7 replies to this topic

[vjackson]

This topic may have been covered before, if so, I apologize. Anyway, my question is how many stories or what are the height requirements that defines a building as being a midrise or highrise structure? For example, I love Austin's skyline. But I don't consider the buildings to be highrise. Also, compared to Dallas, I've always considered Fort Worth more of a midrise than a highrise city, which I'm sure many of you will disagree. Is there a specific measure that defines the difference?

[John T Roberts]

I have always heard that 12 stories was the cut off point for a midrise building. 13 Floors or more would be a highrise. As you can see from this definition, most of the downtown buildings would be highrises.

[Wildcard]

I found this information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-rise

High-rise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A high-rise is a tall building or structure. Normally, the function of the building is added, for example high-rise apartment or high-rise offices.

High-rise buildings first became possible due to the invention of the elevator (also known as the lift in British English).

Although the exact definition is immaterial, various bodies have tried to define what 'high-rise' means:

The International Conference on Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings defined a high-rise as "any structure where the height can have a serious impact on evacuation"
The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines a high-rise as "a building having many storeys".
Massachusetts General Laws define a high-rise as being higher than 70 feet.
See also: skyscraper, tower block.

[Wildcard]

Hmm, here's a bit more info also from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia....iki/Skyscraper:

Skyscraper

The word skyscraper was originally a nautical term for a tall mast or sail on a sailing ship. Today the word is used exclusively to refer to a tall habitable building, usually higher than 152 metres (500 feet). A skyscraper is also sometimes referred to as a highrise, a term which is generally used to refer to a residential building.


Looking at the definition this way, I'm not sure how many "high rises" or "skyscrapers" we have in Fort Worth.

[DrkLts]

I have no clue to what qualifies, but if you standing at the buildings' entrance and you got to tilt your head way back to see the top..... my instinct would tell me HIGH RISE lol

[fwpcman]

The Fort Worth city code defines a high rise as a building that is 75 feet or taller.

[WTx]

Quote by John Roberts

I have always heard that 12 stories was the cut off point for a midrise building. 13 Floors or more would be a highrise. As you can see from this definition, most of the downtown buildings would be highrises.

This is the standard that skyscrapers.com uses to determine a highrise or a lowrise. As for myself, I think a height standard would be better. Although a building may only be 10 or 11 floors it may be just as tall as a 13 floor building. If both buildings were 175 ft only the 13 floor building would be considered a highrise.

[mosteijn]

I completely disagree with the City's defintion of 75 feet, that's maybe an 8 floor CONDO building at most. Here's how I would split up heights:

Lowrise: 0-100 feet
Midrise: 100-300 feet
Highrise: 300+ feet
Skyscraper: 500+ feet
Supertall: 1000+ feet

By those definitions, Fort Worth is mostly low to mid rise buildings, though we have about 10 "highrises", and 3 "skyscrapers".