We Now Can Build Really Tall Skyscrapers. But Why?

"Dozens of supertalls are going up around the world, mostly in Asia and a certain small island across from New Jersey. The Empire State Building, which was completed in 1931 and remained the third-tallest skyscraper in the world until 1998, now ranks 54th, and sixth in its own city. Al’s book captures an important moment in architecture and urbanism."

"The trouble is, Al’s veneration of tall buildings, and, implicitly, the entities that create them, is all too pure. Granted, Al is an architect; he wants to build, and he wants to marvel. But his treatment of supertalls focuses on technology and awe at the expense of humanism."

"How to build a skyscraper is one thing. Why to build one is another, especially in light of both their detriments and our larger ecological challenges.With the possible exceptions of Hong Kong and Manhattan, few cities in the world are so dense as to demand 900-meter buildings. Usually, two of 450 meters, or 10 of 90 meters, will suffice. Tokyo, for instance, proves that merely tall and moderately tall buildings do just fine. By contrast, the Burj Khalifa is little more than an extravagant metaphor amid Dubai’s expanses of undeveloped desert."