Materials and structural forms are combined to make up the various parts of a building, including the load-carrying frame, skin, floors, and partitions. The building also has mechanical and electrical systems, such as elevators, heating and cooling systems, and lighting systems. The superstructure is that part of a building above ground, and the substructure and foundation is that part of a building below ground.
The skyscraper owes its existence to two developments of the 19th century: steel skeleton construction and the passenger elevator. Steel as a construction material dates from the introduction of the Bessemer converter in 1885.Gustave Eiffel (1832-1932) introduced steel construction in France. His designs for the Galerie des Machines and the Tower for the Paris Exposition of 1889 expressed the lightness of the steel framework. The Eiffel Tower, 984 feet (300 meters) high, was the tallest structure built by man and was not surpassed until 40 years later by a series of American skyscrapers.
The first elevator was installed by Elisha Otis installed the first elevator in a department store in New York in 1857.In 1889; Eiffel installed the first elevators on a grand scale in the Eiffel Tower, whose hydraulic elevators could transport 2,350 passengers to the summit every hour.
材料和不同的結(jié)構(gòu)形式構(gòu)成建筑物各種不同部分，包括承重框架、外殼、樓板和隔墻。在建筑物內(nèi)部還有機械和電氣系統(tǒng)，例如電梯、供暖和冷卻系統(tǒng)、照明系統(tǒng)等。地面以上的部分是建筑物的上部結(jié)構(gòu)，地面以下部分為建筑物的基礎(chǔ)和下部結(jié)構(gòu)。
摩天大樓的出現(xiàn)應(yīng)歸功于19世紀(jì)的兩大發(fā)展：鋼骨架結(jié)構(gòu)和載人電梯。鋼材作為一種建筑材料，是從1855年貝西默煉鋼法被首次介紹后開始應(yīng)用的。古斯塔•艾菲爾（1832~1923）首次將鋼結(jié)構(gòu)引入法國。1889年的巴黎國際博覽會的塔和他為Galerie des 機械的設(shè)計表現(xiàn)了鋼結(jié)構(gòu)的靈活性。艾菲爾鐵塔高300米，是當(dāng)時人類建造的最高建筑物，直到40年后才由美國的摩天大樓超過其高度。
第一部電梯是1857年Elisha Otis給紐約的一家百貨公司所安裝的。1889年，艾菲爾在艾菲爾鐵塔上安裝了第一部大型電梯，它每小時可以運送2350位乘客到達塔頂。