The main reason that I read for having a space elevator, is that we wouldn’t have to use rockets anymore to put things into space. A very dangerous, and costly process…
So anyway, I guess that is kind of taking the thread in a different direction.
With a large enough base, and purpose built materials, we’re still looking at an incredibly high structure.
Could a higher structure be built if they used, say 4 different giant buildings, pillars to meet at a top, like the Eifel (probably misspelled that) Tower in Paris?
That could distribute the weight better, or be a disaster…
In such a large structure, people probably wouldn’t have to leave it often. They would all probably work, live, shop, in the massive building. So infrastructure leading to/from it might be mainly for shipping, trucks/rail.
A large structure could be self contained. I’ve mentioned vertical farms on Fluther before. The same technology could be applied to such a structure.
I think such things will become necessary for a growing population, on our planet’s finite land masses. Perhaps underwater, would be another construction opportunity….