real intent of the session is to develop a new and more nuanced narrative of the transition from masonry to metal-frame construction in the last decades of the 19th century.
Free for members, $10 for non-members. 2 AIA CES LUs available.
Reservations are required for each session. Click here to RSVP to Session 2 or RSVP to programs@skyscraper.org with the subject Session 2. Seating priority is given to Members, Corporate Member firms and their employees. All guests MUST RSVP to assure admittance.
This event is part of a two-day symposium. Click here for more information and for details on other events in the symposium.
