term skyscraper originally applied to buildings of 10 to 20 storeys , but by the late 20 th century the term was used to describe high-rise buildings of unusual height , generally greater than 40 or 50 storeys .
The increase in urban commerce in the United States in the second half of the 19 th century augmented the need for city business space , and the installation of the first safe passenger elevator in the Haughwout Department Store , New York City in 1857 made practical the erection of buildings more than four or five storeys tall . Although the earliest skyscrapers rested on extremely thick masonry walls at the ground level , architects soon turned to the use of a cast-iron and wrought-iron framework to support the weight of the upper floors , allowing for more floor space on the lower storeys . James Bogardus built the Cast Iron Building in 1848 in New York City with a rigid frame of iron providing the main support for upper-floor and roof loads .
With the increasing number of super tall buildings being built in recent era , the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ( CTBUH ) defines skyscrapers as buildings of more than 150m tall . The crown no longer stays in the West but had shifted to the Middle East and the East with Burj Khalifa of United Arab Emirates , standing at 828m tall , leading the list .
History of Transformer - Edison Tech Center
The property of induction was discovered in the 1830s but it was not until 1886 that William Stanley , working for Westinghouse built the first reliable commercial transformer . His work was built upon some rudimentary designs by the Ganz Company in Hungary , and Lucian Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs in England .
The early transformer was first used in a public exhibition in Italy in 1884 where the transformer brought down high voltage for use to light incandescent and arc lights . Later a step-up transformer was also designed . Gaulard ( French ) was the engineer and Gibbs ( English ) was the businessman behind the initiative .
In 1886 , William Stanley created a practical AC transformer based on Gaulard ’ s invention . Teaming up with Westinghouse , Stanley , at
Westinghouse ’ s behest , relocated to Great Barrington , Massachusetts to create an electrical grid using AC .
In 1889 , Russian-born engineer Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky developed the first threephase transformer at the Allgemeine Elektricitäts- Gesellschaft ( General Electricity Company ) in Germany .
The WELL Building Standard – Ecophon
The WELL Building Standard is a relatively new programme launched in 2014 by the International WELL Building Institute ( IWBI ). The standard is designed to evaluate and certify buildings based on their impact on human health and well-being . Due to the demand for better working conditions , the certification has already gained significant recognition in the construction industry , with thousands of projects around the world now certified .
One of the unique aspects of the WELL certification is that it also looks at people ’ s behaviour and how a building and its furnishings can positively contribute to their health and well-being . From air and water quality to thermal comfort , sound and lighting , the WELL certification covers a wide range of factors that can affect our physical and mental health .
Requirements of WELL certification WELL contains an extensive step-by-step plan to improve the quality of our indoor environments . The 10 main WELL concepts deal with the following themes : air , water , nutrition , light , movement , thermal comfort , sound , materials , spirit , and community . These concepts contain 108 characteristics related to design , culture , policy , and maintenance , all of which aim to support our physical and mental health .
The characteristics are divided into specific criteria that a building must meet in order to be certified . A distinction is made here between two types of functions : pre-conditions and optimisations . Pre-conditions are mandatory requirements that are fundamental to achieving a WELL certificate , while optimisations are optional features that earn extra points .
By meeting the specific requirements and implementing different features , points can be
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