How to Build a Skyscraper - RailsConf 2016

Since 1884, humans have been building skyscrapers. This means that we had 6 decades of skyscraper-building experience before we started building software (depending on your definition of "software"). Maybe there are some lessons we can learn from past experience?

This talk won't make you an expert skyscraper-builder, but you might just come away with a different perspective on how you build software.

Transcript

1. 5 (The number of times more likely you are to receive stickers and/or hugs if you sit up front!)
2. This is my most popular tweet. I am really proud of it. You should follow me @erniemiller for more useful content like this. ♥♥♥PLEASE SIT UP FRONT OR I WILL FEEL LONELY UP HERE!♥♥♥
3. How to Build a Skyscraper
4. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
5. How to Build a Skyscraper
6. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
7. “The problems posed in skyscraper design are considered among the most complex encountered given the balances required between economics, engineering, and construction management. — Wikipedia: Skyscraper Design and Construction
8. 1870 Equitable Life Building New York, New York, USA
13. 130 ft 7 stories
14. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States
20. Elisha Otis 1811 - 1861
26. Higher is better. (but only if you can move up and down easily)
27. A solution that seems unremarkable to you might just change everything for others.
30. New York Times, January 11th, 1912
33. Never underestimate the power of people to break what you build.
34. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
35. 1885 Home Insurance Building Chicago, Illinois, USA
36. William Le Baron Jenney 1832 - 1907
38. 138 ft 10 stories
39. Find inspiration from unexpected places.
40. “ The American Skyscraper, 1850-1940: A Celebration of Height CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 No nineteenth-century skyscraper caused more controversy than did Chicago’s Home Insurance Building. Many claimed it was the Americas’ first skyscraper, others, of course, disagreed. Much depended upon whom you asked and much depended upon where they were from.
41. Haters gonna hate. (don’t let that stop you from building)
42. Haters gonna hate. (don’t let that stop you from building)
43. Leroy S. Buffington 1847 - 1931
45. Ditherington Flax Mill Shrewsbury, UK Photo: Taliesin Edwards CC BY-SA 3.0
46. Patent trolls gonna patent troll. (meanwhile, you should be busy building)
47. Patent trolls gonna patent troll. (meanwhile, you should be busy building)
48. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
49. 1891 Monadnock Building Chicago, Illinois, USA
50. Peter Chardon Brooks III (1831-1920) Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society Owen F. Aldis (1853-1925)
