Make No Small Buildings

"The void left by the collapse of the world's most recognizable pair of towers showed us with grim clarity that buildings matter -- as icons, as memories, as something we all share. And the need to rebuild in a fitting way expanded the definition of what 'fitting' can be.

Now, though hopes for ground zero were eroded by politics and greed, the public has been prepared for an approaching wave of high-rise buildings unlike any America has ever seen. They twist and turn. They bob and weave. They do everything except look like what we've been taught to accept: shoe boxes on end, or polite nods to the past.

The future is now: After a generation where conformity was the norm, we'll soon learn if provocative drama has a place in America's urban landscape. Cities across the country are opening the door to imaginative designs that exult in the unexpected -- and at skyline scale."

In addition to Manhattan, Chicago, Louisville, Kentucky, and San Francisco all have plans for mega high-rise structures.