Skyscrapers: clay high-rises in Yemen and 800-storey house in Japan

Exactly 135 years ago, on May 1, 1884, construction began on the world's first skyscraper — a grandiose building was erected in as many as 10 floors for the Chicago-based insurance company. Not that before that mankind has ever built high buildings. In Africa, for example, there is an entire city consisting entirely of clay high rises: Shibam in Yemen was built about 2,000 years ago, while its houses of unfinished clay bricks reach 26 meters in height, that is, approximately like a 9-storey modern house.

And yet people could not feel comfortable in high-rise buildings until they invented an electric elevator. With his appearance, the process went up. Following the first Chicago skyscraper, new ones appeared. And on May 1, 1930, in New York, the building was solemnly opened, which for many years became a symbol of the entire industrial era — Empire State Building, 381 meters high, or 443 meters from the antenna. This record lasted 40 years - until 1972.

Today, more than 3,700 skyscrapers have been built in the world. Most of them are in Hong Kong and New York, in the back of their heads they breathe Shenzhen, Seoul and Dubai. In which the tallest building on the planet is located - the Burj Kalif height of 828 m. And this is no limit. In the next few years, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Azerbaijan are going to beat this record - they all plan to build a tower more than a kilometer high.

And the most daring project developed in Japan. The X-Seed 4000 building should rise over the planet by 4 km, it will have 800 floors, and in form it will most of all resemble Mount Fuji, which, by the way, will overtake by 250 m. Due to its base, 5-6 km wide, the structure will be earthquake resistant and can be home to approximately 1,000,000 people. One can only imagine what the view will be from the upper floors of the building. And not even elevators will lift and lower, but real vertical trains designed for 200 passengers - and the entire ascent or descent will take about half an hour.

Although the project has been worked out to the smallest detail, it still remains purely hypothetical - no company has yet decided to become an investor of such an expensive project - after all, this will no longer be a home, but a real high-rise city. Would you live like that?