It was going to be the world's tallest building, by a lot, five times as high as the Eiffel Tower.

它將會是世界上最高的建築，而且真的很高，是艾菲爾鐵塔的五倍高。

But many critics laughed at the architect, arguing that people would have to wait hours for an elevator, or worse, that the tower would collapse under its own weight.

但許多評論家嘲笑這位建築師，指出大家光等電梯就要好幾個小時，更糟的是，高樓會因為它自己的重量而垮掉。

Most engineers agreed, and despite the publicity around the proposal, the titanic tower was never built.

大部分的工程師認同，儘管這項提案的曝光率很高，這棟巨大的高樓還是沒有被建造起來。

But today, bigger and bigger buildings are going up around the world.

但現今，在世界各地出現更高且更大的建築。

Firms are even planning skyscrapers more than a kilometer tall, like the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, three times the size of the Eiffel Tower.

甚至有些公司正在規劃建造超過一公里高的摩天大樓，如同沙烏地阿拉伯的吉達塔，是艾菲鐵塔的三倍高。

Very soon, Wright's mile-high miracle may be a reality.

不久後，Wright 的一英哩高樓奇景很可能即將成真。

So what exactly was stopping us from building these megastructures 70 years ago, and how do we build something a mile high today?

所以，到底是為什麼我們在七十年前無法建造這些超級建築？現今我們又要如何建造一英哩高的東西？

In any construction project, each story of the structure needs to be able to support the stories on top of it.

在任何建案中，每一層的結構都要能夠支撐它上面的所有樓層。

The higher we build, the higher the gravitational pressure from the upper stories on the lower ones.

建得越高，上面樓層對下面樓層的重量壓力就會越大。

This principle has long dictated the shape of our buildings, leading ancient architects to favor pyramids with wide foundations that support lighter upper levels.

長久以來，這項原則一直主宰著我們建築物的形式，所以古代建築師偏好金字塔型的寬地基，才能支持較輕的上層。

But this solution doesn't quite translate to a city skyline–a pyramid that tall would be roughly one-and-a-half miles wide, tough to squeeze into a city center.

但這種解決方案不太能夠用在城市中，要做那麼高的金字塔，地基大約需要一英哩半的寬度，若要塞到市中心更是難上加難。

Fortunately, strong materials like concrete can avoid this impractical shape.

幸運的是，堅固的材料如混凝土，就能避免這種不符合現實需求的形狀。

And modern concrete blends are reinforced with steel-fibers for strength and water-reducing polymers to prevent cracking.

現代混凝土會加入鋼鐵纖維來強化其強度，還會添加減水聚合物預防裂開。

The concrete in the world's tallest tower, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, can withstand about 8,000 tons of pressure per square meter–the weight of over 1,200 African elephants!

世界上最高的高樓是杜拜的哈里發塔，它用的混凝土可以承受每平方公尺八千噸的壓力，等同於一千兩百隻非洲大象的重量！

Of course, even if a building supports itself, it still needs support from the ground.

當然，就算一棟建築能支撐自身的重量，它仍然需要來自地面的支撐力。

Without a foundation, buildings this heavy would sink, fall, or lean over.

若沒有地基，這麼重的建築就會下沉、倒塌，或傾斜。

To prevent the roughly half a million ton tower from sinking, 192 concrete and steel supports called piles were buried over 50 meters deep.

為了避免這棟重量約一百萬噸的高樓下沉，它底下五十公尺處埋有 192 枝混凝土和鋼製的支撐物，叫做樁。

The friction between the piles and the ground keeps this sizable structure standing.

樁和地面之間的磨擦力能讓偌大的建築物穩固地豎立。

Besides defeating gravity, which pushes the building down, a skyscraper also needs to overcome the blowing wind, which pushes from the side.

除了要克服將建築物向下推的地心引力之外，摩天大樓也要克服風吹，風力會將建築物往側邊推。

On average days, wind can exert up to 17 pounds of force per square meter on a high-rise building–as heavy as a gust of bowling balls.

一般的情況下，高樓所承受的風力可能高達每平方公尺十七磅，如同保齡球的撞擊力道。

Designing structures to be aerodynamic, like China's sleek Shanghai Tower, can reduce that force by up to a quarter.

依據空氣動力學來設計大樓，如同中國時尚的上海中心大廈，能將風力減少高達四分之一。

And wind-bearing frames inside or outside the building can absorb the remaining wind force, such as in Seoul's Lotte Tower.

建築內部或外部的抗風結構能夠吸收剩餘的風力，首爾的樂天世界塔就有這種設計。

But even after all these measures, you could still find yourself swaying back and forth more than a meter on top floors during a hurricane.

就算有所有這些方法，在颶風中大樓頂層還是會感受到超過一公尺距離的前後搖晃。

To prevent the wind from rocking tower tops, many skyscrapers employ a counterweight weighing hundreds of tons called a "tuned mass damper."

為了防止大樓頂層因為風吹而晃動，許多摩天大樓採用一種重達數百噸的平衡錘，叫做「調諧質量阻尼器」。

The Taipei 101, for instance, has suspended a giant metal orb above the 87th floor.

例如，台北一○一就在八十七樓上懸掛了一個巨大的金屬球。

When wind moves the building, this orb sways into action, absorbing the building's kinetic energy.

當風力吹動大樓時，這顆球就會開始擺動，吸收掉大樓的動能。

As its movements trail the tower's, hydraulic cylinders between the ball and the building convert that kinetic energy into heat, and stabilize the swaying structure.

當它隨著大樓擺動時，球和建築物之間的液壓缸會將動能轉換為熱能，讓擺動的建築物穩定下來。

With all these technologies in place, our mega-structures can stay standing and stable.

在這麼多技術的應用之下，我們的超級建築已經可以站得穩穩的了。

But quickly traveling through buildings this large is a challenge in itself.

但要在這麼大的建築物中快速移動，本身就是一種挑戰。

In Wright's age, the fastest elevators moved a mere 22 kilometers per hour.

在 Wright 的時代，最快的電梯時速只有二十二公里。

Thankfully, today's elevators are much faster, traveling over 70 km per hour with future cabins potentially using frictionless magnetic rails for even higher speeds.

令人欣慰地，現今的電梯快多了，時速超過七十公里，未來的電梯車廂有可能使用無摩擦的磁力軌道，以達到更快的速度。

And traffic management algorithms group riders by destination to get passengers and empty cabins where they need to be.

還有流量管理演算法將乘客依據目的地來分群，把乘客和空車廂送到正確地方。

Skyscrapers have come a long way since Wright proposed his mile-high tower.

在 Wright 提出一英哩高的高樓之後， 摩天大樓已經有了長足的進步。

What were once considered impossible ideas have become architectural opportunities.

以前曾被認為不可能的點子，已經成為建築的新契機。

Today it may just be a matter of time until one building goes the extra mile.

現今，建築物高度能否再增加，可能只是時間的問題而已。