51. Daniel Burnham 1846 - 1912 John Root 1850 - 1891
55. All Giza Pyramids Ricardo Liberato CC BY-SA 2.0
56. Embrace constraints.
58. Monadnock Building David K. Staub CC BY-SA 2.5 215 ft 17 stories
60. If you only focus on profitability, don’t be surprised when you start sinking.
61. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
62. 1902 Fuller Flatiron Building New York, New York, USA
63. John Root 1850 - 1891 Daniel Burnham 1846 - 1912
64. Frederick Dinkelberg 1858 - 1935 Daniel Burnham 1846 - 1912
65. 285 ft 22 stories
66. 285 ft 22 stories
67. Flatiron “Point” Office Josh S. Jackson CC BY-NC 2.0
68. The space you have to work with should influence how you build.
69. Choose the right materials for the job.
71. Corydon Purdy 1859 - 1944
72. Testing makes it possible to be confident about what we build, even when others aren’t.
73. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
74. 1930 40 Wall Street - vs - The Chrysler Building New York, New York, USA
75. William Van Alen 1883-1954 H. Craig Severance 1879-1941
76. “It wouldn’t have mattered what I decided to do — doctor or lawyer. I would have done them all as well. — H. Craig Severance, on becoming an architect
77. 40 Wall Street Wikipedia: ChrisRuvulo CC BY-SA 3.0 Chrysler Building Jessica Spengler CC BY 2.0 - vs -
78. 40 Wall Street Wikipedia: ChrisRuvulo CC BY-SA 3.0 Chrysler Building Jessica Spengler CC BY 2.0 - vs -
79. 40 Wall Street Walter P. Chrysler William Van Alen Chrysler Building Yasuo Matsui Richmond Shreve William Lamb H. Craig Severance - vs -
80. 40 Wall Street Walter P. Chrysler William Van Alen Chrysler Building Yasuo Matsui Richmond Shreve William Lamb H. Craig Severance Announced: April, 1929 Announced height: 840 ft Announced: March, 1929 Announced height: 808 ft - vs -
81. 40 Wall Street Walter P. Chrysler William Van Alen Chrysler Building Yasuo Matsui Richmond Shreve William Lamb H. Craig Severance Announced: April, 1929 Announced height: 840 ft Height in October: < 850 ft Announced: March, 1929 Announced height: 808 ft Height in October: > 850 ft - vs -
82. New Skyscraper Race is Won by Bank of Manhattan Building Plans Altered Twice to Beat Out Chrysler […] The Chrysler construction is so far advanced that further changes are impossible. […] — New York Evening Telegram, October 18th, 1929
84. There’s opportunity for great work in places nobody is looking.
85. The World’s Tallest Building Raises the Stars and Stripes to the New York Heavens — The New York World, November 12th, 1929
86. “ — Dow Service's Daily Building Report, November 16th, 1929 This is the story of how two architects, formerly partners, vied with each other to erect two of the world's tallest man-made structures, and how one of them [...] finally succeeded in passing the hitherto thousand-foot pinnacle of the Eiffel Tower [...]
87. 40 Wall Street Walter P. Chrysler William Van Alen Chrysler Building Yasuo Matsui Richmond Shreve William Lamb H. Craig Severance Announced: April, 1929 Announced height: 840 ft Height in October: < 850 ft 927 ft
 (70 stories) Announced: March, 1929 Announced height: 808 ft Height in October: > 850 ft 1,046 ft (77 stories) Cost: $14,000,000 Cost: $13,091,416 - vs -
88. Big buildings are expensive. Big egos, even more so. (your building is not you)
90. Heights you have yet to reach seem more impressive than they do upon arrival.
91. “ — American Architect and Architecture, volume 138 This case should be a lesson to other architects who are inclined to depend on their artistic rather than on their business ability, for no client wants to start an operation which may wind up in a law suit.
92. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
93. 1931 Empire State Building New York, New York, USA
94. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel New York, NY
95. Al Smith 1873-1944 John J. Raskob 1879-1950
96. “I’m to be an Irish landlord.” — Al Smith, addressing the press
 August 29th, 1929
97. Richmond Shreve 1877-1946 William Lamb 1893-1952
98. Richmond Shreve 1877-1946 William Lamb 1893-1952 Arthur Harmon 1878-1958
99. “ — William Lamb, on designing the Empire State Building The program was short enough — a fixed budget, no space more than 38 feet from window to corridor, as many stories of as much space as possible, an exterior of limestone, and completion by May 1, 1931 […] The first three of these requirements produced the mass of the building and the latter two the characteristics of the design.
100. When given a tight deadline, get ready to make concessions.
103. Even when making concessions, ensure a pleasant experience for those who matter.
104. Her
105. Him
106. Him
107. Possibly him
108. Definitely not him
109. For Sale
 Flickr: chucka_nc CC BY-SA 2.0
112. Reuse previous work. (even if it’s not yours)
113. November 18th, 1929
114. November 18th, 1929 “The determination of the height of the building will be based on the sound development of useable space. As we proceed with the plans the owners will be in a better position to determine what the height of the building is to be. — Richmond Shreve
118. “Building with an eye to the future, we have determined to build a mooring tower 200 feet high on top of the new Empire State Building. […] the Zeppelin would be anchored more than 1,300 feet in the air, with elevator facilities throughout the tower to land passengers downstairs seven minutes after the ship is anchored. — Al Smith, December 11th, 1929
