The origins of high-rise buildings can be traced back to 1883 in Chicago, USA, where the first 11-story insurance company building with masonry and frame construction was born, making Chicago a pioneer in high-rise residential construction in the world.
In the early stages of high-rise buildings, their structural strength was relatively weak due to the lack of advanced building materials like reinforced concrete. As a result, the windows are designed to be relatively narrow, which greatly affects the experience of the occupants. However, with the advent of reinforced concrete, the problem of restricting the construction of high-rise residential buildings has been solved. During the first 40 years of the 20th century, cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Chicago were freed from resource conservation and planning constraints, benefiting from multiple factors such as high efficiency, high return on investment and land appreciation, and skyscrapers sprung up.
Looking back at the development of cities around the world, human beings have never stopped exploring housing. Today, high-rise buildings are not only a shining jewel of architectural art, but also a living symbol of technological progress.
A hundred years ago, high-rise buildings sprung up in Europe and the United States, but our country still uses a large number of wooden and brick houses. However, in the past few decades, our economy has boomed and urban development has changed with each passing day. Today, most of China's cities have surpassed many European and American countries, showing a more modern style. Over the past 40 years, high-rise buildings have sprung up, not only in terms of building height, but also in terms of city size. With the advancement of urbanization, more and more high-rise residential buildings have sprung up, and many low-rise residential communities and urban villages have gradually disappeared and been replaced by denser clusters of high-rise residential buildings, which have become new symbols of the city skyline.
Indeed, high-rise residential buildings provide a valuable solution to the problem of urban land shortage due to their efficient land utilization, and have more advantages than low-rise residential buildings. Its compact design and relatively low unit price make the total price more affordable, so it is very popular among buyers who just need it. However, over time, some of the early high-rise homes began to show signs of age, and the living experience gradually diminished and became less comfortable and convenient. As a result, some experts say that high-rise housing could become a "slum" in the next 20 years. But whether this will become a reality still needs to be further done.
In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the future trend of high-rise housing, we can learn from the current situation of high-rise housing in European and American countries. After all, their history of high-rise residential development predates ours by nearly a century. Judging from the current situation in Europe and the United States, although there are still some high-rise residential buildings in the form of mid-to-high-end apartments, the number of them has been greatly reduced. More high-rise residential buildings in urban areas have fallen into disrepair and dilapidation, gradually reducing them to "slums". Behind this phenomenon, there is not only the aging problem of high-rise housing itself, but also the change of living habits of Europeans and Americans. Influenced by Hollywood culture, the middle and upper classes in Europe and the United States are more inclined to live in suburban villas, which has accelerated the decline of high-rise housing.
Of course, considering that China's national conditions are significantly different from those of European and American countries, our attitudes and strategies towards high-rise housing should also be different. In China, when there is a serious aging problem in high-rise housing, a large amount of money is usually invested in renovation or demolition, similar to the current renovation of old residential areas. However, we still need to face up to the problems that arise with the age of high-rise housing and understand the nature of these problems in order to make more informed decisions when buying a home.
1. The dual challenges of aging machinery and equipment and the quality of the main body faced by high-rise residential buildings
In the land of China, countless high-rise residential buildings are quietly facing a profound test, especially those communities with poor quality and unsatisfactory property management, they will face this serious challenge sooner. For high-rise residential buildings, mechanical equipment is its lifeline, and once these equipment deteriorate or are damaged, the cost of repair and replacement will flood in, bringing a heavy financial burden to residents and seriously eroding their quality of living. Just imagine, when the elevator stops and the tap water pressurization equipment fails, it is undoubtedly a big haze in life for those owners who live in the cloud.
However, the challenges of high-rise housing go far beyond that. The quality of the main body should not be ignored, and once there is a problem with the main structure, the maintenance work will become extremely difficult and the cost will be extremely high. In the case of falling walls, for example, the gap between the maintenance costs of high-rise and low-rise homes is like a moat. As a result, as the years go by, the cost of living in high-rise homes will continue to rise, while the comfort of living will gradually decrease. This situation is likely to lead to the owners of the better financial conditions choosing to leave and rent out the house in turn. When the number of tenants in the community continues to rise, not only will the living environment deteriorate, but it will also become more difficult to raise public repairs**. As a result, high-rise housing may fall into a vicious circle, and the living environment will further deteriorate, forming an insurmountable gap.
2. The safety hazards of high-rise housing, especially in the process of its gradual aging, are becoming more and more prominent
We urgently need to face up to this problem, because it is directly related to the safety of life and property of every household. Imagine how residents of a high-rise can evacuate quickly and safely when an elevator becomes unusable due to a breakdown, fire, or other emergency. This is a reality that cannot be ignored.
In recent years, high-rise residential fire accidents have occurred frequently, many of which have caused serious cases, and the situation in Chongqing and other places is particularly severe. The crux of the problem lies in the fact that the height of fire-fighting equipment in many cities, such as fire ladders, is often difficult to cover all floors of high-rise residential buildings. In third- and fourth-tier cities, for example, most fire ladders have a maximum height of 50 meters, which is only about 16 floors high. This means that in the event of a fire or other emergency, residents above the 16th floor will face a huge rescue challenge.
Therefore, for those of us who live in high-rise residences, it is essential to prevent fires and other safety incidents from occurring. In daily life, we should avoid pushing the electric car upstairs, not flying wires to charge, make sure to turn off the fire and gas before going out, and if you go out for a long time, it is best to cut off the power supply. Only in this way can we eliminate potential safety hazards to the greatest extent possible and ensure the safety of our own lives and the lives of others. After all, prevention is better than regret.
3. The dilemma of demolition and relocation faced by high-rise residential buildings.
Over time, no building can escape the fate of aging, and with it comes quality problems. Although China has actively implemented the old renovation project, which has injected new vitality into many old communities, there are still some communities with serious safety hazards, and demolition has become an inevitable option. For high-rise homes, however, the picture is quite different.
High-rise homes stand tall in the city, but when they face demolition, developers need to ask a very real question: how many floors will it take to recoup the cost? Imagine if a 33-story high-rise residential building were demolished, and the developer would need to build a building as high as 80 stories or even taller to barely balance the funds. The problem is that as more floors are added, construction costs snowball, which means that developers may struggle to make the desired profit even when building more than 80 floors. What's more, real-life building height restrictions make it extremely difficult to reach 80 storeys, so it is clear that demolishing high-rise homes is not attractive enough for developers.
In contrast, many developers prefer to look at remote suburbs, where land is inexpensive and construction costs are relatively low, while profits are still substantial. Therefore, as high-rise housing gradually enters its twilight years, how to properly handle these former skyscrapers has undoubtedly become a huge challenge. The dilemma of demolition of high-rise residential buildings requires us to think and solve it with a more prudent and in-depth attitude.
From the above three points, it can be seen that there are indeed many problems with high-rise housing, but in the current real estate market, high-rise housing still dominates, providing an indispensable option for many buyers who just need to buy a home. However, the advantages and disadvantages of high-rise housing are not generalized, but there are diverse expressions. Under the careful management of excellent property management companies, the overall quality of the community, infrastructure and mechanical equipment of those high-rise residences with excellent quality and excellent property services can be professionally and meticulously maintained, creating a comfortable and livable living environment for residents.
Therefore, we should not simply dismiss high-rise housing, but recognize that they are also rich in diversity. For the majority of high-rise residential property owners, there is no need to be overly anxious, because it takes time and patience to solve the problems faced by high-rise residential buildings, and time is the most precious resource we have. Let's face it with a positive mindset and believe that over time, high-rise housing will continue to improve, bringing a better experience to our lives.