As developers around the world seek to steal the coveted title of "World's Tallest Building", Carl Bialik looks at what defines a building, and who gets to decide.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, based in Chigago, is generally recognized as the arbiter of height when it comes to the worldwide skyscraper competition. Although they set the categories and definitions by which buildings are judged against each other, "The answers aren't always clear in the race to the top, as shown this
week by the news that One World Trade Center, the tower being erected at
New York's Ground Zero, may not qualify as the Western Hemisphere's
tallest building because plans to encase a rooftop antenna in fiberglass
and steel have been scrapped."
Disputes have arisen over judgments on what constitutes a building's base and the difference between a spire and an antenna. "Antony Wood, CTBUH executive director, says it is up to users of the
council's data to decide on record holders. 'We don't choose the
tallest, the numbers do,' he says, adding, 'We have no axes to grind, or
bias. Our only goals are to be accurate and consistent.'"
FULL STORY: Steps Unclear in Builders' Race to Top
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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