The height of the earliest buildings was based on the load bearing of the walls and size of the base.

From the earliest times man has wanted to build big buildings from the Egyptian pyramids to the cathedrals throughout Europe to the skyscrapers of now.  The actual building of skyscrapers was not possible until the later half of the 19th century.  Prior to the skyscrapers building like the pyramids and cathedrals were built with stone or masonry walls that supported the weight of the building (called load-bearing walls).  How high these buildings could be built was limited by how massive the base could be.  No wonder people suffered building these buildings having to pull and lift huge masses of stone.   Continue reading Skyscrapers and the Relationship to Golf Course Architecture →