COMPARISON BETWEEN SKYSCRAPER AND GROUNDSCRAPER

GROUND SCRAPERS

Ground scraper can be described as a building under 15storey which stems lowly over a large area of land; it arose as a result of the need for urbanization, densification and low-rise development.

Ground scrapers create in building a symbol of freedom, flexibility and openness. It not only provides for greater density of the grid and a faster access to different planes, but it also allows the scheme of construction to continue without finalized and predictable outcomes that is building can be attached to existing buildings to further increase structure. The ground scraper seems to unite without limiting the potential to grow and change grid of construction in order to give minimum organization providing maximum opportunities for contact, exchange and feed-back without compromising the tranquility of individual work. Most public program, such as exhibition spaces, auditoria, large lecture halls, lounges, cafes, shops and some libraries, lecture rooms and seminars, are located along the main servicing spines of ground scraper buildings and connected by secondary ways that hold offices and smaller classrooms.

Plans are allocated base on efficiency and frequency of activity. Principal building services are underground for easiest vehicular access. The ground floor usually contains most activities.

The exigencies of the automobile are compatible with the ground scraper, while skyscraper section has been laid onto the ground automobiles are parked on the ground floor only, the planes of isolation that exist in skyscrapers became adjacent planes in ground scrapers as distributed across the site making it looks  much like the ground scraper this allows fast and easy crossing in between these zones  ground scraper makes use of Pathways with loose ends, in further development of  neighborhoods through these simple division makers. Towards the boundary of the sites, the pedestrian pathways continuously grow as they bridge across vehicular roads or join and the existing pedestrian circulation system which both stems expensive growth and webs of connectivity, these pedestrian paths fuse the ground scraper concept with the complexity of lot-division, suggested density, and variable land form. Groundscraper in its built form reverberates with small town intimacy (Intimate spaces, narrow corridors, private housing units, small courtyards and green roofs with individual seating).

 All the above elements attest to the ground scraper organization system that persisted and managed to preserve the integrated model of low-rise densification that would foster human mobility, activity and interaction.

At a time when architects tackled the mass urbanization and perpetual motion of mass production, incorporating technology and city planning into their architectural language, Candilis-Josic-Woods(CJW) invented concepts of stem, web and ground scraper. Possibly the first architects to use the ground scraper as a concept for urbanization in the process of design, CJW based their buildings on concepts and ideas. In their Free University project, their final and most published work, - the concept that determined the design process and the socio-political agenda of the group was the ground scraper. The natural progression from stems and webs, the ground scraper is a proposal for urban densification through low-rise development. This urban proposal carries Candilis-Josic-Woods’ socio-political agenda to make possible an Open society through human activity and interaction, facilitated by free pedestrian circulation through ground scraper idea.

Ground scrapers as a continuously  expanding landscape that has a density of activities equivalent to that expected of a city center city, but feels like an open field that during its building process brought many disciplines together and questioned architectural and urban rules, The Ground scraper was presented as a drawing in 1963, expanded to include the urban planning in the site Plans and diagram of 1965-66, and finally built into the physical space in 1973 for the University of Berlin to house student from different faculty.

 Candilis-Josic-Woods’ position in the world of architecture is marked by concepts that carry socio-political attitudes of how people are to live, move and interact, in which they incorporate in their proposal for the ground scraper in the  University of Berlin, which mediates architectural, environmental, contextual, socio-political interests and places the architect in the central stage as the mediator between the static socio-political institution and the dynamic social conditions requiring change. The trend to horizontal building is most noticeable on the edges of metropolitan areas, where space is not so constrained

 SKY SCRAPERS

The name skyscraper was first use during the 1880s, shortly after the first skyscrapers were built, in the United States. The development of skyscrapers came as a result of the concurrence of several social developments and advancement in technology. The term skyscraper originally applied to buildings of 10 to 20 stories, but by the late 20th century the term skyscraper was used to describe buildings of unusual height, generally more than 40.

The rise of skyscrapers is as a result of the invention of the lift and the use of steel frames in construction. The primary means of vertical conveyance in a skyscraper is the lift. It is moved by an electric motor that raises or lowers the cab in a vertical shaft by means of wire ropes. Each lift cab is also engrossed by vertical guide tracks and has a flexible electric cable connected to it that provides power for lighting, door operation, and signal transmission. In other to minimize the waste of land people tend to go higher floors especially in central business district that is the economy of space, skyscraper cannot exist without lift, evacuation of occupant in times of emergencies are always difficult due to the extreme height, skyscraper demand deep foundations of piles. The foundations of high-rise buildings must sometimes support very heavy gravity loads, and they usually consist of concrete piers, piles, or caissons that are sunk into the ground. Beds of solid rock are the most desirable base, but ways have been found to distribute loads evenly even on relatively soft ground., high pressure on infrastructure with successful influence of new building material and technologies, they are built for prestige and tourist attractions, the construction of skyscrapers are competitive in nature between countries, its brings respect and a symbol of  technological development and authority, they are liable to intense natural disasters such as wind storms, earth quakes which as to be considered at the design stage.

As the population density of urban areas increases, so there is need for buildings that rise rather than spread. The skyscraper, which was originally a form of commercial architecture, has increasingly been used for residential purposes as well. As the population density of urban areas has increased, so has the need for buildings that rise rather than spread. The skyscraper, which was originally a form of commercial architecture, has increasingly been used for residential purposes as well.

CONTRAST

1.      A ground scraper requires the ground floor level area while skyscraper requires a small piece of land on which it can be built.

2.      Ground scrapers encourage densification while skyscrapers encourage economy of space and urban land management in central business district.

3.      Ground scraper is flexible in arrangement of spaces while skyscraper isolate spaces

4.      Ground scrapers encourage socio-political systems, interaction between people while sky scraper are anti-social in nature.

5.      Ground scrapers create in building a symbol of freedom; flexibility and openness skyscraper create restrictions, rigidness, upward and downward thinking (psychological problems) so it is boring.

6.      Ground scraper makes use of Pathways with loose ends, in further development while sky scraper makes use of lift and stairs.

7.      The ground scraper seems to unite without limiting the potential to grow and change grid of construction along the floor planes while in case of skyscraper once it is constructed there cannot be future increase in storey.

8.      Skyscraper have an obvious vertical frames while ground scrapers have horizontal planes more obvious

SIMILARITIES

1.      Both skyscrapers and ground scrapers are intended to respond to change in population either to encourage increase population density using ground scraper or to accommodate more people on a small piece of land using a sky scraper.

2.      Both skyscrapers and ground scrapers requires deep foundations

3.      They both requires high level of technology in construction

4.      They both accommodate large population of people in them

5.      They both exert high pressure on infrastructure

CONCLUSION

Skyscrapers are purported toward urban land economy in other to maximize the insufficient land area and to exhibit structural flexibilities and technological advancement while ground scraper are intended toward densification, urbanization and low-rise development of  rural or sub-urban area. They both exhibit an intention to intimidate architect of under developed countries, because without constant power supply they are unable to implement these skyscraper and Ground scraper, studying the two models of architecture, that is skyscraper and ground scraper in Nigeria is not enough we need to put it into practice.