Groundscraper

Former Scandinavian Airlines head office and lake Brunnsviken

A groundscraper is a large building that is only around a dozen stories high but which greatly extends horizontally.

Definition

MSN Encarta defines groundscraper as "a large low or medium-rise building, typically containing offices, that spreads horizontally and occupies a large amount of land".^[1]

Examples

• KdF resort Prora on Rugia Island in Germany is one of the largest building complexes ever constructed.
• The Berlin Tempelhof Airport was the world's largest building when constructed in the 1930s.
• Swiss bank UBS is planning the largest office building in the City of London; the design of 5 Broadgate has been labelled a groundscraper.^[2]
• China Vanke headquarters in Shenzhen is as large as the Empire State Building, but is laid out horizontally and 5 stories above ground level.^[3][4] A park occupies the space below.^[3][4]
• The Squaire in Frankfurt am Main is Germany's largest office building.
• The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia is one of the largest office buildings in the United States, and is as long across as the Empire State Building is tall, but only rises five stories above ground level.

See also

• Sustainable design
• Green building
• Skyscraper

References