The annotated translation of Notes on Construction of Empire State Building, a document prepared in 1930-31 by the builders and only recently rediscovered.
A unique document illustrating the construction processes and techniques of the building that was already a legend in 1931, both for its size and for the speed of its construction. Analysis of the management of one of the most complex worksites ever attempted, at that point in history. A precious source of data, technical information, costs and materials, offering a sort of X-ray of a work that broke all statistical records. A series of rare period photographs document the progress of the construction. The volume is completed by two essays. In the first, Carol Willis examines the relationship between the skyscraper boom, which changed the face of large American cities in the 1920s, and the economic and social context of Manhattan. In the second, Donald Friedman analyzes the technical innovations that made the building such an extraordinary achievement.