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This research is devoted to the analysis of the possibility of preservation of reinforced concrete skyscrapers built in the Fifties and Sixties of the 20th Century. The main issue is the adequacy of these structures as they have been designed with Codes that didn’t take into account several variables and parameters. The research proposed here intends to analyze the structural performances of some iconic tall buildings in reinforced concrete, both in Italy and in the United States, in relation to current design code requirements. This analysis is performed going through the work of one of the Italian reference engineers and scientists of the Twentieth Century, Arturo Danusso, and of one of the protagonists of the U.S. reinforced concrete era, Bertrand Goldberg. In the first chapter the influence of Danusso’s theory of frameworks on Earthquake Engineering has been analyzed through the study of his earthquake resistant solution after the Messina-Reggio Calabria event in 1908. Subsequently, all his writings about dynamics in the period 1908-1954 are analyzed. It is evident that he had perfectly understood the importance of the dynamic behavior of structures not only in relation to seismic actions but also with reference to tall buildings designs. All these studies on Earthquake Engineering led him also to give a relevant role to the experimental testing of structures for a full understanding of the dynamic behavior. His experimental activity took advantage of the laboratory at Politecnico di Milano, where he was Professor, and at ISMES in Bergamo, through scaled models. This cultural background was essential in designing the first high-rise buildings in Milan after the World War 2. Indeed, Danusso was involved in the calculations of the main high-rise buildings in Milan in the Fifties, such as the Breda Tower, the Velasca Tower and the Pirelli Building. The design of these skyscrapers exhibits different structural solutions, respectively: the shear wall and rigid frame system, the tube and tube system with a rigid core and the gravity system. In this research, all the original aspects in Danusso’s skyscraper design have been pointed out and have been fundamental in the selection of the comparative case study in United States. Therefore, Bertrand Goldberg, with its Astor Tower and Marina City Towers, has been analyzed as the reference tall building architect in Chicago. Concluding, all the performed structural analyses of the skyscrapers mentioned above have shown high capacity resources and very effective behavior characteristics. These buildings were conceived with a strong initial cooperation between architects and structural engineers, with neither appearing to prevail and both intending to build a significant and durable work for their respective competence. Their innovations are still recognizable nowadays and confirm the need of the synergic collaboration between architects and engineers in the design and construction process

Immeuble-tour --- Skyscrapers --- Tall buildings --- Earthquake engineering. --- Goldberg, Bertrand, - 1913-