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World's Second Tallest Building To Be Green?

thedailygreen.com — The historic city of Philadelphia hasn't been known for its skyline in a long time. Now, some developers want to change that with a proposal to construct what would become the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest building in the world, standing at 1,500 feet, with a very-high degree of energy and water efficiency.

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  • TEHxINTERWEBS, on 03/18/2008, -1/+17Looks greyish to me... /sarcasm
    • Wetlandman, on 03/18/2008, -0/+0There is nothing green about a building that tall
    • Fordi, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Damnit, I just hope the Unions don't ***** this one like they did with the Comcast building.
  • zephyear, on 03/18/2008, -6/+262nd tallest in the world? what?

    there's multiple taller buildings

    cn tower, ostankino tower, sears tower, taipei 101, shanghai world financial center, burj dubai

    not to mention the ones still under construction that aren't near their total height yet
    • drizzlelicious, on 03/18/2008, -2/+15read:
      "(This is not including communications towers like Toronto's CN Tower, which are not considered true "buildings," or other proposed projects around the world that may be taller when finished.)"

      Currently the tallest completed building sits at 1670 feet, with the Petronas towers at 1483. This building, at 1500 feet, if it was constructed in the blink of an eye, would claim second apot.
      • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -3/+5You forgot the Shanghai World Financial Center
        • drizzlelicious, on 03/18/2008, -4/+4It's not finished yet.
          • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -3/+6It was finished in September, dumbass. Look it up before burying.
          • drizzlelicious, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2I live in Shanghai. I suppose all those construction cranes up top are part of the finished product?
      • mrjah, on 03/18/2008, -2/+0If you're interested in a fair comparison, take ALL of the buildings currently under construction and pretend they've ALL been built in the blink of an eye.

        Now, where is this Philly thing? Oh, there it is, in the shadows of a bunch of taller things. And it's not really that tall -- it just has a spike on it.

        How quaint. Philly, once again a third- or fourth-place city...
        • deaftly, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2sounds like somebody had a bad cheese steak for lunch
    • wild, on 03/18/2008, -5/+6Read: PR Hype and Spin!

      The Chicago Spire will be 2000 feet when completed in 2011, topping all other buildings on this side of the world. The height of this Philly building is not impressive.
      • kritond, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5I agree the article was full of hype and spin. But simply because the numbers don't match up with other proposed buildings. 1500 feet is still impressive, especially in a city not full of sky scrapers. I live in NYC, worked at ESB for a few years, and even now that "measly" 1250 feet is pretty awe inspiring to me and the general public.
        • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3No, impressive is 2600 feet in Dubai, a city not full of skyscrapers,either. And they already have 2000 feet of it built.
    • xAKxRUSx, on 03/18/2008, -0/+0There are plenty of 600 + meter towers that are under construction.

      Burj Dubai
      Russia Tower
      Chicago Spire
      etc.
  • DarkerMaster, on 03/18/2008, -18/+16Yeah but Philly...i mean i live there and i think it sucks.
    • skidme, on 03/18/2008, -3/+3Totally agree with you, but I love the area around Market and 18th St.
    • smoger, on 03/18/2008, -2/+21you may live here, but you're clearly no Philadelphian.
    • Yodzilla, on 03/18/2008, -3/+22i live in Philly and it ***** rules. you just suck
    • mrjah, on 03/18/2008, -5/+1DarkMaster is correct. I moved here from what turned out to be a much nicer city. Philly sucks.

      I was expecting much more. Philly really doesn't have that much to offer. I can see why the suburbs are so nice here. That's where people want to live.

      Why live downtown when, for its size, Philly offers precious little to justify it?
      • CapnMarko, on 03/18/2008, -1/+3You all are high .... Philly has too much too offer for anyone willing to bother to look

        http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/feature ...
        http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-0 ...

        Now shut up an sit down or move back to whatever hole you crawled outta you will not be missed
        • neotrantor, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1people who say philly has nothing haven't been to two street at the correct time of year
        • mrjah, on 03/18/2008, -1/+0Typical abusive Philthadelphia trash response.

          It's hard to imagine you've lived anywhere else, given that you're so high on one of the nation's largest backwater cities. You have no idea what a real, vibrant city looks or feels like.

          Your article links are great for someone who's going to be in Philly for 2-3 days. After 2-3 months of actually living here, the small variety of interesting local events gets old FAST. But I'm speaking as someone who knows what it's like to live in a truly great city, so most of the Philly homers around here probably won't understand.

          Spend some time in Chicago, NYC, Boston, or SF and then tell me that Philly has "too much to offer." Even the much smaller towns like Boston and SF run rings around it.

