Empire State Building - Coursework Example

Empire Building Empire building is chosen because it is an ancient building yet it is but it as outstanding aspects that other modern and current buildings do not have. For instance it is a tall skyscraper. Other buildings within New York City are tall but not as tall as the Empire. In addition to that, the building has earned a lot of reputation from local communities as well as foreigners who have once visited the place. This makes the building worthy of visit. Strategies that will be employed in collecting information is majorly interview and to some extent literature review. Interviews will be used to collect current information while analysis of secondary data will provide essential information on the genesis of the building. Empire state was designed by William F. Lamb. It took two weeks to produce the drawings. Excavation of the construction site began in 22nd January 1930 but construction of the building it began on 17th March 1930. Workers mainly involved in the project were immigrants from Europe and they totaled 3,400. Materials for construction were assembled off the construction site and were then brought into the site for mounting and erection. Major reason was that assembling those materials would have caused havoc within the busy city of New York. This was the first tourist attraction for passersby would stand and watch while the process of construction took over. History has it that the building took one year and 45 days to complete. It was officially opened on 1st May, 1931 by Herbert Hoover, who was then the president of U.S. The building became New York symbol because after construction, it became the tallest building in the city, towering 1,454 feet high with 103 floors, and remained the tallest building for 40 years until the construction of World Trade Center and the North Tower. In addition to that, the building is special in the sense that it the genesis of America culture and therefore considered an icon in this faculty owing to its Art Deco design. It addition to that, it is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. As a result, many people use it as a national historic landmark. Despite existence of other buildings around, this building remains dominant over others because of the many incidents that have occur which are directly or indirectly associated with the building. In 1945, a plane piloted by Lieutenant Colonel, crashed between the 89th and 90th floors of the building resulting to death of fourteen people. Several suicidal attempts have been made from the building. Some people have jumped from high floors to the ground leading to creation of stories that cannot easily be forgotten by people and in the long-run; the building has remained in the minds of people. A good scenario is the “The Most Beautiful Suicide”, a case of a 23-year old lady who jumped from the 86th floor owing to misunderstanding between her and her fiancée. In addition to that, major shootings have occurred at or close to the building. All these incidents make the building prominent and worth of attention hence becoming New York’s iconic figure. Statistics show that the building cost approximately $41 million to build. The building is visited by people of different calibers. Many come for business purpose. There are numerous business opportunities like filming, televisions and licensing firms. In addition to that, the online giant retailer, Amazon, has leased offices within the building. According to Amazon, it stores its goods in warehouses outside but close to the city. The initiative of having a mini warehouse within the city and within Empire State was their first initiative to have such a store in a densely populated city and within the city. Out of all other prominent building, Amazon chose Empire State and this makes it stands out from the rest of the buildings around. Also, other visits it so that they can conduct marriage and wedding ceremonies on the building. The building host wedding ceremonies only once during the year, and is during the Valentine’s Day. A couple the wish to get married applies and waits for response. It they get the opportunity to be among the shortlisted, they end up having the opportunity to of declaring their marriage vows within the historic building. This makes this building unique. Other building around, one can book the space and have their wedding ceremonies anytime they want. It is only the Empire State that hosts such ceremonies once and on a valentine’s day (Mann and Alan, 6). Most importantly, those who visit the building go there for as tourist. These are European immigrants and Mohawk iron workers from Montreal. This building has a point referred to as the Rock Observation Deck which offers a good opportunity for tourist to view the whole of New York. Each person that visits Empire State and gets the opportunity to go to the observation deck, whether at night or during the day, they end up with new and exciting experiences as one of them was quoted saying, “I lastly had the opportunity to visit the Empire building observatory deck and it was a wonderful experience.” Those who visit the building and spend their night there, talk of the freezing night on that result from effects of altitude. Many people have visited the building more than once, but their curiosity and desire to keep visiting the building has never gone down. They report visiting different places which gives then new experiences that they never got from the first visit. A visitor was recorded saying “this is the second time am visiting the building and New York City. My trip to NYC is incomplete if I don’t visit the historic skyscraper. ” this clearly indicates that the building is a source of wonders and experiences. Over the years, this building has been a major destination for dignitaries and celebrities who go to see the Art Deco beauty and other things. They include heads of state, film and music stars, political figures, sports heroes and heroines among other men and women of great accomplishments. On 13th Feb 