How high is it possible to build

Skyscrapers also need a big base, which limits their space saving potential. A unique Y-shaped design with a hexagonal core and three wings has been used to create perfect stability. The biggest problem, though? Technologically, designers and engineers have hit the ceiling, and we have no solution yet.

The issue is that cables longer than m are simply too heavy to winch. So, until we can solve this, the dream of the 5km-high megatower will remain a fantasy. If you would like to comment on this article or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

Aerodynamic vortexes of wind can exert dangerous amounts of pressure and vibrations on a building. Air currents can be unpredictable, so rather than guess what could happen to the building, AEC professionals need to calculate it directly into the design. The logistical obstacles of moving thousands of people in a mile-high skyscraper is one of the biggest challenges. To reach the floor at the top of a mile-high building with current technology would require people to change elevators multiple times.

The current figure for elevators runs at 1, feet as wire suspension ropes cannot support their own weight and any additional weight after that point. Aside from the technical limitations, needing multiple elevator lobbies would take up too much valuable space. A few years ago, Finnish elevator company Kone developed a carbon fiber cable, UltraRope that they believe could double the distance of an elevator rope. This would be enough to get those would-be mile-high penthouse residents to their sky digs.

Beyond the old school cable elevator, others have floated ideas about a looped system that could pull elevators up, down and sideways.

Concrete has served us well for thousands of years. Engineers are looking at materials like carbon fiber, an extremely lightweight and strong material. Carbon fiber is a polymer composed of thin strands of carbon atoms bound together in a unique crystalline formation. It is far lighter than steel, five times stronger and has double the stiffness.

Currently carbon fiber is used in a number of manufacturing processes ranging from aircraft wings to bike frames. Carbon fiber and other related composite materials weigh very little but can take on heavy bearing loads.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Zoning Resolution in New York City was a measure adopted to stop massive skyscrapers from blocking light and air from reaching the streets below. It established limits to what could be built and created a series of setbacks to building lots. New measures would need to be created as a building of this magnitude entered into the public domain. New building uses also need to be considered.

How many more luxury condos and office space do we really need? The advent of a mile-high tower could bring about a new age of the homestead and of our created environment.

We have the opportunity to build something that could be a fully functioning self-contained ecosystem, more than just a building, but a city within a city. A place like this could also serve as a consolidated seat for governments and working space for companies of the future. Why not continue to build vertically with farms, factories, and more? When we one day build to a mile and beyond, the sky will no longer be the limit, it will be our domain. Mike Colagrossi is the founder of Alchemist City, the most thought-provoking urban development and technology email newsletter.

Sign up to stay up to date. Mike Colagrossi. Share Is it possible to build a mile-high skyscraper? Now we have to ask ourselves, is it possible to build a skyscraper one mile high?