119. People can rationalize anything. (that doesn’t excuse you from trying to talk them out of it)
121. You might be able to design from top down, but you should build from bottom up.
123. Demolition order for 'mountain villa' built on China rooftop A medicine mogul who spent six years building his own private mountain peak and luxury villa atop a high-rise apartment block in China's capital has been given 15 days to tear it down. — The Telegraph, August 13, 2013
130. OK, this one isn’t at Empire State. “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”, taken at Rockafeller Center, September 20, 1932
131. Empire State Building David Shankbone CC BY-SA 3.0 1,250 ft 102 stories 1,454 ft Opened: May 1st, 1931
132. Speed is important, but it's not worth losing people over.
133. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
134. 1952 United Nations Headquarters New York, New York, USA
135. UN HQ Padraic Ryan CC BY-SA 3.0 509 ft tall 39 stories
137. It doesn’t matter how pretty your building is if nobody wants to occupy it.
138. Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company Brooklyn, New York, USA
139. Willis Carrier 1876-1950
140. Willis Carrier 1876-1950
142. Alfred Wolff 1859 - 1909
144. Engineering cool things is good. Engineering cool things that people can actually use is better.
145. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
146. 1973 Willis (Sears) Tower Chicago, Illinois, USA
147. Fazlur Rahman Khan 1928-1982
148. Chicago from Hancock Todd Petrie CC BY 2.0
151. KK 100 Shenzhen, China
152. Majestic Centre Wellington, New Zealand
153. 30 St. Mary Axe London, England Wikipedia: Diliff CC BY-SA 3.0
154. The higher you go, the windier it gets. (better develop a thick shell)
155. Wikipedia: Cmglee CC BY-SA 3.0
156. 1,450 ft 108 stories 1,729 ft Willis Tower Wikipedia: Soakoligist
157. Multiple small structures working together can be more resilient than a single large building.
158. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
159. 2004 Taipei 101 Taipei, Taiwan
160. Taipei 101 mailer_diablo CC BY-SA 3.0 1,671 ft 1,474 ft 101 stories
164. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
165. “[…] the only way to assure a lack of failure is to test for all modes of failure, in both the laboratory and the real world. But the only way to know of all modes of failure is to learn from previous failures. — Wikipedia: Skyscraper Design and Construction
166. “Thus, no engineer can be absolutely sure that a given structure will resist all loadings that could cause failure, but can only have large enough margins of safety such that a failure is acceptably unlikely. — Wikipedia: Skyscraper Design and Construction
167. Test to ensure catastrophic failure is acceptably unlikely. (and please, set a high bar for “acceptably”)
172. Be rigid where you have to be, and flexible where you can afford to be.
173. Taipei 101 Tuned Mass Damper Armand du Plessis CC BY 3.0
176. When the winds pick up, it’s good to have someone at the top pulling for you.
177. This talk is not about skyscrapers.
178. 2010 Burj Khalifa Dubai, United Arab Emirates
179. September 11th, 2001
180. Burj Khalifa Donaldytong CC BY-SA 3.0 2,717 ft tall 163 stories
181. Q: How do people get out of the Burj Khalifa in an emergency?
182. They don’t. A:
183. Leaving can’t be the only option.
186. Create safe spaces.
188. Don’t make the safe spaces hard to reach.
192. Eliminate toxic elements.
193. Dubai Civil Defense Imre Solt CC BY-SA 3.0
194. Help each other. Especially those who aren’t in a position to help themselves.
195. People are what make buildings worth building.
196. This was not a talk about skyscrapers.
197. THANK YOU! Ernie Miller erniemiller Watch and read more: Big, Bigger, Biggest: Skyscraper National Geographic https://youtu.be/eigBF19aYmA Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City Neal Bascomb http://amzn.to/1KoDRFt The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City that Arose with It Alice Sparburg Alexiou http://amzn.to/1Ju1dDQ
198. THANK YOU! ❤ Ernie Miller erniemiller Watch and read more: Big, Bigger, Biggest: Skyscraper National Geographic https://youtu.be/eigBF19aYmA Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City Neal Bascomb http://amzn.to/1KoDRFt The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City that Arose with It Alice Sparburg Alexiou http://amzn.to/1Ju1dDQ ZOMG STICKERS!!!