Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'

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scalable architecture
not climable, upgradeable
 
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I live near the World Trade Center site in New York City and we've been having debates about what to build there. The other night I thought instead of building really big skyscrapers on speculation, why not build ones with a big enough base (and sturdy enough core) so you can add floors as necessary? In New York, where there are boom and bust markets, you could add floors during a really serious expansion mode. This way you wouldn't overstretch yourself. Also, it'd allow zoning boards to decide whether a building height extension is appropriate given current economic conditions.

customer1, Feb 03 2002

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       Baked, no? I can't imagine a man-made structure that can't be added to.   

       I appreciate the imagery of a skyscraper built like one of those child's toys where the floors (rings) stack on a center core, though.

phoenix, Feb 03 2002
  

       You can't add to a manmade structure if the foundations aren't strong enough for your addition. [customer1]'s idea would require that the foundation be way enormously stronger than the immediately-planned rentable space needed, which is one way of dividing up the financing to build between now & the future, but maybe isn't the most effective. OTOH, maybe it is, certainly I've known people building houses who built a big foundation with a little house on it & added rooms and stories as they could afford it.   

       Possibly the add-a-stories get removed and shipped somwhere else, when the boom-and-bust cycle blesses that second place. Tokyo might have some office space to sell right now.

hello_c, Feb 03 2002
  
      
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