The End of an Era: a Canadian Icon Turns 30

It's been deleted from movies to turn Toronto into Detroit, it sways 6 m side to side in high winds, and considers getting struck by lighting as part of the job.

On June 26th, 2006 the CN Tower in Toronto celebrated what will like be it's last major anniversary as the world's Tallest free standing structure on land. (a complete listing of structures broken down by category can be found here.)

For the last three decades at 553 m (1814 ft) the CN Tower on Front street has reigned supreme over the competition. But f all goes according to plan, in 2008 the CN Tower will be dwarfed by the Burj Dubai Tower in Dubai, UAE designed to stretch to reach a lofty 705 m (2312 ft). The Burj Dubai tower will not only claim the mantle as the world's tallest freestanding structure, but also the tallest skyscraper, and the all round tallest structure ever constructed by humans, on land or in the water, free standing or not.

The age of the skyscraper was thought to have come and gone, with the September 11th terrorist attacks being the last nail in the coffin. Born in the US, the love of skyscrapers has since found a new home in the likes of Dubai, Tai Pei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China. Improved materials and a better understanding of structural performance have allowed for buildings to reach for the stars. There are no less than six buildings underconstruction slated to beat out the CN tower before the end of the decade. In the short span of 4 years, the tower stands to see its 30 year 1st place ranking slip to 7th.

Of the top 10 tallest skyscrapers in the world, only 2 are in the United States and the tallest of those was constructed in 1974 (Sears Towers). The youngest major US skyscrapers in the top 30 were completed in 1989. China comparison has seen a considerable boom in skyscrapers over the last decade containing 30% of the 30 tallest.

Some of the towers are landmark achievements driven by a desire for recognition and a shot a the title (the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur come to mind.) Other's develop out of necessity of space, such as to deal with the burgeoning urban population in China.

From a sustainable point of view, towers can have considerably lower environmental impact given the relatively small footprint required for a high population density, or so the theory goes. By combining building systems into a larger system sustainable systems start to make sense, from cogeneration plants on the more conservative spectrum to living machines on the more ambitous.

The CN tower wasn't sustainable, in truth it doesn't even look very nice sitting as it is next to the white elephant. It was and still is used as a vital link the communications network across southern Ontario. For an entire summer I walked past the base of this giant needle without giving it a second thought. I haven't been up since before I can really remember. Maybe I'll make one last trek to the base of the tower and ride the lifts up to enjoy the view before this giant is dethroned.