2015, boxing icons Evander Holyfield and Victor Ortiz, the Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks visited the building’s fitness center. In the same month, on 17th, Ambassador Zhang Quyie of republic of China visited New York for a ceremony that was meant to celebrate the Empire state building. In the film and movie industry, actor Taron Egerton visited the building on 9th Feb 2015 while he was promoting his movie “Kingsman: The secret service.” Other dignitaries are Michael Ballack, actress Terry Hatcher, Formula One British World Champion, Lewis Hamilton among others. Community involvement in the project was majorly in construction and design of the skyscraper. The design of the building was made by William Frederick and was assisted by Gregory Johnson. He had drawn this inspiration from a magazine known as Daily News building that had been written by Raymond Hood. Planning of the construction of the building was done by John Raskob. The Mohawk community, on the other hand, offered workers who carried steel for constructing building. Its contribution the construction of the Empire was substancial. According to history, these people do not fear heights and since the initial goal in the minds of the contractors was to achieve a building with the highest height as possible, Mohawk were found suitable for this project. In addition to that, they have a long history of dealing with steel and building skyscrapers and bridges. Achievement of constructing a building with such great heights without prior planning of where materials could come from was a great achievement. It is good to understand that Raskob wanted to build the building so as to offset his competition, Chrysler. He therefore did not have a prior plan of where building materials would come from. However, after one year and 45 days, the building was completed and this was an achievement. This success was attributed by the presence of Mohawk workers who had strong background understanding of steel technology and people who had the ability to fight fear brought about by great heights. A final factor that inspired construction of the skyscraper was technology. During that period of time, elevator technology was on the rise; therefore, constructing tall building was never a problem. Another great achievement was fire proof system that underlined the building. According to the architectural design of the building all steel were protected from fire by the concrete cinder in which they were concealed in. in addition to that, water was readily available within the building which is contrary to other buildings where water is stored in tanks on top of the building. It came in handy when the building was struck by the plane for availably of water enabled combating of the explosion within 40 minutes. As it has been mentioned above, the main motive as to why this Empire State was build was for competition purpose. Planning of a project like this require going to the core of it to understand how it will be managed. William Lamb was inspired by the Reynolds building. This made him deliver sketches of the building two weeks later. Construction of the building itself took 1 year and 45 days. According to the original plan, it was anticipated that the building with take approximately one and half years to complete. It is also important to note that, though majority of people who worked on constructing the building were Mohawk, they were immigrants. This simply means that their working contracts could not have been pleasant. Putting all this into consideration, the project had failed in some way. Revise down the cost of tickets that one pays so that they can be allowed to go to the decks and view NewYork. Reducing this amount will make it affordable for people. This in turn will increase the number of tourists who visit. As a result, the building will generate more revenue that will be used to add extra services and offer better customer experience. All the decks mentioned above most focus on dignitaries and public, none of them touches students. Management of Empire States should also consider students as special guests to the building. This is because most of them come for learning purpose and they are not employed. Since the major purpose of this building is tourist attraction, they should have specialized services for students who go there for academic purposes. Also, there should be tickets for students as they should not be charged as celebrities or public. The one day per year wedding ceremony should not be changed. This is because it enables the building stand out amidst other buildings. Also, public should not be allowed to go to the dignitaries and celebrities deck. It should stay that way so as to bring the difference between the two categories of people: dignitaries and celebrities versus public. This is a big project and a huge achievement in the world of history. Attaining such an achievement will increase trust in the hearts of people and would enable one easily get projects from clients. Secondly, it will build ones confidence in planning for things that may seem unachievable. Moreover, the project imparts fundamental management and planning skills. For instance, one is able to know how to manage workers well and how well to use and combine available resources for efficient and effective outcome. As to conclusion, it is alleged that there is a door that leads to the 103 floor from the 102 floor. After it was completed, it received warn welcome from society in particular the film industry. Its celebrity status found its way into the film King Kong. Another important fact to understand about the building is that it is owned by the Astor family. This family also owns some of the most impressive sites in New York. According to history, the site where Empire State was built belonged to a man named William Backhouse Astor who had purchased it in 1827 while it was still a firm. Works Cited Mann, Elizabeth, and Alan Witschonke. Empire State building. New York: Mikaya, 2003. 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