Construction of the tallest building
signals forecoming economic
meltdowns?!
Metropolitan Life Tower
• insurance company building
• One Madison Avenue in the borough of viManhattan in New York City
• height: 213 m
• plan announced in 1905, completed in 1909
1907 Bankers' Panic
• a chain reaction followed a failed attempt to ivcorner the market of United Copper ivCompany
• bank’s customers withdrew their deposits viwhile doubting banks’ vitality
• New York Stock Exchange fell close to 50% vifrom its peak the previous year
Bank of Manhattan Trust building
• Bank building
• William Street in Manhattan, New York City
• height: 283 m
• was completed in 1930 after only 11 months of vicuntstruction.
The Chrysler Building
• Chrysler Corporation Office
• Turtle Bay area in Manhattan, New York City
• height: 282 m
• constructed: 1928-1930
Empire State Building
• W&H Properties – owner and manager
• Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street, New York City
• height: 443 m
• constructed: 1929–1931
The Great Depression• Black Thursday - October 24, 1929
• stock prices were constantly rising
• people believed in investing in the Stock viMarket and the marked boomed
• option to buy on margins
• vast numbers of people sold their stocks
• the Stock Market crashed
World Trade Center• Trade center
• New York City’s downtown district
• height: 526 m
• constucted:1966-1970 (1972)
Sears Tower
• Sears, Roebuck & Co – retailer vicompany
• Chicago, Illinois
• height: 527 m
• constructed: 1970-1973
1973 oil crisis
• started in October 1973
• OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military
• 80 % inflation-adjusted collapse of the US stock market’ that followed
The Petronas Twin Towers• Petronas oil company
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• height: 451 m
• constructed 1991 - 1998
1997 Asian Financial Crisis
• gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997
• Thai government cut the fixed exchange rate
to the USD
• financial collapse of the Thai baht followed
• When became clear that East Asian ivgovernments could not guarantee economic ivor financial stability, local and foreign ivinvestors withdrew their financial capital.
Reasons for the phenomenon
• a decline in interest rates at the onset of a boom drives land prices
• a decline in interest rates allows increase in average size of a firm, creating demand for larger office spaces
• low interest rates provide investment to construction technologies that enable developers to break earlier records
• all three factors peak at the end of growth period.
But hey, didn’t they just finishthe tallest building in the worldIn Egypt somewhere?
Thank You