          You can make your own entertainment and culture anywhere. No need to live in a city for that. But if you want what a city SHOULD offer, Philly disappoints -- while overdelivering on crime, pollution, and bleak industrial vistas.

          I moved to Philly because I have family in neighboring states, and the airport -- while filled with foul odors and homeless people -- is an easy drive. It's really hard to believe that anybody would move here because Philly is their go-to city.
    • brokencode, on 03/18/2008, -5/+2Killadelphia is the appropriate name.
    • nicksawick1, on 03/18/2008, -2/+2***** you. Philly is the *****.
  • displacednomad, on 03/18/2008, -2/+6A simple search (http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams) shows that there are 10 skyscrapers that are either built or under construction that are taller than 1500'. This proposal won't go through as is anyways. Philly is still getting used to the idea of their new tallest building (The Comcast Building). They won't be erecting anything 500' taller than that anytime soon.
    • Narcism, on 03/18/2008, -1/+5You said erecting...
    • Yeyui, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2The diagram of the worlds tallest completed buildings (by roof or spire height) as of 2008 (from your source) shows only Taipei 101 exceeding 457 meters.
      • displacednomad, on 03/18/2008, -0/+0You have to toggle the construction button in the search options. The Burj Dubai (http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com) is already the tallest building, and it's only 3/4 complete. The Freedom Tower in NYC has laid it's foundation and will see above ground construction by summer.
    • CapnMarko, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1http://phillyskyline.com/i2.htm

      For more info on current, under construction, and future Philly construction
    • anillop, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I love the Chicago page on that site. Its a nice way to find whats proposed and under construction in my city.
  • TheWorm, on 03/18/2008, -5/+5Title made me think they were going to paint it green.
  • macwac, on 03/18/2008, -2/+4Compared to the energy positive building planned in Abu Dhabi by 2016 - Masdar City, this doesn't impress me. (posted yesterday on digg?)
  • rpieszak, on 03/18/2008, -1/+21Yeah, I think Dubai already has like 47 building taller than this. Next week it'll be in the 50's.
    • CapnMarko, on 03/18/2008, -1/+2So move to Dubai already
    • prattstick, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Wow! Tall buildings and time travel?! I'm there!
  • jesuswuzanalien, on 03/18/2008, -7/+1It looks like Cartman just went straight up and painted some poopy ass dookie ***** all over the sides of that building.
  • unrequited, on 03/18/2008, -7/+32I'm confused, who cares what color the building is?
    • xTRUMANx, on 03/18/2008, -5/+2RTA
    • phantom_mullet, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1It would appear that there is in fact an entire blog dedicated to green things! Who'd have thought?!
  • Gummo98, on 03/18/2008, -6/+3Looks silver to me. Oh the other green.
  • drivin98, on 03/18/2008, -4/+2Energy efficiency isn't so impressive now. It should be energy independent, then it would deserve a green title. (Of course, if that energy was derived from a small nuclear reactor beneath the parking garage, well, that wouldn't be so green.)
    • wordsofwisedumb, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1You shouldn't be dug down. You are completely right. Energy efficient buildings are easy to design with a little research and analysis during the design process. Especially considering how low the standard is if you just have to compare your efficiency to existing building's efficiency. Energy independence is much harder to achieve and what architects (myself included) should be striving for.
  • HairyGrapeNuts, on 03/18/2008, -2/+3By the time this is built, the Freedom Tower in NYC will have already been built higher at 1,776 feet.
  • h2g242, on 03/18/2008, -1/+13I say they slap billy penn on top of that thing. This curse is getting old.
    • smoger, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2there's a small penn statue(or will be?) on top of the comcast building
    • delvach, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1It was considered, but wouldn't leave enough room for the Death Ray.
  • Arcesius, on 03/18/2008, -3/+3I think it would be a hell of a lot greener to just not build this thing. Some people are seriously confused as to what "green" means.
    • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -1/+3So a few dozen smaller office buildings would be better?
      • Arcesius, on 03/18/2008, -3/+1How about no office buildings?
        • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Oh, so your suggestion is to forgo commerce altogether?
  • ambiguus, on 03/18/2008, -1/+6We'll see if this ever even gets built. There's people here trying to block it because they don't want buildings higher than the City Hall, which was the world's tallest building...until 1908. I live here, and believe me, Philadelphia is a little dated. They need this building, but it probably won't happen.
    • DreadPirate, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4If that's the case, they aren't doing a very good job - considering the number of skyscrapers Philly already has.
    • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -1/+2Philadelphia's city hall is taller than the Great Pyramid AND the Eiffel Tower? I did not know that.
  • pramodc84, on 03/18/2008, -2/+1like tree?
  • khail250, on 03/18/2008, -5/+2wont be built cause are economy is used to build bombs and destroy countries.. we spend more on our military than the planet combined. this is why our economy is ***** and this building doesnt stand a chance to be built here
    • DreadPirate, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1Spoken like a true illiterate moron.
      • khail250, on 03/18/2008, -2/+1I don't think you know what that word means
        • DreadPirate, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Oh yes I do - it's you that does not know proper spelling and grammar.

