世界上的人造物得以实现是需要与可能的结合，高层与超高层建筑的产生也不能违背这一规律。人类从古以来就有要高，登高和居高的精神和物质愿望和需要，但它变成高层超高层建筑的现实却是：在19世纪末至20世纪初产业革命后，生产力大发展，大城市快速发展；钢铁工业的发展，钢材被大量应用于建筑；电梯的发明。当时只有美国同时具备这三项条件。高层建筑产生以后就以迅猛的方式往高及超高层建筑发展。目前它的最高高度向460m冲刺。它的发展大约可以分成四个阶段，即初始摸索、纵深探索、现代主义、成熟时期。前不久，由于亚洲及西太平洋经济的发展，这一地区高层、超高层建筑有了较大发展，但它们毕竟是经济的产物。今后它要走生态化道路，在工程材料及力学上仍有广阔的前景，但高究竟会有什么负面问题？高度是否有上限？上限在哪里？是值得研究与探讨的。

To realize anything which is manmade in the world is an integration of need and possibility. The birth of highrise and super-highrise building can not disobey the rule. Since remote past, human had the will and need of high things, mounting high and living on high places. But the will and need becoming the reality of high-rise building was only in a special age： (1) From the end of 19th century to the beginning of 20th century, after the industrial revolution, productive forces promoted to a large scale, metropolis enlarged, less land had to hold more people; (2) Steel industry expanded, iron and steel played important roles of building materials; (3) The invention of elevator. These factors emerged simultaneously in the United States. After the birth of highrise building, it went straight ahead to the height of super-highrise, right now, 460 m is a new target to be broken through. The history of the development of highrise and super-highrise building may be devided into four stages： Initial groping, Exploring in depth, Modernism and Maturing Stage. A decade ago, accompanied with the development of economics, there was a booming of highrise and super-highrise building in Asia and West coast of Pacific Ocean. After all, highrise and super-highrise building is a phenomenon of economics. From now on, it should be toward biological. There are broad prospects of engineering works, such as dynamics, mechanics and materials. And there are numerous problems of various aspects to be researched, such as the negative influences of human being* s behaviors in super-highrise buildings. Is there an upper limit of super-highrise building? Where is the limit? ……They are worthy to be explored.