With the growing population and the limitation of land, it is turning out to be a great concern to accommodate such a large population with houses. The solution that builder and developers have come up with is to create high rise buildings which are almost touching the sky! But, saying that multi-story buildings are the one and the only solution to this problem would be wrong. It indeed is a solution but there are other factors also that one needs to peep into –
We all know that in case of a high-rise building, it is not possible for people to climb 15 to 16 floors using stairs. Hence the use of modern technology comes into picture which is Lifts! However, operating lifts will consume a good deal of electricity. And also the air becomes thinner on the top stories which make air conditioners necessary.
Have you seen the movie Spiderman? Did you ever wonder why in every Spiderman movie there is a scene where the hero rescues people from a building on fire? Well, this is in the context of the multi-storey building where fire hazards are of high concern. Even the fire brigade fails to reach such heights. In India, we still don’t possess that level of technology which is there in developed countries.
Another issue of concern in the case of high rise building is whether or not they are earthquake resistant. It is highly crucial for the ground strata to be capable of bearing the heavy load of the concerned building.
Wind load is another thing that needs to look after. For many people would wonder how could a mountainous structure be affected by the wind? The hillock could be less in height than the skyscraper; the shape is conical with a high density. On the other hand, man-made buildings are mostly empty space and have a low base to the height ratio.
High story buildings are also an obstruction to the airplanes. It should be made sure that such buildings are at a proper distance from the airport.
Alternative Solution
There is a need for the government to have a proper plan where the cities should be expanded in a planned manner with proper spacing. There should be incentives provided by the government for setting up industries in small towns that would help in redistributing intra-country migration.