          cause - *Because*
          are - our

        • khail250, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1damn
  • tgunner, on 03/18/2008, -10/+2"City of Brotherly Love"? More like "City 'dat da' brotha's love." Philadelphia needs to clean itself up before it's ready to become a model city. You have ghettos, projects right up close to these new buildings as well as the dreaded Camden, NJ just across the river.
    • smoger, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2wow. can we institute a minimum education level requirement for digg accounts?
    • rcarroll215, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3spoken like a true Delaware County resident...
      • KillaJazzBass, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1spoken like somebody who hates our black friends
    • CapnMarko, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2So what kinda pickup truck do you fly your confederate flag off the antenna of out there in Pennsyltucky?
    • nicksawick1, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1You obviously never been to center city.
  • robotto, on 03/18/2008, -1/+2Green or not, . have you seen those buildings to be built in Dubai??? Damn
  • Hedgecore, on 03/18/2008, -2/+3Congratulations Philadelphia, on your proposed soon-to-be-constructed world's second largest tower in the western hemisphere facing east and only containing exterior angles between 40 and 60 degrees! (Did I miss any of the disclaimers or criteria they set to qualify the title?)
  • frazw, on 03/18/2008, -9/+2Historic City of Philadelphia? Not exactly old now is it.
    • rcarroll215, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4Settlement first began in 1637... which makes it one of the oldest cities in the western hemisphere.
    • MWeather, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1What does being old have to do with being historic?
  • jpe81, on 03/18/2008, -6/+2that's a lot of office space considering how most of the city is unemployed.

    ...unless this is going to be the new unemployment office.
  • Brendan2026, on 03/18/2008, -2/+13I live in Philly and I'm all for it. I love skyscrapers. It will be nice to have a building taller than the Comcast Tower. While the Comcast building looks cool, it is owned by a ***** corporation. I tell people that I think Comcast should just go ahead and build a fiery, all-seeing eye on top of the thing like in Lord of the Rings.
    • smoger, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4the comcast building isn't owned by comcast. they got the name because they lease a certain % of floorspace.
    • delvach, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4Now that's just silly. Not because it's unrealistic, but because it would block the Death Ray.
  • biggy83, on 03/18/2008, -6/+1Here is a video demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2b1D5w82yU
  • heysuburbia, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4I made some mock-ups (from bad .jpgs) on Saturday:
    http://www.basicfunction.com/board/files/skyscrape ...
    http://www.basicfunction.com/board/files/comcast_u ...
    http://www.basicfunction.com/board/files/comcast_u ...
    • deaftly, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Philly's going to have quite the badass skyline. Nice work.
  • stellars, on 03/18/2008, -0/+6People in Philly get way more riled up over the tax abatements for the new buildings than they do over the height eclipsing the William Penn Statue.
    • twst1up, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1yeah, i can remember the controversy before they built one liberty place...
      The skyline sure has changed since i was little
  • bunkybrewman, on 03/18/2008, -0/+8Another skyscraper in Philadelphia? I'm curious to how it would appear next to the 876 foot high Comcast tower, which is finishing construction. Regarding the Comcast tower, while it has the waterless toilets, the developer was forced to construct an infrastructure of cast-iron plumbing throughout the entire building from continued political pressure from the plumber's union. (yes, I said cast-iron) The fallacy of the plumbing? It is not hooked up to anything and will not be used for anything. Brilliant!

    While I would love to see another "green" building, I'm not entirely convinced that natural resources will be spared during construction, or if we'll see the "same 'ol, same 'ol" nonsense when it comes to our trade unions.

    • delvach, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2Dugg! I was wondering how many people actually know about that whole debacle.
    • domlachowicz, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1The Comcast Tower is 974 ft (297 m)
    • jankind, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1There was a little mock-up rendering on the Daily News cover yesterday of the proposed site. It would end up being alot bigger than Comcast is.
    • SPRFRKR, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I think it will look comical given that the vast majority of buildings in Philly are so short due to the law that buildings further east of City Hall cannot be higher than Ben Franklin on top of City Hall.
  • petethepanda, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2Screw that, I thought the title meant it would be green-colored. That would be badass.
  • gothicform, on 03/18/2008, -5/+1This is totally inaccurate. It won't be the world's second tallest building, it won't even be the worlds tenth tallest building! We have the Burj Dubai and Fosters's Russia Tower in Moscow both over 600m which is almost 2000 feet... then there's the 2,000 foot tall Sumida Tower in Tokyo etc.
  • gh0st32, on 03/18/2008, -2/+4I live in Philly, it would be nice addition but the unions will kill it and the market won't support it. Look at all of the empty condo's going up. You have the Murano on Market the Ritz at 15 and Aria on Locust. I've talked to people that are on the 'inside' and they can't get any tenants. What makes these developers think that they can get tenants.
    Moreover, Philly has an awful tax code that drive business to the KOP and Mt. Laurel/Cherry Hill areas.
  • JSYankees85, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1This would actually be the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and third tallest in the world. By the time it is completed, New York's Freedom Tower will be the tallest, at 1,776 feet tall. Other than that, interesting article.
  • aoki4, on 03/18/2008, -2/+0how is it possible to paint something that big green
  • mashedpotatoes, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Great, now I want a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Thanks.
    • delvach, on 03/18/2008, -0/+3Sorry, you can't have one if you call it a 'sandwich'. ;)
    • bigtommy20, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1seriously? a sandwich? please never visit us.
  • crapmatic, on 03/18/2008, -3/+21500-1700 ft... yawn... eyeroll. Look at Dubai... when they want to build a tall building, nothing less than 2700 ft will do.
    • slantyeyed, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1muslim extremists aren't interested in toppling a tower in dubai . . . a big tower in the US that could be seen a symbol of US arrogance in Philly? maybe so.
  • neotrantor, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2as a Philadelphian, I say do not want. we need money for schools, not more ***** skyscrapers so the elite have a nice view at work.
    • slantyeyed, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2and most people who will work there with high paying jobs won't live in philly. they live in jersey or outside of philly.
    • Triachus, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1I agree and admire your concern, but this building will become a GLOBAL symbol. Don't underestimate the power of symbolism. A massive visual improvement be of great urban benefit.
  • slantyeyed, on 03/18/2008, -1/+1i wonder how much greenhouse gases were needed to be produced to manufacture and ship all that material?
    • XZanatos, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1PLENTY, if you don't like it then why don't YOU solve that problem?
  • sealjosh, on 03/18/2008, -0/+4yo, I for one welcome our new green building overlords
    • prattstick, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Drop the salutation and I might digg you up.
  • mxagainst, on 03/18/2008, -0/+1Here's something that's actually interesting about this building.

    http://www.phillymag.com/articles/the_last_union_t ...

    "Knowing the power of the trade unions, the developers of the “green” Comcast tower had little choice but to strike an absurd deal: The Comcast tower got its new toilets. But only because it also got a full set of old-fashioned pipes, installed by union plumbers. The pipes run throughout all 58 floors, just like in any other skyscraper.

    Except in the Comcast tower, they’re not connected to anything."
  • bigtommy20, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5I'd like to see this, as i live in Philly and actually work in what you would call the "green" sector. bravo, but i doubt we'll see this actually happen. p.s FLY EAGLES FLY!!!!!
  • TommyBoy919, on 03/18/2008, -0/+5Dug for a story on Philly that doesn't somehow involve murder.
  • anillop, on 03/18/2008, -5/+1Hahahaha silly Philly your building is going to be about 500 feet shorter than the Chicago Spire which will be the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. We are not giving up our tallest building street cred to New York and we are certainly not giving it up to Philadelphia.
  • dgruzew, on 03/18/2008, -2/+02nd tallest? I guess when compared to currently "constructed" buildings only Taipei 101 is taller. But Burj Dubai and the Chicago Spire are under construction right now. Both well over 2000 feet. 2700+ and 2200+ and Freedom tower in NYC.
  • KiltedMile, on 03/18/2008, -2/+1so what?
  • jankind, on 03/18/2008, -0/+6It's amazing to me how many people don't actually read. NOTE: Not including TOWERS or projects currently in development.
    Dugg for PHILADELPHIA!
  • conrail, on 03/18/2008, -0/+2Boy, this will piss off all the provincial clowns in Pittsburgh.
  • Deathrideshorse, on 03/19/2008, -0/+0Petition:

    We, the undersigned, call on the Governments of the world to use some common sense when distributing Energy subsidies.



    Why must the taxpayer subsidise the largest cause of man-made Global Warming(Fossil Fuel electricity generation) whilst alternative energy solutions such as Solar Thermal are forced to struggle?



    Why must the consumer be asked to pay extra for "Green" Energy when his/her taxes are subsidising the very antithesis?



    We, the undersigned, are not impressed with such hypocrisy.



    http://www.gopetition.com/online/17583.html



    *pass it on!*
  •  

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